BBQ Pork Ribs

So you might be thinking... Recently I've posted up a recipe for BBQ dry spice rub and a homemade BBQ sauce recipe, so what did I use it on ? Well... All to make this.. BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs. :)

You could use spare ribs for this recipe instead. For baby back ribs, the cooking time would be about ~1 1/2 hrs (thats for ribs that are tender and easy to pull apart), if you are using spare ribs then it will be about 2hrs. If you like your ribs to be 'falling apart' then add another 30 mins to the cooking time.

The ribs get the most out of the Dry Spice Rub if they are left to marinate in them for about 8-10 hrs, which mean you need to start the night before and just leave it in the fridge. If its a last minute thing, then try to let it marinate for at least 2hrs.

I don't own a Barbecue, so these ribs were cooked in an oven with a grill setting. If you own a barbecue, then bake the ribs in the oven first, then finish them off on top of the barbecue.

BBQ Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

• 2 baby back rib racks (about 1kg)
• Olive oil
• 3-4 tablespoons BBQ Dry Spice Rub per rack
• 1/2 cup BBQ Marinade Sauce per rack, more for serving.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160C.
2. Prepare the ribs by removing the white membrane underneath the ribs.
3. If you don't already have some ready, make the BBQ Sauce
4. Make the BBQ Dry Spice Rub and sprinkle the rub generously on both sides of the pork rib slab. Make sure all the pork is covered in the spice rub. Leave the ribs to rest in the fridge for at least 2 hrs, best if left overnight.
5. Place pork ribs on a piece of foil and drizzle some olive oil over the ribs.
6. Wrap the seasoned pork ribs in a foil packet. Make sure all sides are sealed.
7. Place the wrapped pork on a baking sheet and into the preheated oven. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. (See notes above for baking times).
8. Remove the pork ribs from the oven, and switch it to the grill setting.
9. Carefully remove the pork ribs from the foil packet and place on your baking sheet.
10. Warm up the BBQ sauce and liberally baste the bottom of your cooked pork ribs. Leaving the bottom side facing up
11. Place your BBQ sauce glazed ribs into the oven and allow it to grill for 5-7 mins or until the BBQ sauce caramelizes.
12. Flip the ribs over and baste the top of the ribs with the BBQ sauce
13. Return the ribs to the oven and let the grill caramelize the BBQ sauce for another 5-7 mins
14. Remove the pork ribs from the oven and allow it to rest before cutting.
15. Baste the pork ribs with more warm BBQ sauce and serve any remaining as a condiment.
16. Divide the rack into quarters (about 3-4 ribs a set) and serve warm.

Chinese Dried BBQ Pork - Bak Kwa

I did it. I made my own Bak Kwa ~~~~~~ !!! Woot !!

When I saw the recipe on pigpigscorner, I knew I had to try it out. The original recipe calls for the meat to be baked in the oven for 20 mins on low and then 15 mins more on high. I found that with 15 mins on high, my Bak Kwa came out a bit more burnt than I would have liked. So I cut it down to 5 mins on each side.

I also used pork neck and minced the meat myself in my Magimix food processor. You can just use pork mince from the butcher. But ask for one that has a higher content of fat. The fatty parts is what makes the Bak Kwa taste so yummy. :)

Chinese Dried BBQ Pork - Bak Kwa

recipe adapted from pigpigscorner.com

• 500g of Pork Neck (minced)

Seasoning:

• 1½ tablespoon Fish Sauce
• 1 tablespoon kecap manis
• 1 tablespoon Cheong Chan Thick Dark Soy Sauce (Thick Caramel Sauce) - Optional
• 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon chinese rice wine
• 1 teaspoon chinese 5 spice powder
• 1 teaspoon oil
• ½ Cup Sugar

To brush on top of meat:

• 1 tablespoon Honey mixed with ¼ cup of hot water

Method:

1. Mince the meat up in a food processor.
2. In a big bowl, add the seasoning to the minced meat.
3. Stir the mixture with a pair of Chopsticks in one direction, until minced meat becomes like glue.
4. Put some of the gluey minced meat on a baking paper. Cover the meat with a big cling wrap or plastic sheet and use a rolling pin to roll the meat to about 2mm thick.
5. Remove the plastic sheet and put the entire baking paper with the minced meat on a baking tray.

Baking:

1. Bake in preheated oven at 120C for 20 minutes.
2. Then increase the temperature to 180C and bake for about 5-7 minutes.
3. Remove the baking tray from the oven and let the meat cool for about 5 minutes.
4. Flip the meat over onto a fresh baking paper, brush with some of the honey water and bake for another 5 minutes at 180C.
5. Cool the bak kwa and cut into pieces (I used a pizza cutter) before storing in air-tight container.

Chinese Braised Pork Belly - Dong Po's Pork - 東坡肉

Ok. I promise this is going to be my last pork belly dish. Its not that I think my waistline can't take it.. (my motto: eat first.. think later)... but I think my flatmates will revolt against me if I continue to cook any more pork belly recipes.

