蒜茸白肉 Poached Pork Belly With Garlic Sauce

Ate this dish at one of the famous restaurants in Singapore. The price is not cheap at all for 6 small pieces. Today  I had the desire to make it myself  so  I decided to  give it a try.  I am quite happy because it turned out  better than I expected.

Recipe:

500 g pork belly

1 to 2 cucumbers, cut into thin slices or shredded

Garlic Sauce ingredients:   Mixed together

2 tbsp garlic paste  (use a grater)

2 tbsp spring onions (diced)

2 to 3 tbsp soy sauce paste (if you can't get may replace with oyster sauce)

1/2 to 1 tsp sugar 

2  tbsp chilli oil

3 tbsp cooked cool water

1/3 tbsp vinegar

Method:

1)  Wash and clean the pork belly.  Place it into a pot with boiling water, cook till it cooks through.

When cool, cut  them into thin slices

2)  Place one piece of cucumber on a plate, lay one slice of pork belly over it, roll outwards to form Swiss roll shape.

3) Serve with the garlic sauce.

食谱：

材料：

A）500 克 三 层肉

B）1 至2条黄瓜，切成长薄片状或者丝条状

C）

2  汤匙蒜泥

2  汤匙葱花

3 汤匙酱油膏
1/2 茶匙白糖
2 汤匙辣椒油
3 汤匙凉开水
1/3 汤匙白醋

制法：

1）把肉洗干净，然后放进滚水煮熟。 提出肉待冷。切成薄片。

2） 把（C）料搅拌均匀。

3）把一片肉片放在黄瓜片上，然后向外卷起来就成。吃时沾上醮料。

Steamed Minced Pork With Lotus Root

How easy is it being a full time housewife, needing to cook dinner 365 days a year?

Let me tell you, it is not easy at all. How many different recipes can you possibly conjure up? Sometimes, I just run out of ideas and resort to simple dishes. The above - steamed minced pork with lotus root, is one example. My first time putting lotus root and minced pork together, I had come across a similar dish at a food court recently.

Not only is it easy to prepare, this dish is healthy as little oil and sugar are used. In fact, you only need about ten to minutes to prepare the ingredients, and let the rice cooker/steamer do the rest of the job.

The usual lotus roots you find are dark brown and coated in mud. However, I used white lotus root here as I find that the crunch adds variety to the minced pork. Choose the younger (smaller and lighter in colour) ones for added crispiness.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
(A)- 300 g minced pork
      - 1 teaspoon salt
       - 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
       - 1 tablespoon water
      -  2  teaspoon corn flour
      -  white pepper powder

 (B) - 100 g lotus slices (cleaned and peeled skin and then sliced thinly)

(C)  - 2 tablespoon or more of cooked water (adjust to taste)
       -  1 teaspoon light soy sauce
       -  1/4 teaspoon dark soy sauce (for colouring, optional)
       -  1/2 teaspoon sugar

Method:
1)  Combine ingredients (A) and mix well. Use a pair of chopsticks  to  stir at one direction until the water is fully absorbed by the meat. Once completed the meat becomes gooey, and the texture is smooth.  Add in  lotus slices, gently crush the lotus root into rough pieces as you blend them together with the minced pork.
2)  Steam the minced pork mixture for 15 to 20 minutes.
3) Once done, drain the sauce from the plate. Mix ingredient C into the sauce and pour back into the dish. Garnish with spring onion and serve with plain rice.

BBQ Pork (Bak gua) Butter Cake - 肉干牛油蛋糕

Hi! dear friends and bloggers. I wish everyone of you a very happy and prosperous  Chinese Lunar New Year .

This  would be my first and last post of the month (only one post for this month/February 2015).

I still had some BBQ pork (bakgua or rou gan) left on the shelf and it will be the perfect home for various microorganisms if i left it in room temperature for too long. Moreover, my fridge is already at full capacity so I have to find a way to get rid of it.  Subsequently, I decided to bake a cake with it.  The origin recipe is from Kevin Chai.

