Stir-fried Green Mango with Pork Belly

 

Ingredients:

2 Green Mangoes

400 gram Pork Belly

4 Star Anise

5 Garlic Cloves, chopped

2 large cubes Rock Sugar

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Wine

4 tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Direction:

1. Peel the mangoes; cut them into thin slices. Cut the pork belly into thin slices.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine pork belly, vegetable oil, garlic, soy sauce, and cooking wine together. Mix well. Leave it for about 20 minutes.

3. Heat up about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over high heat. Add rock sugar and and star anises. Fry until fragrant and the rock sugar is half dissolved.

4. Add pork belly. Stir fry over high heat until the pork belly change colour. Add mangoes; continue to stir fry until the pork belly is thoroughly cooked and the mangoes heat through. Serve with steamed rice.

Stir-fried Chinese Bitter Melon and Ribs 涼瓜炒排骨

When I was a kid, I didn't like bitter melon a bit. I thought it is too bitter for my taste. As I grew older, I started to enjoy this slightly bitter after taste. And I learned that bitter melon is actually very healthy. Just like any dark green vegetables, it contains a lot of vitamins. Though, you still don't want it to be too bitter. One of the trick is boiling it for 10 minutes and add some sugar while stir-frying it. Hope you enjoy this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Bitter Melons

300 grams Spare Ribs, cut into small pieces

3 tablespoons Chinese Preserved Black Beans

1 Head Garlic

1/2 teaspoon Salt

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1 tablespoon Sugar

1 teaspoon Cornstarch

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil, (more for stir-frying)

DIRECTION: 

1. Rinse the preserved black beans; peel garlic. Chop them until they are fine.

2. In a mixing bowl, add chopped garlic, chopped black beans, spare ribs, and salt; mix well. Leave it to marinate for about 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cut the bitter melons lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Cut the melon into about 1 cm slices.

4. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add bitter melons. Boil them until they are cooked, about 10 minutes. Drain well. Run the bitter melon under running water to stop the cooking process; drain again.

5. Heat up about 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil over high heat. Add the ribs and stir fry until they are nearly cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.

6. Drizzle cooking wine; add sugar.

7. Add the cooked melon. Continuously stir-fry until the melons heat through.

8. Sprinkle over the cornstarch; stir until the sauce is thicken. Turn off the heat. Serve it with steamed rice.

Mao Melon with Pork and Shiitake 冬菇毛瓜釀豬肉

It is a dish that is very easy to make but looks very impressive. My mom likes to make it when we have guest to come over. You can substitute the shiitake with shrimp or dried tangerine peel. Both are very delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Mao Melon

200 gram Minced Pork

5 Shiitake Mushrooms

MARINADE:

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese Rice Wine

1 tablespoon Sugar

1/3 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

SAUCE:

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Water + 1/2 teaspoon Cornstarch

DIRECTION:

1. Submerge the shiitake mushrooms in the water until they are soften; cut the mushrooms into dices. Preserve the water.

2. Peel the mao melon, cut it into rounds. Each about 2 cm into height. Spoon out the seeds in the middle. Set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine minced pork, diced mushrooms, and the marinade. Mix well. Divide the pork into equal portions, and fill them into each of Mao melon.

4. Place all the Mao melon carefully into a wok. Fill the wok with water that is half way up the Mao melon. Add say sauce, sugar, and the preserved shiitake soaking water. Put the lid on. Cook the Mao melon over high heat for 15 minutes. Transfer the melon to the serving plate. Preserve the sauce.

5. Mix the cornstarch with two tablespoons of the water. Stir the mixture into the preserved sauce in the wok. Cook it over high heat until the sauce is thicken. Pour it over the melon. Serve the dish with steamed rice.

  

Stir-fried Minced Pork with Chinese Chives 韭菜蒼蠅頭

INGREDIENTS:

1 bundle Chinese Chives

300 gram Minced Pork

1 handful Preserved Black Beans

3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1/4 teaspoon Salt

MARINADE:

4 tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon Cornstarch

1/3 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

DIRECTION:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine minced pork and the marinade; mix well. Leave it for 15 minutes.