There are many recipes on the web for Dong Po's Pork that calls for the pork belly to be deep fried first, or braised in wine and stock with star anise, cinnamon, fennel seeds and citrus peels. For this attempt, I've tried to stick to a simplier and probably more traditional version, which calls for only soy sauce, Chinese rice wine, spring onions, ginger and block sugar.

The resulting fat wasn't really fat anymore. Well it was still fat.. but all the oil had been rendered out from the hours of braising and steaming. After all the braising and steaming, the fat was so soft, it would just melted in your mouth.

Although the next time I make this... (and I will probably make this again).. I will throw in 1 or 2 star anises. Just to help the flavour along a bit more. :)

Chinese Braised Pork Belly - Dong Po's Pork 東坡肉

• 1kg pork belly
• 100g spring onion (white part only)
• 100g block sugar
• 500ml yellow chinese rice wine (绍酒)
• 50g ginger (smashed)
• 100g light soy
• 20g dark soy

Method:

1. Bring some water to boil in a large pot or wok
2. Remove any coarse hair on the skin with a tweezer then wash the pork well. Blanch the pork in boiling water for 5 mins, then remove from the pot and place on a chopping board or plate to rest. The water can be emptied out.
3. Divide and cut the pork belly into large cubes (about 4cm wide). You should be able to get about 4 large or 6 smaller cubes out of a 1kg piece of pork belly.
4. Tie the pork up with some cooking string. This helps keep the pork cubes in shape and also makes it easier to remove from the claypot afterwards.
   
   

little parcels of pork... humm... :)

1. Place spring onions and ginger at the bottom of a claypot
2. Lay the pork cubes on top of the shallots and ginger, then add sugar, light soy and dark soy
3. Pour in the yellow rice wine last. Just enough to cover the pork
4. Turn the heat up and bring the wine to boil. Then reduce to a low flame and cook for about 3 hrs, until pork is meltingly soft and you can use a chopstick to poke through a piece with minimal effort.

After braising for 3hrs...

1. There should be a significant layer of fat being released from the pork cubes. To remove this, place the claypot with the sauce into the fridge (overnight is Ok if you are serving this the next day) and let sit until the fat layer starts to turn white. When the fat has hardened, use a spoon to skim off the fatty layer.
2. Place the pork, skin side up and put into a baking dish or bowl and cover with cling wrap.
3. Using a wok and some water for a steamer, bring the water to boil, place a steamer rack inside the wok and place the dish of pork belly on top. Steam for about 45mins
4. With the sauce still in the claypot, bring it back to boil and leave it boiling for another 10 mins or so to reduce the sauce and intensify the flavour a bit more.
5. Once the steaming has completed. Take out the pork, cut and remove the cooking string and arrange on a serving plate. Pour some of the fat-removed sauce over the pork cubes and garnish with lots of sliced spring onions and coriander.

Notes:

• 2 cups or 500ml of chinese rice wine does seem like a lot. But you do need enough to cover the pork cubes. Also, the long hours of braising does cook all the alcohol out, and all that is left is a very rich and intense soy-based stock.

Steamed Minced Pork with Shiitake Mushrooms

In Chinese cooking, when Shiitake mushrooms are called for in recipe, it would mean using dried Shiitake and not fresh Shiitake. Dried Shiitake has a much stronger flavour than fresh Shiitake mushrooms. I think if you use fresh Shiitake mushrooms in most Chinese recipes, then the flavour would just be lost amongst the other ingredients. When using dried Shiitake, rinse the mushrooms through some cold water to remove any grit or dirt on the mushrooms, then reconstitute them in some warm water for at least 1 hour. Depending on the number of mushrooms you are soaking, you would probably need to use about 1 cup of water. At least enough to cover all the mushrooms. Always reserve the water used to soak the mushrooms and use it instead of water (if required) for some extra flavour.

This is another one of my grandma's recipes. Like most of her other recipes, this is a dish to have accompanied with a bowl of hot steamed rice. My grandma would use her double choppers to mince up the Pork Neck, but my arms don't have the stamina to wield double choppers to that effect, so I use Petals instead - My red Magimix food processor. Cut the meat into small cubed pieces, then place into the food processor and pulse until it has a consistency of a coarse mince. Try not to over do it, we don't want pork puree here. :)

In most Chinese restaurants, you can get steamed minced pork with salted fish or with salted duck eggs. Think of this dish as a variation of one of those. If I can get my hands on some quality salted fish, I might try that version next time.