Verdicts for the cake:  The texture of the cake is soft and moist. It is full of the fragrance of butter. The butter taste overpowers the bakgua, hardly have the bakgua taste. If you want a stronger taste of bakgua, may have to replace butter with corn oil, olive oil or sun flower seed oil.  Let me try out my next attempt and I will let you know the outcome. Hmmm, I may not do it again because I hardly eat bakgua. lol.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

300 g butter

200 g fine sugar

4 whole eggs 

250 g plain flour

20 g milk powder

5 g baking powder

100 ml milk

100 g BBQ pork, blended

Method:

1)  Preheat oven at 160 deg C. Grease and line an 8" x 8" square baking pan.

2)  Beat butter and sugar till creamy and light.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3)  Sift flour, baking powder and milk powder together.  Fold in flour and milk aleternately in 3 batches.  Fold in BBQ pork, mix well.

4)  Pour the batter into  the prepared pan. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until cooked.

5)  Remove from oven, leave it cool on the rack. Cut into pieces, serve.

Soft Beancurd Top With Minced Meat

 Beancurd has always been one of my family's favourite.  Today I prepared a dish of  beancurd topped with minced meat. 

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 box beancurd (any brand)

100 g minced meat

1 shallots (sliced) 

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon dark soy sauce

1/2 cup water

pepper

a pinch of sugar to taste

cornstarch water (for thickening the sauce)

Garnishing:

spring onion, coriander leaves

Method:

1) Remove beancurd from the box,  Slice them into pieces and arrange them onto a plate.

2)  Steam the sliced toufu (beancurd) for 3 minutes. Using a tablespoon to scoop away the water on the surface after steaming.

3. Heat up oil (about a tablespoonful) in a wok, stir-fry  shallots until fragrant, add in minced meat and stir-fry until meat is cooked. Add in oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water and sugar, allow to simmer for few minutes.  Thicken the sauce with cornstarch water.

4)  Pour the minced meat over the steamed toufu, garnish and serve.

Coffee Spare Pork Ribs

Recipe:

Ingredients:

500 g spare ribs, chopped about 3 cm long

Marinade:

 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

1/2  tsp sugar

1/2  tsp salt

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 egg

1 tbsp plain flour

1/2 tbsp custard powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

50 ml water

60 g ~80 g corn flour

Sauce:

2 tbsp maltose

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp instant coffee powder

50 ml water

Method:

1) Wash and dry ribs.  Combine spare pork ribs with marinade ingredients and mix well.  Marinate at least  for 3 hours.

2)  Mix and toss corn flour till ribs are well coated. Deep-fry over moderately hot oil till light brown. Dish up and drain. Reheat oil,  re-fry ribs till cooked and golden brown . Dish  and drain.

3)  Pour sauce into a clean wok and cook till thickened.  Add ribs. Toss till well coated. Serve.

Chives Patties- 韭菜肉饼

It has been a long while since last ate chives . Saw some at the  market this morning and suddenly had the desire to make a snack for my family.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
400 g minced pork
100 g Chinese chives (diced)
1 egg

Seasoning:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon chicken granule (seasoning powder)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
some pepper to taste
1 tablespoon corn flour


Method:
1)  Wash Chinese chives, drained and diced.
2)  Combine all ingredients and seasoning in a big mixing bowl. Stir and mix well. Roll round and lightly flatten and form into  patties.
3)  Heat up oil in a frying pan, deep-fried or shallow-fried till cooked and golden brown.

Stew Arrowheads with Pork Belly in Hakka Style

stew stew

Arrowheads can only be found in the market during the months from November to February or near the Chinese New Year period.

When I was young I remembered the arrowheads  my mother cooked were the smaller species.  But now they are not so commonly seen in the markets.