2. Cut the Chinese chives into 1 cm bites. Set aside.

3. Heat up the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add pork. Fry until the pork changes colour. Break the pork apart so that it doesn't become a big crumbs. 

4. Turn the heat to high. Add Chinese chives and continue to fry. Add salt. Fry until the chives starts to wilt and it is done. Serve it with steamed rice.

Steamed Squid Oatmeal Patty | 魷魚麥皮蒸肉餅

INGREDIENTS:

1 pc Squid, dried

300 gram Ground Pork

1/4 cup Whole Oat

SEASONING:

1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

2 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Sugar

small pinch of White Pepper, ground

small pinch of Salt

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

材料：

1 塊  魷魚，乾曬

300 克  豬胶肉

1/4 杯  全粒燕麥

調味：

1 湯匙  米酒

2 湯匙  豉油

1 湯匙  糖

少撮  白胡椒粉

少撮鹽

1 湯匙  菜油

DIRECTION:

1. Soak the dried squid in water until soften; about 2-3 hours.  Dice the squid.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine ground pork, oat, diced squid, and the seasoning ingredients.  Mix everything by hand until the mixture becomes smooth and slightly sticky.

3. Add the meat mixing in a shallow dish and flatten it into about 2 cm patty.  Cover it with foil.  Place it in a pre-heated steamer; steam over high heat for about 20 minutes.  Serve when it is hot.

做法：

1. 魷魚乾用水浸軟；若2-3小時。切粒。

2. 在一只碗內，加入豬胶肉、燕麥、魷魚、和調味料；用手拌勻直至豬肉變得黏稠。

3. 把肉倒入蒸碟內，用手舖平成2厘米厚的肉餅。用錫紙蓋好碟，放入已預熱的蒸爐內，用大火蒸20分鐘。趁熱享用。

Pine Tip Rub Pork Belly 松尖豬腩肉

Pine tip is a very good seasoning; it has the mix of citrus and gin flavour that goes well with pork and fish. Prior to the picking, you will want to do a little taste test around different trees, looking for one that produces the great citrus flavour. I had some great pine tips before, but I also had some were equally bad. Just try a few different trees to do a comparison. My son and I enjoy nippling the trees while taking a walk. He always knows the pine tips is a source of vitamin C and he is so proud of himself for eating them. Personally, I like the tips are still with the brown casings, just because they look the freshest to me. But it is totally fine if they are without the case too. 

Pine tips in their casing.

INGREDIENTS:

20 Pine Tips

1 pc Pork Belly, cut into chunks

4 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1/3 teaspoon Salt

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Honey (for serving)

DIRECTION:

1. Remove the brown casings from the pine tips. Chop the pine tips until fine.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except the oil. Rub the pork bell until it is well coated with the seasoning; marinade it for 30 minutes.

3. Heat up the oil in a skillet. Place the pork belly on top; fry it until golden brown over medium heat; about 10 minutes.

4. Turn the pork over, and fry the other side for another 10 minutes. Transfer the pork on a serving plate. Brush a think layer of honey on top before serve.

Stir fried Preserved Meat with Celtuce Stem 臘肉炒萵筍

Celtuce stem taste crunch and sweet. It is good to pair with preserved meat, or simply stir-fry it with garlic and chilli.

Ingredients:

2 Celtuce Stems

1 pair Chinese Red Preserve Sausage

1 pair Chinese Black Preserved Sausage

1 block Preserved Pork Belly

2 tablespoon Rice Wine

1 tablespoon Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Salt

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Direction:

The look of celtuce stem

1. Peel off the hard skin of the celtuce stems.

2. Cut it into 1 cm pieces diagonally. 

3. Cut the preserved meat into 1/2 cm pieces diagonally.

4. Heat up the vegetable oil over high heat.  Add the meat and celtuce stem. Stir fry until the meat is sizzling, about 8-10 minutes.

5. Drizzle the rice wine. Add sugar and salt. Continue to stir fry until the celtuce stem becomes half soften; about another 5-8 minutes.