Steamed Minced Pork with Shiitake Mushrooms

Original recipe from my Grandma

• 300g of Pork Neck (coarsely minced)
• 6 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (reconstituted in warm water for 1hr - water reserved)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce.
• 1 teaspoon cornflour

Method:

1. Remove and discard the stalks of the reconstituted mushrooms. Slice and dice the mushroom into small pieces (just slightly less than 1cm in width).
2. Take the mince pork and marinate with the oil, soy sauce, salt, sugar, oyster sauce and cornflour.
3. Add in the diced mushrooms and mix well.
4. Slowly add in about 1/4 cup of the reserved mushroom water and continue mixing.
5. You should have a wet mince mixture that is easy to stir, add a bit more water if the mixture seems a bit too dry.
6. Bring some water to boil in a wok and place a steamer rack inside.
7. Scoop the pork mixture into a plate that could could be used to hold some liquid. Spread the pork mixture around evenly. And place the plate into the wok.
8. Steam on medium-high heat for about 20 mins.
9. Serve with some steam rice

Egg Skin Dumpling with Pork and Spring Onions

From all the recipes my grandma has passed to me, these are my absolute favorites. Basically, its like making pan-fried dumplings. Only the meat is wrapped in a thin layer of egg - hence the name 'Egg Skin Dumplings'. To do this, you need a hot pan with quite a bit of oil. Once you place about a chinese soup spoonful of egg into the pan, the egg mixture will bubble up and start to cook. Before it completely cooks, you have to drop in another spoonful of pork and green onion mince into the egg and using a spatula or something similar, fold it in half and wrap the semi-cooked egg around the pork mince. If the egg is completely cooked, then it wont stick to the pork mince. So each step has to be kind of done immediately one after another.

Until I had figured out this process, I've always screwed these up. By the time I managed to scoop up right amount of mince filling to add into the egg, the 'egg skin' would already be over cooked. And so the egg would end up separated from the pork mince. Or I'll ended up burning the egg skin before the pork mince has had a chance to cook properly.

So .. here's how to do it.

The trick is to have the mince proportions 'pre-rolled' into small oval balls - about a soup spoonful - think dumpling size here. And laid out on a plate before you start making the 'egg skin'. Arrange everything around the frying pan so its easily accessible. The beaten eggs in one bowl with a chinese soup spoon and the mince pork with green onions balls on a plate.

Place about 2 tablespoons of oil into the pan, wait till it heats up. Yes.. it is quite a bit of oil, but any less and the eggs will start to stick to the pan.

Get 1 spoon of the egg mixture ready. With one hand, carefully pour 1 spoon of the egg mixture into the pan. As it starts to cook and bubble up, with the other hand, drop in one of the oval shaped balls of pork mince and fold and close up the egg dumpling with the spatula. Place spatula back down on the empty plate (which will be used to collect completed dumplings later), and repeat the process.

Lightly press down on each dumpling as they cook. Turn each Egg dumpling only once. They should only need about 2 mins on each side. After that remove from the pan and place onto the plate. The pork will cook in the later steps.

You should only have a maximum of about 4 egg dumplings cooking in the pan at any time. Over crowding the pan just makes your life harder.

Egg Skin Dumpling with Pork and Spring Onions
Recipe from my grandma - makes about 18 dumplings

For the Pork:

• 250g pork neck (coarsely minced in a food processor)
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 1 cup of green spring onions (finely sliced)
• couple of dashes of sesame oil
• 1/2 cup of water

For the eggs:

• 6 eggs
• pinch of salt
• Additional oil for pan-frying

Method:

1. Prepare the pork mince mixture. Process the pork neck (you can use any part of the pork) and the food processor until its turned into a coarse mince. Try not to over mince it into a pork puree!
2. Season the pork mince with the above ingredients listed, then add in the spring onions. Add in half of the water first and stir to combine the mince and spring onions. Continue to add the remaining water until the pork mince and spring onions are well combined.
3. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat with a fork or pair of chopsticks until the whites and yokes have broken down. Season with a pinch of salt
4. Place the pan on medium-high heat, and add about 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan.
5. Carefully pour in 1 soup spoonful of egg mixture, then add in the 'pre-rolled' pork mixture, then fold and close up the egg skin and cook for 2-3 mins on each side. Press lighly on the dumpling as it cooks to make sure the egg skin sticks to the mince, turning only once.
6. Remove egg dumpling from pan once it has cooked for 2-3 mins on the 2nd side and place on a plate
7. Add more oil to the pan if it starts to dry out. Repeat until either there is no more egg mixture or pork mince.
8. Once you have reached the last dumpling, carefully return the dumplings on the plate back to the pan.
9. Arrange the dumplings to fill up any gaps on the pan.
10. Turn the heat up and pour in the remaining 1/4 cup of water, cover the pan and let the dumplings cook\steam for a further 4-5 mins. This will make sure the pork is cooked properly.
11. Remove the cover and carefully transfer the dumplings to a plate. - Its handy to have good chopstick skills here. Tongs with silicon covers will also work.
12. Serve with some steam rice.
    