 I used to help my mother to clean the arrowheads by using a piece of cloth, rub off the skin and mud , and then used the flat side of the chopper to lightly pat the arrowheads, so that during the process of cooking the sauce is easily absorbed by the arrowheads.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
300 g pork belly (cut into 1 cm thick matchsticks)
1 + 1/2 pieces fermented red bean-curds (南乳）
15 g Black fungus (soak and clean)
4 stalks Chinese Leeks (clean and remove the older parts and cut into pieces)
14 pieces Arrowheads (peel the skin and cut into 3 to 4 thick slices)
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon sugar or to taste
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon diced garlic
750 ml water

Method:
1) Marinate pork belly with 1/2 piece of fermented red bean-curd for 30 minutes.
2) Coat belly meat with corn flour, deep-fry until cooked. Dish up and leave aside.
3) Heat up wok with 1/2 tablespoon of oil and saute garlic until fragrant, put in 1 piece of fermented red bean-curd (mashed) , stir-fry for a minute and then pour in arrowheads, continue to cook for a minute.
4) Add in deep-fried belly meat , sugar, salt , light soy sauce and water until boiling. Turn to low heat and  simmer until meat and arrowheads are soft (cover lid).
5) Add in fungus and leeks, cover and simmer for further 10-15 minutes.Serve.

TIPS: You can replace Pork Belly with Roast Pork（烧肉）instead.

Fermented  red bean-curd

Black fungus

 Arrowheads and marinated belly meat

Chinese Leek

Assam Curry Pork -亚叁咖哩猪肉片

It  is really awesome. I strongly recommend this dish if you like spicy, sour food you can't give it a miss.  It is tangy, spicy and fragrance, this makes you drooling for more and more rice to eat along. So if you gain weight please do not put into my account. lol. It is so easy to prepare give it a try.

Recipe: QUICK & EASY  HAWKER FARE by Chef Alan Kok

Ingredients:
300g sliced pork
100 ml water
100 ml thick coconut milk (I used Kara brand)
1 tbsp assam paste- mix with 100 ml water and squeeze out juice , discard seeds
2 tablespoon cooking oil

Curry  Spices:
4 tbsp chopped shallots
2 stalks lemongrass- bruised
2 tablespoon curry leaves (about 4 twigs)
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 tablespoon chilli paste
3 pieces dried assam slice (assam keping)

Seasoning:
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon  sugar
1 tablespoon light soy sauce

Method:

1) Heat up 2 tbsp oil and saute curry spices until fragrant.

2)  Add in pork and stir well. Add in coconut milk, assam juice, seasoning and bring to boil.  Cook until meat is tender.  Dish and serve hot.

ENJOY!

Food Review:  I find this dish is abit too sour. In my next cooking, I will only put 1 piece of dried assam slice.

Steamed pork belly with fermented bean paste

One day, my eldest son asked me:
My son:    " Mom,  where is your post of steamed pork with fermented bean paste?"
Me           :" ah? you want the recipe? It has no recipe. It is all agak-agak*. You mean you don't know how to cook?"
My son:     " Ya, please post it otherwise I don't know how to cook when you are not 'available'."

This is a very common home-cooked dish. This dish is simple and fast to prepare and yet can be eaten along so well with alot of rice and porridge.  This dish can be alternately steamed with pork ribs too.

So my dear son, this is my agak agak recipe specially for you:

Ingredients: (serves 4 - 5 persons)
400 g pork belly ,cut into thin pieces or pork ribs cut into small pieces
2 chilli padi, diced
6 pcs gingers- cut into thin slices
1 teaspoon fine sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 to 1.1/2 tablespoon minced fermented  yellow bean paste
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 limes

Method:
1)  Mix all the above ingredients and steam over high heat for 25 minutes ( Steam for 45 minutes to 1 hour for pork ribs).
2) Squeeze some lime juice to your liking. Serve.