6. Transfer it to a serving plate.

Steamed Pork Neck with Preserved Mustard on Tofu | 梅菜蒸豬頸肉豆腐

Other than pig feet, pork neck is my favourite. It has enough chew on yet is tender and juicy. It is the best part of a pig, if you ask me.

In this dish, the tofu on the bottom will absorb the sweet and savoury marinade and form its own seasoning. Which makes the tofu tastes irresistible as the pork atop. One thing to note is that the preserved mustard green is always very sandy and salty, so soaking it in water for twenty minutes is necessary, to get rid of the sand between leaves and the overly saltiness.

I hope you will enjoy this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 block Soft Tofu, drained

2 stalks Preserved Mustard Green

200 gram Pork Neck

MARINADE:

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1 tablespoon Sugar

1 tablespoon Ground White Pepper

DIRECTION:

1. Soak the preserved mustard green in cold water for 20 minutes. Rinse off the sand and squeeze out the water. Cut it into small pieces.

2. Slice the pork neck into 1/2 cm pieces.

3. In a mixing bowl, add pork neck, mustard green, and the marinade; mix well and leave it marinate for about 20 minutes.

4. In a plate, lay the tofu. Top it with the pork neck mixture.  Cover the plate with a piece of foil. Steam it in a pre-heated steamer for about 20 minutes over high heat. Serve it with steamed rice. 

Miso Butter Spaghetti

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lbs Ground Pork

1/2 Napa Cabbage, cut into bite size

5 Garlic Cloves, minced

2 tablespoon White Miso

1/4 cup Butter

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

2 tablespoon Mirin

1/3 teaspoon Salt

1/2 pack of Spaghetti

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

DIRECTION:

1. Set a large pot of water to a boil.  Add a heap spoon of salt.  Add spaghetti and cook it according to the package.  Drain well and set aside.

2. Heat up vegetable oil over high heat.  Add garlic; sauce until fragrant.

3. Add pork and continue to cook until it turns colour.  Drizzle in the cooking wine and let it to evaporate.

4. Add miring, miso, butter and salt; stir well.  Add Napa and turn off the heat.  Use the remaining heat to cook the Napa until it get slightly soften.

5. Pour the spaghetti into the pork mixture.  Using a tong, gently mix until it is even.  Serve immediately.

Mapo Dofu (Tofu) 麻婆豆腐

INGREDIENTS:

2 blocks Tofu

1.5 lbs Ground Pork

3 heap tablespoons Soy Bean Paste

4 tablespoons Water

2/3 teaspoon Salt

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon Corn Starch

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Green Onion (if prefer)

DIRECTION:

Pork Ribs in Fresh Tomato Sauce 洋蔥蕃茄炒豬腓骨

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tomatoes, cut into wedges

1 Onion, peeled and sliced

10 pcs Pork Ribs, about 2-3 inches long

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon Cornstarch

MARINADE:

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1/2 teaspoon White pepper Powder

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1 teaspoon Sugar

1/3 teaspoon Salt

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

DIRECTION:

1. Rinse the ribs; pat dry.  Mix them with the marinade and leave them for 30 minutes.

2. In a large pan, heat up oil over high heat.  Add the ribs and stir fry until they are half cooked; about 10 minutes.

3. Drizzle over the cooking wine.  Then, add tomatoes and onion.  Continuously stir fry until the pork is cooked through and the tomatoes become soft; about 5 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with a few spoons of the tomato sauce in the pot; stir well.  Slowly stir the cornstarch mixture into the pot.  When the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat and transfer the pork onto the serving plate.  Serve it with steamed rice.

Stir fried Okra and Pork Belly and Sweet Choi Sum Preserved

Pork belly is one of our favourite that we enjoy in any form of cooking.  This simple home dish is combined with vegetable and meat, and is greatly flavoured with the preserved choi sum and pork belly.  You can look for the preserved choi sum in Chinese supermarket and it is usually in the pickle and preserves section.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Pork Belly, sliced into 1/2 cm pieces

20 Okra, cut in half diagonally

1 Sweet Preserved Choi Sum

1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine

1 tablespoon Soy Sauce

1/3 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Sugar

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

DIRECTION:

1. Before cooking, rinse the preserved choi sum under running water to get rid of the sand and sugar.  Then soak it in water for about 20 minutes.  Rinse it carefully again to get rid of the hidden sand.  Roughly cut it into big pieces.