    

Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce - Daring Cooks Challenge

The Daring Cooks Challenge for January was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious. The recipe she choose was a Thai-inspired Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day. The focus of the challenge was with marinating the meat. There was a long and short version for marinating, and I choose to do the long version. Here are the guideliness she set for the challenge:

1. Use any meat or tofu you like.
2. Serve satay as an appetizer, side dish or main course.
3. Skewer or no skewer, your call.
4. Pan fry, grill, or broil, also your call.
5. Alternative recipe below for faster marinade.
6. Alternative recipe below for peanut allergies.
7. You don’t have to use turmeric if you don’t have it. In the case of satay, turmeric just makes it yellow. Har har.
8. Marinate (verb) – to steep (to wet thoroughly in or with a liquid; drench; saturate; imbue) in a marinade before cooking.
   The required part of this challenge is to marinate. Marinades serve two purposes, to: 1) add awesome flavor and 2) tenderize tougher meats.

What I like to do is take tougher (cheaper!) cuts of meat and marinate them to make them soft and tender. The tougher the meat, the cheaper it seems to be. Think of it as “what part of the animal gets the most exercise?” and you’ll know which parts are the tough (cheaper!) cuts. Anything from the back and belly tends to be pretty tender already, as it gets very little exercise on the animal (haha… I just patted my own belly thinking about that!).

Meat cuts:
http://www.specialtyfoods.com.au/cuts.html

The key to a great marinade is to have an acid (lemon, lime, brine, soy, vinegar, etc) and an oil (peanut, vegetable, corn, olive, etc). If you’re already working with a soft meat (filet mignon) or vegetable (capsicum) or tofu, then you can skip the oil entirely. Potatoes and tofu still need to be marinated for flavor, otherwise you may as well dip French fries in catsup. If you're going to grill, I suggest you include the oil anyway.

Marinade Info:
http://www.bbqrecipesecrets.com/marinades.html

Things you’ll need for the long version:
Sharp knife
Cutting board
Food processor (optional)
Juicer (optional)
Medium bowl w/ lid or plastic wrap (or ziplock bag)

I used Pork Neck instead of the recommended shoulder or loin cuts. Just because I happen to have about 300g of it left in my freezer. Also I guess fattier pork equals yummier satays.. :)

Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce

Satay Marinade

• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 T ginger root, chopped (optional) (2 cm cubed)
• 2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)
• 1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
• 1 tsp ground coriander (5 mls)
• 1 tsp ground cumin (5 mls)
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric (2-2.5 mls)
• 2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (30 mls)
• 1 pound of pork (loin or shoulder cuts) (16 oz or 450g)

Feeling the need to make it more Thai? Try adding a dragon chili, an extra tablespoon of ginger root, and 1 tablespoon (0.5 oz or 15 mls) of fish sauce. (I keep some premature (still green) dragon chili peppers in the freezer for just such an occasion.)

Directions:

1. Cheater alert: If you have a food processor or blender, dump in everything except the pork and blend until smooth. Lacking a food processor, I prefer to chop my onions, garlic and ginger really fine then mix it all together in a medium to large bowl.
2. Cut pork into 1 inch strips.
3. Cover pork with marinade. You can place the pork into a bowl, cover/seal and chill, or place the whole lot of it into a ziplock bag, seal and chill.
4. Cooking Directions (continued): If using wooden or bamboo skewers, soak your skewers in warm water for at least 20 minutes before preparing skewers.
5. Gently and slowly slide meat strips onto skewers. Discard leftover marinade.*
6. Broil or grill at 290°C/550° F (or pan fry on medium-high) for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to char. Flip and cook another 8-10 minutes.
   
   * If you’re grilling or broiling, you could definitely brush once with extra marinade when you flip the skewers.

Peanut Sauce

• 3/4 cup coconut milk (6 oz or 180 mls)
• 4 Tbsp peanut butter (2 oz or 60 mls) **
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
• 1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin (2.5 mls)
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander (2.5 mls)
• 1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)

** I didn't have any peanut butter, so added in a handful of crushed peanuts instead.

1. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.
2. Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Mix well, stir often.
3. All you’re doing is melting the peanut butter, so make your peanut sauce after you’ve made everything else in your meal, or make ahead of time and reheat.
   

Pepper Dip (optional)

• 4 tablespoon soy sauce (2 oz or 60 mls)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar (5 mls)
• 1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)
• 1 finely chopped green onion (scallion)

Mix well. Serve chilled or room temperature.

Tamarind Dip (optional)

• 4 tablespoon tamarind paste (helpful link below) (2 oz or 60 mls)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 finely chopped green onion (scallion)
• 1 teaspoon brown or white sugar, or to taste (about 5 mls)

Mix well. Serve chilled or room temperature.

Thank you Cuppy for the challenge !

Pork Buns - Momofuku Pork Belly

These are the Pork Buns we made with the Momofuku Pork Belly...

Pork Buns - Momofuku Pork Belly

• Hoisin Sauce
• 1 Cucumber - Cut into 1/8 pieces with the seeds & watery parts removed
• Couple of Sprigs of Spring onion - White to light green parts only, cut into 5cm pieces
• Steam Buns - 'Man Tou' from my local Asian grocery store.
• Momofuku Pork Belly pieces - sliced just over 1cm thick.