*agak-agak: estimate

Roast Pork - 脆皮烧腩肉（2）

自从把脆皮烧肉（1） 的食谱介绍给打太极柔力球朋友后，都得到他们的赞赏。好吃归好吃，但是要等上两天才有的吃，是否有点麻烦？

好吃的东西一定要和大家分享。在这里给大家介绍这个非常简易又快的食谱。今天我就跟着很久以前我从报章上剪下的食谱照做了半份。我还相当满意，因为做出来的成品和脆皮烧肉(1)一样的好吃。皮也是脆脆的。脆度的分别是前者的皮是松脆，后者是带点硬和脆。

食谱：

材料：猪腩肉 1 公斤，粗盐 1/4 杯，花椒1 汤匙

调味料：味椒盐 2 汤匙，糖，蒜茸，玫瑰露酒各1 茶匙，胡椒粉少许

蘸料：海鲜酱或糖少许

制法：

 1） 花椒与盐同炒至香，待冻后备用

 2）猪肉洗净刮去毛，放入沸滚水中烫 10 分钟，取出沥干水分，用叉在皮刺小孔。用粗盐和花椒擦外皮。 再以利刀在肚面每隔1 寸切一刀。

 3）把调味料捞均匀后，涂上肚面，腌30 分钟备用。

 4） 烤箱预热至 250  度，放入猪肉，肚向上。先烤 15 分钟，取出翻转， 即皮向上，涂上一层生油。

 5） 放入烤炉，皮向上，烤至猪皮呈膨胀松脆，即成，大约 20  - 25  分钟。

 6） 若皮不脆，再用上火烤  10  分钟左右。

注：我嫌麻烦我没用此食谱的调味料,只用了制法.（我用脆皮烧肉(1)食谱的腌料）。

作者的心得：多擦盐於猪皮上，可令猪皮红脆。用针在皮上刺孔可令猪皮烤成沙梨皮。

My roast pork recipe received loads of overwhelming response from my group of Rouli qiu friends. (太极柔力球). The trouble is that one has to wait for 2 days only then you can taste the delicious roast pork.

Today I am going to share with you an easy and instant method of preparing roast pork.  This recipe is retrieved from my newspaper cutting collection which dates back to donkey years ago.

Verdicts: It tastes as good as the Roast Pork (1), the skin is not  fluffy but still crispy.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 kg pork belly

1/4 cup coarse salt

1 tablespoon Pericarpium Zanthoxyli or commonly known as Chinese pricklyash (huajiao)

Seasoning:

 2 tablespoon  pepper and salt (mixed)

1 teaspoon diced garlic

1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine (Rose wine)

dash of pepper

Dipping sauce:

Hoisin sauce also known as seafood sauce

some sugar

Method:

1) Stir-fry Chinese prickly pepper and salt together until aroma. Leave to cool for use later.

2) Wash pork belly, remove excess hair, blanch in hot boiling water for 10 minutes, drain and pat dry. 

Rub the pork skin with  (1). Slit the meat about 2-3cm depth every inch wide.

3)  Marinate the pork evenly with seasoning for 30 minutes.

4)  Preheat oven to 250 degree C. Place belly onto a rack, skin face downwards, roast for 15 minutes.

5)  Remove from oven.  Prick belly skin with a pork or a sharp object to introduce as many holes as possible (the more holes, the more crispy!). Return to oven, skin face upwards,  roast until the skin is crispy and the meat is cooked through.(about 20-25 minutes).

6) Grill the skin for further 5 -10 minutes if the skin is still not crispy after step (5).

Note: I did not use the seasoning of this recipe, I followed the method only.. I used the seasoning here.

Roast Pork 脆皮烧腩肉（1）

This is another recipe which makes my family drool for more. It can compete with any restaurant's standard. Believe me and give it a try if you are meat lovers. Do you have the same feeling as me? Some food you eat with feeling or with emotion or give you memory. I am having this emotional feeling whenever I cook this dish. Let me touch on this.

