Chinese Barbeque Pork: Char Siew

I think I'm begining to turn into a real snob. If I know I can make a particular dish I would rather cook it than order it when I'm at a restaurant. Now tell me I'm not a snob??? :)

So I made Char Siew the other day and Ed made a passing remark of how surprised he was that I would make it since he didn't think I liked it! Ok.....it's not that I don't like it, I just don't like to order it that often when it's such an easy dish to make! Pretty much marinate the meat, and grill it to perfection! hehehe...easy enough right?? ;) And oh yah, slice it before serving!

Recipe
Ingredients
-Boneless Skinless Pork Hock, washed and patted dried
-Char Siew sauce, any brand but I use Lee Kum Kee (just use to it and easy to find)
-Sugar, preferably brown sugar
-Light Soy Sauce

Method
-Mix all the seasoning in a bowl, test taste it to your liking and then add in the pork.
-Marinate it overnight or longer in the fridge.
-When ready to cook, take the pork from fridge to bring it to room temp and preheat oven to 425F.
-Wrap the pork loosely in aluminium foil and stick it into the preheated oven for 1-1.5hrs (depend on the size of the pork though). The idea is to cook the meat through at this point.
-Then open up the foil to expose the pork to the oven heat and reduce the oven temp to 375F.
-Basting the meat at a 20mins interval till pork is completely cooked through and slightly tender to touch.
-When meat is slightly darkened or reddened (that LKK brand tends to give the meat a slight reddish color, probably due to it's coloring agent) then it's ready to be served.
-Before slicing, cover the pork in foil and wait for juices to "seal" before slicing or the moistness of the pork would just flow out if cut immediately out from oven!


Note: The method above is based on personal experimentations and experiences and all approximate. The pork hock used is roughly around 2lbs, more or less. Amount of seasoning is dependent on individual taste. Enjoy your BBQ pork...;)

Assam Pedas Pork

This is a family recipe for Assam (tamarind) Pedas Pork. Of course, I've trimmed out excess "calories" to make it a little more healthful...you know...for those who don't relish the thought of biting into a huge chunk of heart clogging piece of meat. The original recipe calls for pig trotters and I've replaced it with skinless pork hock (with this pic, I only "de-skinned" the parts that I could). The best part of this dish is that it can be "spiciless" till the end when you finish the dish with some green chillis! See, I've a little boy who's still not a chilli veteran. The chillis are added at the end coz it cooks real fast. I didn't have any green chillis (or jalepenos) at hand, so I used some Holland reds, but they didn't taste like the real thing or gave much kick, so I went and added some Thai chilli padi for some kick. But the fragrance that those green chillis gave was lacking...oh well...next time (when the moon's blue AGAIN!)

This dish is more like a stew and the gravy is thickened and reduced throughout the whole cooking process. The end result is a very succulent pork infused with all the flavors of the various ingredients. It sounds like a very heavy dish but it's not, it's light on the palate and also an appetite enhancer. Goes very well with white rice and some other small pickled side dishes, namely Achar. It also doesn't take a lot of work to prepare except for the pork, but can always get the butcher to do the "dirty" work. Thank heavens for Henckel knives!! ;)

And since this is a family recipe...I would keep it as such...;) All I can say is that it has tamarind in it with some other unexpected ingredients.....hehehe... Of course, as a stew, since pork trotters or pork hock (in this case), it takes some time to get the pork all tender yet not breaking apart into dry pieces when picked. This is a rather traditional Peranakan dish and like all Peranakan dishes, each family has their "secret" ingredient in addition to the general one that they give, never divulging that secret to anyone...LOL..except within the family.

Herbal Chicken

Eversince I tasted Dong Quai stir-fried Chinese Mustard Greens I'd always thought about creating simple day to day dishes that incooperate Chinese Herbs. That dish was simply exquisite; it was light, refreshing and so delicate tasting. I'd always thought that chinese herbs are only used for long period cooking such as soups or as sweet tonics, not with everyday dishes. So this really open up my mind to other possibilities.

However, all said, I'm never THAT adventurous to try various herbs in regular dishes. This dish is something I created based on a loosely interpreted recipe from my grams and something that is already commercially available, Emperor's Herbal Chicken package (although you can always get your own herbs instead of the pre-packaged ones). I didn't use Dong Quai here, for obvious reasons, it was just too "heaty" for summer consumption. I guess I'll just call this Herbal Chicken then...;)I made it AS a chicken dish so that the whole family can consume.