Method:

1. Retrieve the pork belly from the fridge and slice into pieces just over 1cm thick.
2. Heat up the pork belly pieces in the oven. (about 160C).
3. While that is heating up, bring a wok with some water to boil and use it as a steamer to cook the Steam buns according to the packet instructions. This should take about 5 mins
4. Slice the steam buns down the middle, and open up the steam buns.
5. Place one piece of pork belly with sliced cucumber and spring onion and about 1 teaspoon (or more) of Hoisin Sauce
6. Close up the bun and consume immediately. :)

There is a recipe for proper steam buns, but I didn't really have the time to do it. Next time..next time I will. :)

Pork Belly - Momofuku

Ok.. I'll admit it. I'm going through a bit of a pork belly phase at the moment. My housemates think that I'm on a vendetta to turn them into the three little piglets.. literally.

After the successful attempt with Ah-Hoc at Home's pork belly confit, I was looking around for something else that not only showed off the pork but also scored high up in the flavor department. Don't get me wrong, the pork belly confit was absolutely amazing. It was pure pork goodness.. :)

But then again, I could only consume 2 pieces of the confit. I really wanted more, but I couldn't do it. I felt like I needed something tangy to help cut into the richness of the pork belly. A bit like how Roast Duck needs plum sauce. After googling for a bit, I found this recipe on Time Out New York from Momofuku. Upon first glance the recipe is a lot simpler than the pork belly confit. I was very surprised that it only used salt and sugar as a dry rub to marinate the pork.

This is the recipe I got from Time Out New York.

We used the pork belly for Pork Buns, but ended up running out of steam buns, so we ended up having the rest with some Chinese egg noodles the next day. I also tried to caramelize it a bit more by sprinkling on a thin layer of sugar before re-heating it back underneath the grill. I will also post up some pictures of the pork buns. :)

Momofuku Pork Belly

As seen on Time Out New York

MAKES ENOUGH PORK FOR 6 TO 8 BOWLS OF RAMEN OR ABOUT 12 PORK BUNS

• 1kg slab skinless pork belly
• 1⁄4 cup kosher salt
• 1⁄4 cup sugar

The best part of this belly, besides the unctuous, fatty meat itself, which we use in two of our most popular dishes at the restaurants—ramen and pork buns—is the layer that settles at the bottom of the pan after you chill it. Most cooks who are familiar with it know it from making duck confit, and they know it’s liquid gold (or jellied gold, if you want to get technical). We label containers of it “pork jelly.” I add it to broths, to taré, to vegetable sautés—anything that would benefit from a hit of meaty flavor and the glossier mouthfeel the gelatin adds.

To harvest it, decant the fat and juices from the pan you cooked the belly in into a

glass measuring cup or other clear container. Let it cool until the fat separates from the meat juices, which will settle to the bottom. Pour or scoop off the fat and reserve it for cooking. Save the juices, which will turn to a ready-to-use meat jelly after a couple of hours in the fridge. The meat jelly will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator or indefinitely in the freezer.

We get pork belly without the skin. If you can only find skin-on belly, don’t fret. If the meat is cold and your knife is sharp, the skin is a cinch to slice off. And you can save it to make the Chicharrón (page 231) we serve as a first bite at Momofuku Ko.

1. Nestle the belly into a roasting pan or other oven-safe vessel that holds it snugly. Mix together the salt and sugar in a small bowl and rub the mix all over the meat; discard any excess salt-and-sugar mixture. Cover the container with plastic wrap and put it into the fridge for at least 6 hours, but no longer than 24.
2. Heat the oven to 220ºC.
3. Discard any liquid that accumulated in the container. Put the belly in the oven, fat side up, and cook for 1 hour, basting it with the rendered fat at the halfway point, until it’s an appetizing golden brown.
4. Turn the oven temperature down to 120ºC and cook for another 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the belly is tender—it shouldn’t be falling apart, but it should have a down pillow–like yield to a firm finger poke. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the belly to a plate. Decant the fat and the meat juices from the pan and reserve (see the headnote). Allow the belly to cool slightly.
5. When it’s cool enough to handle, wrap the belly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and put it in the fridge until it’s thoroughly chilled and firm. (You can skip this step if you’re pressed for time, but the only way to get neat, nice-looking slices is to chill the belly thoroughly before slicing it.)
6. Cut the pork belly into 1⁄2-inch-thick slices that are about 2 inches long. Warm them for serving in a pan over medium heat, just for a minute or two, until they are jiggly soft and heated through. Use at once. pork belly for ramen, pork buns & just about anything else

Pork Belly Confit - Ad-Hoc at Home

My colleague AW at work passed me this recipe from his Ad-Hoc at home book. When I first read it ... I was like.. wtf ?!?! refrigerate in brine for 10hrs... slow cook in lard for 6 hours ... refrigerate in lard for 12 hours.. 1.5kg of lard !!!!!!!