Three years ago, the author of this recipe book and her friend came to visit my sister's hometown. At the request of her fans, the author conducted a cooking class just for them. And this is one of the dishes she demonstrated and my sister was one of the fans. At that time, my sister had already been diagnosed with final stage of lung cancer. I visited her and also had short stay with her. She was very optimistic, cheerful and active. During my stay at her place, she prepared this roast pork for me to try. The skin was sooo..... crispy and you can hear the sound "popopo,crak... crak....crak..." when you bite into the skin. The meat was tender and moist. It was really awesome. But now sigh, she cooks no more for me, because she had lost the battle with lung cancer two and the half years ago, and joined my parents in the other universe.

I've passed this recipe to my friends, they all gave me the thumbs up. It is simple to prepare and you should give it a try.

 Pardon me if the photos are not well taken. They were taken with my HTC mobile phone. 

Recipe: Adapted from "Delicacies of China Town" by Lin Yong Hao 林永好

Ingredients:
(A)
1 kg pork belly (with skin)

(B)
2 pieces fermented red bean curd (南乳) - I used 1 piece only
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon "Shaoxing" wine - Chinese cooking wine
1 tablespoon fine salt
1/2 tablespoon five spice powder
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon caster sugar

(C) some salt - to cover the skin

Method: 
1) Wash and rinse the pork belly. Use kitchen tissue to pat dry. Slit the meat repeatedly with a knife about 2-3cm depth (See picture 1 and 2) .
2) Mix ingredients (B) and rub on the meat only (not the skin, see picture 3 and 4).
3) Place the meat, skin side up on a plate. Allow to chill in the fridge (in the chiller compartment) for 2-3 days until the skin is dry. do not cover the meat so the skin will dry up.
4) Transfer pork belly directly from the chiller onto a wire rack, and sit on the roasting pan, add some water to the roasting pan. Skin face upwards.
5) Cover the skin with salt generously (see picture 6 and 7). Bake in a preheated oven at 250 degree C for 20 minutes, remove from the oven when the bubbles appear on the surface of the skin (seen from the side of the meat). Carefully discard all the salt from the skin.
6) Return the pork belly to the oven (skin face upwards), continue to roast for 20-25 minutes until cooked and the skin is crispy. Take out from the oven, leave to cool and cut into pieces. Serve.

NOTE: I USE SHARP MICROWAVE CONVENTION OVEN AND PLACED THE PORK ON LOWER RACK.
   

食谱取自“吃在茨厂街” 作者：林永好

材料：
1 公斤 带皮五层花腩肉

 腌料：（拌均匀）
2块 南乳 （我用一块）
1大匙 蚝油
1小匙 黑酱油/嗮油
1大匙 绍兴酒
1大匙 幼盐
1/2大匙 五香粉
1小匙 胡椒粉
1/2小匙 幼糖

适量盐巴 - 涂皮用

做法：
1）五花肉洗净后抹干水分，然后用刀在肉面上直切数劃如图1和2。约2-3公分深度）
2）把腌料充分的涂抹在肉面上和切开的空穴内 如图3和4。
3）把肉块翻覆放在盘子上（皮朝上)，盛放在冰箱内（冰格下层, 不必加盖)。冷藏2-3天，待皮风干。
4）准备烤箱，盘内注入适量清水，加上烤架，并把肉块从冰箱拿出直接铺在铐架上（皮朝上）。
5）在肉皮上铺上适量盐巴（如图6)，涂抹均匀，然后盛入预热烤箱以250度先烤20分钟，让皮面出现少许泡泡时再将肉块取出，把表面的盐巴去除。
6）把肉再盛入烤箱内，继续以250度C 烤约20-25分钟至熟透及表面长满金黄泡泡及香脆，取出，待冷卻后即可切块食用。

Sweet And Sour Pork -咕噜香肉

咕噜肉, or sweet and sour pork, is one of the popular dishes served at every zichar stall. The tangy mixture of sweetness and sourness makes it appetizing and a favourite amongst children, who will almost definitely sit down obediently at the table and stop running around.