Recipe
Ingredients
-1/2 chicken (whole preferred but it was just too big for famiy of three)
-Wolfberries, a handful
-Dong Quai, 2 thin slices (usually comes pre-cut if you buy the sliced ones)
-Dang Shen, 2 pieces
-Scallions/Spring Onions, 2-3 stalks
-Ginger, 4-5 thin slices
-Seasame Oil, 2-3 tsp
-Benedictine Dom (herbal liquer) or ShaoXing wine, 2-3tsp
-Soy Sauce, 2 tsp
-Honey, 2-3 TBS
-Dash of sea salt

Method
-Rinse chicken and pat dry.
-Cut spring onions into batons, thinly slice ginger and set aside.
-Rinse all the herbs and set aside. If using Dong Quai and Dong Shen, blanch them quickly in boiing water first. (This will release their fragrance faster and also speed in the cooking process later)
-Then mix sesame oil, Benedictine Dom, soy sauce, honey and sea salt together and rub it on the chicken.
-Put the chicken and its marinade on a heat proof dish (ready for steaming).
-Place the ginger slices inside the chicken cavity or (in this case) under the half chicken.
-Place the herbs and the spring onions in the dish.
-Steam the chicken at medium heat for about 45mins-1hr.
-Ready to serve.

Note: I didn't add Dong Quai and Dang Shen coz I think they might be a little too "warm" for the body with this summer heat. The chicken, ginger, sesame oil and the liquer were already "warm" enough for the dish. You can add more wolfberries if you want, they are good for eye sight and can be eaten as it as a snack! Even for kids. I usually give my little boy a few to munch on. :)

Grilled Chicken Bulgoggi

Made this some time ago, one of my older post that never got posted. The reason for posting now is that I can't upload new pics to the blog since my wireless router went kaput on me! Yes, first was the cable connection, then (for real, no kidding)the router died the next day after the cable was fixed. Went to get a new router and then my laptop decided that it didn't want to recognize a new router!! So there it is, lying dead! Meanwhile had to use Ed's pc which I'm not used to (I HATE HIS ERGO KEYBOARD!!!). Anyway, for those who are wondering...yes, I'm still alive and *peep* *peep*, yes...still alive......

I make beef bulgoggi all the time and decided on something new, so had some boneless, skinless chicken thighs on hand and used them instead. What I like about this is that on chicken, the grill marks are more distinguished. The beef I used are so thin that you can barely see the marks. And I like this more (yes, I like chicken) coz it's also a little tastier, definitely something to make again! Plus, my boy loves it (well...he'll eat it as long as it's not broccoli!!! Hmmm...wonders if I grill broccoli this way would he eat?????).

Ingredients
4 Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
3 stalks Spring Onions, chopped finely
4 pieces of garlic, minced finely
3 TBLS honey, amt varies based on prefereneces
2.5-3 TBS Low Sodium Soy Sauce
Dash of Black Pepper
1 TBLS Seseame Oil
1 TBLS Seseame Seeds, toasted lightly to release oils

Method
-Mix everything except chicken in a bowl, taste and check for the "right" flavor THEN add the chicken to marinate for at least 2hrs or better yet, overnight.
-Set your grill (I used an indoor electric grill set on 400F)and place your chicken diagonally to get grill marks.
-DO NOT MOVE THE CHICKEN WHILE GRILLING ON ONE SIDE!! Only move when you have to turn over to grill the other side!

Note: All the flavors are added to each individual's liking; if you like it sweet, add more honey....so on and so forth...:) just have fun!

Steak

I love herbs, especially rosemary. I love rosemary mainly because it's such a hardy plant AND it smells so good!!!! It's especially good if you want a "meaty" taste to your food. I grow some herbs in my garden, rosemary being one of them, and I've to say that it's the best kinda plant for the lazy gardener in me!!! I have so much of it that I don't really know what else to do, so sometimes I would cut off a sprig and steep it in hot water...it's supposed to soothe headaches....hmmm....



Well, Ed decided that he had a craving for some steak. *Sigh* I'm not a big steak fan. But anyway, I decided to make some using some rosemary(anytime I get!!) for the marinade. I marinaded the steak with some crushed garlic, 1 sprig rosemary, pounded, and olive oil for about 30 mins. Broiled it to medium rare, topped it on some smashed cauliflower and potatoes with roasted garlic and deglazed the pan with sweet vermouth and mushrooms and top that on the steak. All ready to chow down!



Ed likes the steak but not too keen with the mash...hehehe..he was never a fan of cauliflower....LOL...or vegetable....And know what, Ethan's the same way with cauliflower...he's ok with vegetable on the whole, but he wouldn't eat cualiflower nor broccoli. Thank heavens he loves his peas!! Phew! :D

Weather wise, winter's not really winter....it's 20F above the norm temperature for a Texas winter. All the trees are sprouting buds!!! And I've yet to plant my tulip bulbs!!! Ok......I think I better start getting these lazy bones out in the yard...hehehe...