So I went to my local supermarket and filled my shopping basket with 8x 250g blocks of lard (I brought more in case I needed it) and safely made my way back home with all my blocks of lard. And I picked up a 1kg piece of pork belly from my local butcher on the way back. The rest of the herb ingredients I got from my now flourishing herb garden.. :)

This was the way to consume fat. Every single bite would just melt in your mouth. The way the fat and the meat would just melt into each other. It was pure pork goodness.

My house smelled of melting lard for the whole 2 days I spent making this. But upon tasting the first piece.. I didn't care anymore. It was well worth it. :)

Pork Belly Confit
recipe from Ad-Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller

Phase 1 - Preparing the Brine:

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
• 12 bay leaves
• 3 large rosemary sprigs
• 1/2 bunch thyme (about 10 sprigs)
• 1/2 bunch (about 10 stems) flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup garlic cloves (crushed, skin left on)
• 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 1 cup kosher salt, preferably Diamond Crystal
• 8 cups water
  

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and cool completely, then chill before using. The brine can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Ingredients for the Brine

Phase 2 - Cooking the Pork:

• Pork Brine (Cold)
• 1kg slab pork belly with skin
• About 6 cups lard
• Canola Oil
• Gray salt or coarse sea salt
  

Pour the brine into a container large enough to hold the pork belly and add the pork, Refrigerate for 10 hours (no longer, or the pork may become too salty)

Remove the pork belly (discard the brine) and rinse under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels, or let air-dry.

Preheat the oven to 90C.

Choose an ovenproof pot, such as a 12-quart Dutch oven, that is only slightly larger than the pork belly and has a lid; the pot should be just large enough that the pork will be surrounded by the lard. Put the belly in the pot and cover with the lard; the lard should cover the pork by 1/2 to 3/4 inch.

Heat the pot over low heat until the lard registers 88C. Cover, transfer to the oven and cook until the pork is meltingly tender; this will probably take 5.5 to 6 hours, but start checking after 4 hours. As the belly cooks, it will lose fat and shrink; it is best to transfer the meat and fat to a smaller pot, always keeping the belly covered by fat. Remove the pot from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

The belly can simply be refrigerated in its fat, but we prefer to press it to compress the internal layers of connective tissue and force out the excess fat, resulting in a better texture and appearance. To press it, transfer it to a deep baking dish. Pour enough fat into the dish to just cover the belly. Cover with plastic wrap, top with a smaller baking dish and weight it down with a brick or large can. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours; reserve the extra fat.

Once it's been pressed, the pork belly can be refrigerated, covered by fat (add some of the reserved fat if necessary), for up to 1 week.

To serve, remove the pot from the refrigerator and let sit in a warm spot to soften the fat for 2 to 3 hours. Your want to soften the fat enough so you can scrape it from the belly while keeping the belly as cold as possible so it will be easier to slice.

Shot of Pork after scoring the skin

Remove the pork belly from the fat, and wipe off any cooking fat that clings to the meat. Remove the skin and score the fat on the belly in a crosshatch pattern. The belly can be cut into any shape. Slice it or cut it into squares, and let sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before sauteing. (The fat can be reused to confit pork belly several more times as long as it does not taste too salty. Pour it into a pot and heat gently to liquefy, then strain through a find-mesh conical strainer into storage container. Refrigerate for up to 2 months or freeze for up to 6 months.)

Preheat the oven to 175C

Heat some canola oil in a large oven proof frying pan over medium-high heat just until smoking. Put the pieces of belly fat-side-down in the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the excess fat is rendered and the fat side is browned, about 18 minutes; pour off excess fat about halfway through the cooking.

When the pork is browned, transfer the pan to the oven to heat through, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with gray salt, and serve. We used some Murray river pink salt instead.

Yummy yummy pork belly ~~!

Baked Tomato Pork Chop Rice

This first time I tried this was at a "Cha Chaan Teng", which in english can roughly translate to "Hong Kong Cafe" or "Chinese Tea Restaurant". Its basically a small cafe \ restaurant which serves westernised-chinese crossed with street-hawker type cuisine. Therefore, in one of these places, you will be able to order claypot chicken rice \ congee \ instant noodles \ french toast all washed down with a cup of iced Yin-Yong - A combination of Coffee and Milk Tea.

Yin Yong...And don't mock it till you try it. Its addictive stuff I tell you. Its also in one of these cafe restaurants that you can also find the Baked Tomato Pork Chop Rice.

The baked tomato pork chop rice is basically a layer of egg fried rice, topped with some deep fried crumbed pieces of marinated pork chop, then smothered with tomato based sauce, topped with some cheese and then baked in the oven.