As simple as the dish may seem, careful efforts must be taken in order to use fresh ingredients like cucumber, pineapple and tomato, to ensure the right proportion of tomato ketchup, yet at the same time, preserve the crispiness of the pork dice.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

(A)
200g pork belly

Seasoning:
1/2 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon  Chinese cooking wine "Rose -wine" (玫瑰露酒）
1/2 tablespoon tapioca flour

(B)
100g pineapple - cut in to small cubes or diamond shapes
100g cucumber -  same as above
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 big onion - cut into small pcs

Sauce:
5 tablespoon white vinegar
4 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon tomato sauce (ketchup)
1-2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (急汁）

(C) Thickening:
1/2 tsp tapioca flour add with 1/2 tbsp water

Method：
1）Cut meat into  small bite sizes. Marinate with seasoning for 10 minutes.
2)  Coat meat with some tapioca flour. Deep fry till cooked and crispy. Dish up.
3)  Saute garlic till fragrant, add in big onion and stir fry for a while,  then add in cucumber and tomato continue to stir-fry for few minutes. Pour in sauce and  thickening water, add in  (2)  toss well until the meat has absorbed all the gravy. Serve on a plate. 

Enjoy!

Braised Pork Belly With Sweet Preserved Mustard

This is my 2nd post of this dish. Not only did I make slight changes to the ingredients, I also now have more experience at preparing this dish - and yes, this time, the meat turns out to be a better shot than my previous attempt.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1kg pork belly with skin
1pkt sweet preserved mustard  (227 g =8 0z )
6 cloves garlic (lightly flatten)
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
800 - 1000 ml water

Seasoning:
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 pc star anise (optional)
1 tbsp "Shaosing" wine (Chinese cooking wine)

Method:
1) Soak the sweet preserved mustard in water for 20 minutes. Squeeze out water, cut into fine pieces. Leave aside.

2) Cook the  pork belly into boiling water for 20 minutes about 70-80% cooked.  Remove from hot water, pat dry, prick hole over the skin only with a fork.

3) Rub dark soy sauce over the skin for 20 minutes.  Pat dry with kitchen towel or kitchen tissue paper.

4) Deep fry in hot oil, skin facing downwards until golden brown, dish out and soak into tap water (room temperature) for 20-30 minutes. Cut the pork belly into your desired thickness.  Leave aside.

5) Heat up a wok  (no oil). stir-fry the sweet preserved mustard until fragrant, push the mustard to the side of the wok. Pour in 2 tbsp of oil and when the oil is hot, saute garlic till fragrant and stir-fry the preserved mustard for 5 minutes, add in seasoning and water, simmer for 30 minutes.

I used this brand. It gives better flavour and taste.

4) Arrange the pork belly into a deep bowl or plate, skin face downwards, add (3) on top. Cover with cling-wrap. Steam for 60-90 mins. You may steam it for longer time depending on the softness of the meat to your liking.  Invert onto a serving platter. Bon appetit!

Jingdu Spare Ribs 京都排骨

Wow! It really tastes good. The sweetness and sourness is just right, and the meat is juicy. This dish is as good as restaurant standard.  Give it a try and make sure you cook more rice on that day.


Ingredients :

1)  600 g spare ribs

2)  ½ tablespoon fermented red beandcurd  (南乳)

3)  ¼ teaspoon five spice powder   

         4)  1 tablespoon Chinese rose wine 

5)  ½ teaspoon MSG (or chicken stock) - optional

6)  ½ teaspoon Sugar 

7)  ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

8)  1 tablespoon Light soy sauce

9)   ½ tsp. Pepper,  ½ tsp. sesame oil

10)  2 level tablespoons Corn flour 

11)  1 medium size tomato

12)  2 slices of pineapple

13)  coriander leaves for decoration

14)  1 teaspoon of diced garlic

Sauce:

- 4 tablespoon Chinese vinegar (浙醋)

- 2 level tablespoon sugar

- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (急汁)

- 1 tablespoon tomato sauce

Method:

1)    Cut the spare rib into short pieces , mix well with ingredients 1 to 9 above and marinate for at least 1 hour.