2. Heat up vegetable oil in a pan over high heat.  Add pork belly pieces; stir fry until they turn colour, about 3-5 minutes.  Drizzle cooking wine and allow it to evaporate.

3. Add okra, preserved choi sum, and the rest of the seasoning.  Stir fry for another 5 minutes or until the okra is heated through.  Transfer it to a serving plate.  Serve it with steamed rice.

Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and Sausage

Although spaghetti squash has the word "spaghetti" in its name, its texture is nothing spaghetti like.  Instead, the texture is rather like grated carrot.  The first time when I cooked it, I was so hoping it would taste like spaghetti in someway.  However, neither the texture or flavour.  I was quite disappointed.

Years later when I tried this squash again, I told myself to consider it as a squash and it will certainly taste like one.  Then, I focused on the roasting part to make it rather crunchy and not something called "al dente".  The flavour starts to make sense in this delicate squash. I hope this experience will give you some inspiration to create your own healthy plate of spaghetti squash.

The longer the squash is roasted, the softer the texture will become.  My family and I like it more crunchy so I roast the squash for 20 to 25 minutes.

The seeds in the squash are edible.  I generally like to roast them along with the squash and then add them back to the dish.  It may sound unusual for some, but I like the extra crunch and nutty flavour they bring.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Spaghetti Squash

5 Italian Sausages, cut into bite size

10 White Button Mushrooms, slices

1 sprig Sage, fresh

1/2 head Garlic, peeled and chopped finely

1.5 cups Milk

2 tablespoon All Purpose Flour

Black Pepper and Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400F.  Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.  Scoop out the seeds.  Sprinkle the squash with salt.  Place them on a roasting pan with cut side up.  Roast them until the tops start to turn golden brown; about 25 minutes.  If you are using the seeds, wash the seeds and place them on the roasting pan around the squash when roasting.

2. Once the squash is ready and cool enough to handle, with a fork, remove the strands of squash from the skin.  Set aside.

3. To cook the sauce, heat up about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and sage; fry until fragrant.  Add sausages; continuously fry until they are nearly cooked.

4. Add mushrooms and fry for a couple of minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium.  Dust the flour evenly over the pan.  Slowly add in the milk; stirring constantly.  The mushrooms will release water, so the sauce will initially look thin.  Continue to cook until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. Season with salt to taste.  Remove the sauce from the heat.

5. Ladle some sauce over the spaghetti squash and serve.  

Crunchy Preserved Radish and Pork Belly Stir-fry | 菜脯炒豬肉

Preserved radish and pork belly stir fry is absolutely on the very top of my favourite dishes.  My dad knew how much I craved for it so he would cook it all the time.  To balance the saltiness from the preserved radish, my dad would add lots of sugar.  Mom joked with him saying that his best dishes were all composed of sugar and syrup.  Honestly speaking, the generous amount of sugar my dad put in really does the magic to the dish.  It helps thicken the sauce, balance the salt, and flavour the pork.  Our whole family just loves it the way it is.

Back in Hong Kong, we could easily find preserved radish, diced or whole.  However, where we live now, most often we can only find shredded or diced and they don't taste good.  After I tried them a few times, I just gave up and stopped buying them.  Soon, I forgot this dish that reminds me of my childhood..

Until last month when we visited a very old shop in Chinatown.  To our surprise, we found these whole preserved radish.  My husband and I were laughing with joy.

After nearly two years, I finally found some good quality preserved radish to cook this dish again.

 I actually called my dad and asked him for the recipe again so that I can duplicate the flavour.