Baked Tomato Pork Chop Rice
Based on recipe at galaxylink - Serves 4

For the Fried Rice

• 4 bowls of rice
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oil

For the Pork Chop

• 8 slices of pork chop
• 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon chinese 5 spice mixture
• 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
• ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon chinese wine
• 1 garlic (mashed)
• 1/2 teaspoon cornflour

Crumbling the Pork Chops

• 1/2 cup flour (seasoned with some salt & pepper)
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• oil for deep frying

For the Tomato Sauce:

• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 clove garlic (chopped finely)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 onion (finely diced)
• 1 cup of clear chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (made into a paste with some water)

For the Topping:

• Shredded Chedder cheese

Method:

1. Beat the pork chop the back of a chopper to loosen up the meat.
2. Marinade the pork chops in with oil, salt, sugar, pepper, 5 spice, wine and garlic for half an hour.
3. Dredge the pork chops a piece at a time, first in flour, then in the beaten egg and finally in the bread crumbs. Set aside in the fridge until ready for deep frying.
4. Preheat oven to 200C.
5. Heat oil in wok till hot. Add the eggs and scramble the eggs until its just cooked, remove and set aside. Add cooked rice and stir fry over high heat. Add salt and soy sauce, then add the scrambled eggs back in and mix in with the rice. Put the fried rice on a large oven proof dish and set aside.
6. In a saucepan saute the garlic and the onions in oil until it turns transparent.
7. Add in the chicken broth, then the canned tomatoes. Bring the sauce to a boil
8. Add tomato ketchup, salt, pepper and worcestershire sauce.
9. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. While the sauce is reducing, heat the oil for deep frying.
10. Deep fry the pork chops in medium high heat till slightly golden brown and set aside on some paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
11. Place the fried pork chop on top of the rice in a single layer. Thicken the tomato sauce with the cornstarch mixture. Pour the sauce evenly over the pork chop and sprinkle a handful of cheese over the top.
12. Bake in the over for 5 minutes or till the sauce is slightly brown on top.
13. Serve immedately - preferably with a cup of iced Yin Yong :)
    

Tips on Crumbing:

• Before you start crumbing, arrange the ingredients in a production line, in the order you'll be using them. ie. A large plate of flour seasoned with salt and pepper -> lightly beaten eggs into a bowl -> breadcrumbs on a separate large plate.
• Try to keep one hand as the 'dry hand' handling the flour and breadcrumb plates and the other 'wet hand' for handling the marinated pork chops and the egg dredging part. This avoids your fingers to be crumbed as well :)
• Once the pork chop pieces have been crumbed, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to rest before frying. This will help the crumb coating stick to the meat during cooking.
  

Grilled Lemongrass Pork - Rice Paper Rolls

This is a recipe I found online for making Vietnamese-Style Grilled Lemongrass Pork.

We used this lemongrass pork as the main ingredient for making Vietnamese rice paper rolls. Along with some nuoc cham dipping sauce, these were perfect on a warm summer night.

For the rice paper rolls (you can use a combination of any of the items listed):

• Mint leaves
• Coriander
• Basil
• Rice noodles (soaked for 2 mins in warm water, then pan fried)
• Cucumber (finely sliced)
• Bean sprouts
• Lettuce
• Rice paper spring roll sheets

Vietnamese-Style Grilled Lemongrass Pork
recipe adapted from Viet World Kitchen

For the Lemongrass Pork:

• 400g pork neck (sliced into 1/2" thick pieces)

Marinade:

• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped shallot
• 1 stalk lemongrass (trimmed and finely chopped)
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 3 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 bird's eye chilli (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon seasame oil

Pork in Marinade

1. Slice the pork neck into pieces about 1/2" thick. Set aside.
2. Put the sugar, garlic, shallot and lemongrass into food processor and blend into a fine texture.
3. Pour out the mixture into a bowl. Add in the finely chopped up chilli, white pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, and oils and mixed to combine well.
4. Add the pork, and turn to coat well.
5. Cover and set aside at room temperature to marinate for 1 hour. Or refrigerate up to 24 hours, letting the meat sit out at room temperature for 45 minutes to remove some of the chill before grilling.
6. Preheat a grill pan to medium-high. Grill each piece for a couple of minutes, until cooked through. Transfer to a plate and serve with the other rice paper roll ingredients.
   
   

Making a rice paper roll

The end product... Yummy!

Notes:

• You can substitute about 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder for the lemongrass instead.

• When using the rice paper sheets, dip them in a bowl of cold water for about 2 seconds, then lay flat on a clean plate. The rice paper will become soft as it absorbs the water.

Chinese Congee

This is a recipe for Chinese Congee. Or what is sometimes referred to as chinese porridge. Its actually quite similar to my grandma's recipe. Only without the vast amount of innards she usually adds in. Not that it doesn't taste nice, its just I'm not 100% sure how to clean\prepare the innards....yet. A good bowl of congee should have the rice completely integrated, you shouldn't be able to see individual rice grains. This requires the rice to be washed, drained then mixed in with a teaspoon of cooking oil and set aside for at least an hour before cooking.

After the base congee is made, you can add different ingredients. Pork with century eggs is a traditional combination. Other well known types of chinese congee are:

• Chicken with Abalone
• Fish Pieces (fresh) with Peanuts
• Chicken and Mushroom
• Pork with dried scallops and wind-dried oysters

Here is my take on congee with century eggs and mince pork balls.