2)  Mix the corn flour into the mixture in (1)  , then fry in hot oil till golden brown and cooked.  Dish and drain for the next step.

3)  Heat up 2 table spoon of oil and fry the diced garlic till fragrant. Put in the fried spare rib, mix well and add Chinese wine.  Add in the sauce mixture and quickly stir fry the spare ribs for a minute.

4)  Dish up onto a plate and garnish with slices of tomato, pineapple and coriander leaves, etc.

Braised Spare Ribs with Fermented Bean Curd

Recipe: Adapted from hoho hojiak! Hawkers' Fair by Chef Alan Kok

Ingredients:
500g spare ribs, cut into small pieces
2 cups oil for deep-frying
5 slices ginger, remove skin
5 pips garlic, remove skin- diced
50g bean bean curd knots, soak for 5 -10 minutes
800ml water ( I only used 700ml water)

fermented bean-curd

Marinade:
1 cube fermented bean-curd
1 tsp sugar
1  tsp Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp corn flour
1/2 egg

Seasoning:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce                                                            
2 cubes fermented bean-curd
1 tsp sugar

bean curd knots

Dash of pepper

Method:
1)  Marinate spare ribs with marinade for 2 hours.  Deep-fry in hot oil until brown.. Dish and drain.

2)Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok, fry sliced ginger and diced garlic until fragrant.  Add in all ingredients, seasoning and bring to boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until spare ribs are tender.  Dish up and serve.

Braised Pork Trotter with Assam Keping-阿三皮酸猪手

My husband and my son kept nodding their heads while eating assam pork trotters. You can imagine how delicious the dish is. Compared to my previous post 'Spicy, Sweet & Sour Trotter', I will prefer this dish. no doubt both of them have a somewhat similar taste, the sourness of assam and vinegar brings out a different class of sourness. It is tough to use words to describe the awesomeness of food so you will have to give it a try to understand the supremacy of this popular dish.

Recipe: Adapted from Yum Yum No.67

(I have slightly modified the original recipe)

Ingredients:

1 pork trotter, cut into pieces

1 tbsp oil

1500ml water

6 shallots, peeled

8 dried chillies

10 pieces assam keping ( dried tamarind slices)

Seasoning:

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp sugar

Method:

1) Blanch pork trotter in boiling water for 5 minutes. Dish and drain.

2) Heat up oil, stir-fry shallots and dried chillies until aromatic.

3) Add in the remaining ingredients and bring to boil over high heat. Lower the heat and cook until trotter is tender. Dish up and serve.

ENJOY!

Char-siew -简易美味叉烧

在9月18号的联合早报副刊看到一个私房菜教人制作叉烧。做法容易，材料又简单。正好家里的冰箱有500克的三层肉，就跟着食谱的做法，做了半份。味道比我预料的还要好，只是少了烧烤油溢出来的香味。假如你家没有烤箱，或者你怕弄脏烤箱又嫌麻烦请洗的话，可以尝试这个食谱。

材料：

1000克 三层肉/五花肉

200克 白糖

2 汤匙 酱清

1 汤匙 酱油

2 茶匙 盐

1/2 茶匙 叉烧粉

做法：

1）把猪肉洗净沥干，加入所有的材料拌至糖溶，腌约4个小时

2）把锅烧热，加入腌好的猪肉煎香。

3）加入一杯水，慢火煮至汁浓即可盛上碟。

4）待稍冷却片，用黄瓜装饰即可上桌。。

Ingredients：

1 kg pork belly

200 g sugar

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp BBQ meat coloring (optional)

Method:

1) Wash pork and use kitchen tissue paper to dab dry. Add in all the ingredients and mix well, make sure the sugar is dissolved. Marinate for 4 hours.

2) Heat up wok, place the marinated meat onto it, fry until fragrant.

3) Add in 1 cup of water, simmer at low heat until the sauce is thickened.

4) Slice and serve . Enjoy.