Crunchy Preserved Radish and Pork Belly Stir-fry

菜脯炒豬肉

INGREDIENTS:

500 gram Pork Belly

4-5 pcs Preserved Radishes, whole

10 tablespoons Sugar

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

4 tablespoons Water

材料：

500 克  豬腩肉

4-5 條  菜脯，全條

10 湯匙  糖

2 湯匙  菜油

4 湯匙  水

DIRECTION 做法：

1. Rinse and pat dry the preserved radishes; cut them into small pieces.  Set aside.

1. 菜脯洗淨抹乾；切成小粒。備用。

2. Cut the pork belly into about 1cm thick pieces.

2. 腩肉切成 1cm 厚塊。

3. Heat up vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add pork belly and stir fry until it turns colour; about 3 minutes.

3. 用中火燒熱菜油。下腩肉；炒其至變色，若3分鐘。

4. Turn the heat to high.  Add preserved radish and continue to stir fry until the radish is fragrant and the pork belly is thoroughly cooked.

4. 把火調至最高。下菜脯，繼續炒至菜脯香氣四溢和腩肉全熟；若5-8分鐘。

If it is too dry, add 3-4 tablespoons of water.

若太乾，可加入3-4湯匙水。

5. Add sugar.  Stir it constantly until the sugar is totally melted and the sauce thickens.  Remove the pan from the heat.

5. 下糖；繼續炒至糖全熔掉和汁變稠。離火。

Enjoy!

Pan fried T-bone Pork Chop with Seasonal Peach | 香煎T骨豬扒配時令蜜桃

Last week we went to visit an orchard to pick fresh peaches with our friend.  The kids were so excited when they saw the round and plump peaches on the branches.  They were running under the trees, trying to look for a big peach to savour.  My friend and I also went through the branches, looking for the peaches were big but not too ripe.  

Perhaps it might not be the season, many of the peaches were still rather small and tough.  Though we had a great time hanging out at the orchard.

Pan fried T-bone Pork Chop with Seasonal Peach

香煎T骨豬扒配時令蜜桃

INGREDIENTS:

2 pcs T-bone Pork Chops (about 1/2 inch)

2 Peaches

1/4 Green Lettuce

1 cup Sweet Pea

Vegetable Oil

Salt and Black Pepper

材料：

2 塊  T骨豬扒 (若半吋厚)

2 個  桃

1/4 棵  生菜

1 杯  甜豆

菜油

鹽和黑椒

MARINADE:

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Sugar

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1/3 teaspoon White Pepper, ground

醃料：

3 湯匙  豉油

1 湯匙  糖

2 湯匙  米酒

1/3 茶匙  白胡椒粉

DIRECTION 做法:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the pork chops and marinade together.  With hand, gently coat the meat with the marinade.  Cover, leave the pork chop in the fridge over night.

1. 在一只碗內，加入豬扒和醃料。用手把其拌勻，用保鮮紙包好；放入雪櫃一晚待用。

2. Cut the peach along the line with a knife.  Twist gently to split open the peach.  Remove the pit, and cut the peach into wedges.  Set them aside.

2. 用刀沿線切開桃，捻開兩邊。取出核，把核肉切片。

3. Heat up 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan over high heat.  Place the pork chop in the pan and fry them until slightly brown; about 6-8 minutes.

3. 在易潔鍋內下兩湯匙菜油，用大火燒熱。下豬扒煎至金黃，若6-8分鐘。

4. Flip them over, and fry for another 6-8 minutes.  When they are done, transfer them onto a plate.  Cover and set aside.

4. 豬扒翻面，再多煎6-8分鐘。起鍋，用錫紙包好保暖。

5. In the same pan (without cleaning), add the sweet peas.  Stir fry them until half cooked; about 3 minutes.

5. 在同一只鍋內直接下甜豆，炒至半熟；若3分鐘。

6. Add peach slices.  Sprinkle with some black pepper and salt to taste.  Continue to cook them over high heat until the sweet peas are cooked and the peaches are slightly soft; about 2 minutes.  Remove them from the heat.

7. To serve, place the pork chops on top of the green lettuce.  Then, spoon the sweet peas and peach around the pork chops.

6. 下桃、黑椒和鹽。繼續炒至甜豆熟透和桃熱透；若2分鐘。離火。

7. 在碟上舖上菜葉，放上豬扒，再把桃和甜豆淋上面。