Century Eggs with Mince Pork Balls Congee
Original recipe from my grandma

Base Congee
Wash the rice, mix in the cooking oil then set a side:

• 2 cups of Rice (washed through until water runs clear)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of cooking oil
• 8 cups of water (bring to boil in a large pot)

Mince Pork Balls
Marinate the following together:

• 250g mince pork
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• green spring onions (finely sliced)
• couple of dashes of sesame oil

When Congee is nearly ready add in...

• Mince pork balls (see above)
• 2 Century old eggs (roughly diced)
• 2 salted duck eggs (yoke roughly diced)

Toppings
Serve with...

• fried glutin
• soy sauce
• spring onions
• coriander

Chinese Roast Pork

I always wondered how they would make all those different types of meat hanging in the windowsill of a Chinese BBQ shop. My favorite is the roast pork belly. That crispy salted crackling.... humm.. I could munch on those for a whole day and not get bored of it. I always though making it at home would really be out of the question. The type of marinade and the ovens these meats are cook in aren't something found in a small apartment kitchen. The last time I was chatting to my second auntie over the phone, she was preparing dinner, and just happen to be putting a piece of pork belly into oven as we were talking. She happily taught me how to reproduce a homemade version of the roasted pork belly.

The secret she said was to invert the pork overnight in the fridge, and to season it well with a mixed spice, known as 'salted baked chicken powder'. Thats the closest I can translate it to.

The 'inverted' method was somewhat weird.. I did a quick search on google, but didn't find any other recipes which used her method. A lot of recipes I did find called for '5 spice powder'.. but hey.. if my fav auntie says 'salted baked chicken powder'... then chicken powder it is. :)

Chinese Roast Pork
Recipe from my Aunt

• 3 teaspoons salted baked chicken powder (available at Asian grocery stores)
• ~400g piece pork belly (sliced lengthwise about 1 1/2 inch thick in width)
• freshly grounded salt

Dry the pork skin as much as possible. Place the pork onto a shallow baking tray, rub the skin with the salted baked chicken powder and massage the powder into the meat also. Grind a light cover of salt over the skin. Invert the pork upside down on the baking tray and let it sit in the fridge overnight.

Heat the oven to 220C.

Place the pork belly on a roasting rack with the baking tray underneath to catch all the drippings into the oven for about 10 mins. After 10 mins, you should see the skin bubble and turn crispy, turn the heat down to about 180C. Continue to roast for another 15-20 mins. Because the pork belly was sliced into 1 1/2 inch length pieces (for me this meant, slicing it in half lengthwise), the total cooking time required was a bit less.

Remove pork from the oven, and let it rest for about 5 mins. After it has rested, you can cut up the pork into serving\bite size pieces. Just like what they do in the BBQ shops. I found that cutting up the pork was easier with the crackling skin side down on my chopping board. Oh.. and the chicken powder thing does make the pork really tasty.. and the crackling was finger-licking good :)

Pork Braised in Milk

Ok.. I must admit when I first read this post .. I thought.. 'Pork braised in Milk.. really ?!'

Interesting concept... But I wasn't really sure how it would turn out. I always have a bit of pork neck in my fridge though (courtesy of my local Asian butcher), so I gave this milk braising recipe a try. The result ? Well.. It doesn't really look pretty, but just as ChubbyHubby put it.. the pork turned out to be 'Tender & Soft'. Actually it was really tender, and the streaks of fat throughout the piece of pork neck was really tasty.

Pork Braised in Milk
Recipe adapted from ChubbyHubby ~ Pigfest

Marinate, then wrap the pork in glad wrap and refrigerate overnight:

• 700g Pork Neck
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon thyme seeds (crushed)
• 3 stalks fresh sage (leaves roughly chopped)
• Salt & Pepper

Drizzle the pork with some olive oil, then on a medium-hot pan, brown all sides of the pork, then set aside.

In a dutch oven, bring the following to boil then reduce down to a simmer:

• 1 1/2 cup full cream milk
• 4 lemon rind peels
• 1/2 stick cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 140C, then place the pork into the dutch oven with the milk mixture. Place the contents in the oven with the lid on for about 40 mins. After that, turn the piece of pork over and let it continue to braise for another 30 mins with the lid off.

Pork should be cooked nice and pink when the center of the meat reaches about 140C. (I used a meat thermometer to test this). After the 30 mins, take the pork out of the dutch oven, and let rest on a plate for about 5-7 mins before slicing up the pork.

Place the dutch oven on top of the stove, and bring the remaining braising liquid to boil to reduce down to a sauce. The sauce would be rather lumpy at this point in time, as the milk has curdled together. Although it doesn't look aesthetically pleasing... the sauce is really flavorful. You can always pour the reduced sauce into a blender, and blend it until its smooth. ChubbyHubby recommends this, but I've never really been bothered for the couple of times I've made this recipe. Serve the sliced pork with the heated sauce spooned over it.

Not pretty.. but it sure is tasty ! Or maybe its just my phototaking skills.... :(