Braised Meat Ball with Chinese Cabbage -红烧狮子头 (2)

这个红烧狮子头食谱的材料和做法实在太简单到不可以再简单了。虽然简单但是味道和口感还是不错的。在此，我要把这个简单又好吃的食谱献给工作繁忙的职业妇女和妈妈们分享。希望你们会喜欢。

This simplified Braised Meat Ball (Lion's head) recipe compared with my older post is so much easier and saves alot of time in the process of preparing and cooking. And yet the taste is not bad at all. Here I would like to share this simple recipe with those busy working career women and mums . Hope you all will like it.

材料：
300克肉碎
400克黄亚白，切粗条或大片

调味料A：
~1/2 小匙蚝油
~1/2大匙生抽
~1大匙粟粉
~1/4小匙盐
~少许麻油和胡椒粉

调味料B：
~400克水
~1大匙蚝油
~1/2大匙生抽
~1小匙黑酱油
~1小匙麻油
~1大匙粟粉和水打芡用

做法：

~1）肉碎加入调味料“A”拌匀，分成4-6 份。做成圆扁形，然后放入热油中炸至金黄色，捞起沥干油分。

~2）调味料“B”倒入锅里煮滚，加入大肉丸和黄芽白以小火焖煮20分钟捞起上碟。

~3）汁料加入粟粉水打芡淋上即可。

Crispy pork with Red Fermented Beancurd-炸南乳三层肉

This is one of the popular dishes in restaurants. Many families like this dish to go along with rice, porridge and beer. The versatile red fermented beancurd (南乳) can be used for vegetables, chicken, pork knuckles, and many others. It has a unique taste and smell. If you are not used to the taste, I think you need sometime to acquire a liking to it.

For the above dish, I prefer 30% fat-70% lean belly meat. This is because the natural lard, when fried, delivers its own unique porky flavour. The juicy lard ensures that the lean meat does not feel too dry or tough.

You had better cook more rice tonight.

Recipe

Ingredients:
400 g pork belly

Marinade:
2 pieces ( cubes) red fermented beancurd （南乳）
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 small egg, beaten
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Chinese rose wine （玫瑰露）
1 teaspoon pepper
3-4 tablespoon tapioca flour

Method:
~1) Cut pork belly into stripes (or cut into pieces), season with the marinade, mix well. Leave aside for 1 hour or in the fridge for over night.

~2) Heat up oil in the wok. Deep-fry over medium-high heat until cooked. Dish out. Turn to high heat, deep-fry again the pork belly until golden brown and crispy. Cut and serve.

Spicy, Sweet and Sour Trotter

In my family of five, only my daughter and my youngest son do not eat trotter and fatty meat. So whenever I cook trotter I have to (actually is a must) buy lean meat or the muscle to add into the dish.

As the name of the dish suggests, the trotters are a mixture of sweet, sour and spicy flavours that make it a very appetizing dish that goes well with plain rice. Make sure you cook extra rice for the day. The sourness and spiciness are just right but I find it a bit too sweet for my taste buds. This dish is something different from what I used to cook my pork trotter with dark soy sauce and sweet dark vinegar （猪脚醋）。It is very delicious and unique - I recommend u to give it a try if you like strong tastes.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
~~ 1 pig trotter (cut onto pieces)
~~ 100 g ginger (sliced)
~~ 10 pcs chilli padi
~~ 6 big red chillies
~~ 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
~~ 50 ml Chines rice vinegar (I put 100 ml)
~~ 1 litre water

Seasoning:
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce (I put 1 tbsp)
4 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon chicken stock granule

Method:
~~1) Wash and drain pig trotter.

~~2) Heat up enough oil in the hot work, saute chopped garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add in trotter, stir- fry briskly until the meat changes the colour.

~~3) Add in water, rice vinegar and seasoning, bring to a boil. Put in chilli padi and big red chillies, cover and simmer at low heat for 35-40 minutes until trotters are tender and the gravy has been absorbed by the meat. Dish and serve hot.

Recipe reference: Hawker Secret Recipes (part 1)