Tag Archives: Pork

Braised Pork With Quail Eggs & Bamboo Shoot

This dish is a combination of meat, egg, and vegetable. It’s actually an updated version of braised pork (红烧肉 Hong Shao Rou).

  1. Boil quail eggs in hot water for 5 mins. Soak them in ice cold water immediately. Then remove the egg shell.
  2. Heat a pan. Sear Pork chunks. Pork belly is the best choice. Fry pork till fat comes out and turns a bit brownish.
  3. Add bamboo shoot slices in and stir fry a bit with pork.
  4. Drizzle in 1 tsp cooking wine, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, ginger slices and bayleaf. Pour in enough hot water to cover all the ingredients.
  5. Also add in quail eggs. Lid on and simmer with low medium heat for 20-30 mins.
  6. turn up the heat and reduce the sauce.

https://flic.kr/p/2fbShsf

Serve hot.

https://flic.kr/p/2eaDhuS

Sauce is perfect to go with rice. My husband will always add sauce to his rice.

Quail eggs are also tasty.

Pork & Vegetable Pot

My husband had dinner with a friend. Somehow they talked about Spanish Iberico Pork. His friend said this kind of pork is very delicious. And my husband told me immediately after that dinner. Then when we shopping for groceries the other day, he found that Spanish pork in the frozen counter. What a coincidence. So we bought it and I didn’t even know how to cook it. And yes, we just bought it.

Usually this thin pork slice is ideal for shabu shabu or hot pot. But my husband strongly recommended to cook it in simple way without any strong spices or condiments. He wanted to keep the original flavor of the pork. He may not know much about cooking, but he’s very good at giving me instructions. I decided to make pork & vegetable pot.

skillet is a good choice for the port.

Here are the main ingredients I used: Spanish Iberico pork, 1/4 head cabbage, Slices of 1 onion, slices of 1 medium carrot, several shiitake mushroom, brown mushroom, tofu (cut), french beans and chopped spring onion. Oh, and vermicelli in the bowl (already boiled in hot water).

  1. Heat the skillet. Brush skillet with oil. Put  2 or 3 pork slices in to sear them.

https://flic.kr/p/2cXLZeV

2. Put the rest pork in, and arrange all the vegetables in the pot.

https://flic.kr/p/2dfwdx5

3. In a bowl, add in 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp sweet cooking wine, 1 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tbsp water. Mix well.

4. Spread sauce (maybe 1 tbsp ) over all ingredients. Slightly stir them in order not to be sticky to the pot.

The pork looks so great.

5. Put the lid on for 2-3 mins. Stir gently to flip all the ingredients. Add in more sauce if needed.

https://flic.kr/p/QAgLqn

6. Lid on for another 3 mins or till pork and vegetables are fully cooked.

My husband  loved the pork so so much.

Fried Bee Hoon/ Rice Vermicelli (炒米粉)

I cooked fried bee hoon before, but didn’t turn out well. I think I dealt with bee hoon in a wrong way. This time, I corrected it and tried it again.

Ingredients:

bee hoon 100g

water

oil

dried shiitake mushroom 4

pork belly 100g

1 egg

1 small carrot

1 small onion

1/4 of a small cabbage

Singapore XO spicy chili sauce (optional)

light soy sauce 1 tsp

dark soy sauce 1/2 tsp

oyster sauce 1 tsp

salt 1/2 tsp

white pepper powder 1/2 tsp

1 stalk spring onion

 

  1. Soak bee hoon in warm water for 3-5 mins or till they get totally soft (Please read the instruction on the package). Drain them to dry.
  2. Soak shiitake mushroom in water. Then remove the bottom and cut into slice. Keep the mushroom water for later use.
  3. Cut pork belly into slices, vegetables (cabbage, carrot and onion) into strips. Beat egg into a bowl.
  4. Heat a pan. Brush the pan with oil. Pour the beaten egg in. Sway the pan to let the egg spread evenly. When egg gets solidified, gently flip it over to fry the other side a bit. Then take it out and cool down. Cut into strips.
  5. Heat pan again. Add in 1 tbsp oil. Add pork in. Stir fry till pork turns white in color. Add in shiitake mushroom slice. Stir fry for 1 min or 2.
  6. Add in 2 tbsp mushroom water and let them simmer for 3 mins to cook pork.
  7. Add in carrot and cabbage, stir fry for 2 mins.
  8. Add in light soy sauce, dark soy sauce oyster sauce, salt and white pepper. I also put in 1 tbsp Singapore XO spicy chili sauce to add more flavor and spicy taste to bee hoon. Stir fry evenly.
  9. Add in bee hoon and onion. I will change spatula to chopsticks to make sure each bee been be mixed with sauce.
  10. At last, add in egg and chopped spring onion. Mix evenly and ready to serve.

https://flic.kr/p/2ek4vKs

 

This is definitely the best bee hoon I’ve cooked so far. My husband also gave it thumps up.

https://flic.kr/p/2fmkJfE

I was not a big bee hoon fan, but now I think I am.

Pork & Mixed Vegetable Stew Recipe

In earlier days, transportation was not as convenient as how it is now. People in northern part of China didn’t have much choice about vegetables in winter. The most usually seen vegetables are potato, Chinese cabbage and turnip. They can be boiled, stewed, preserved and used to make soup. Pork stew together with these vegetables were very popular and so are they now. This hot dish is ideal for a cold winter.

1. Cut pork belly into smaller chunks. Put them into a pot. Add in enough water. Bring to boil with high heat. Take the pork out and rinse under water.

2. Heat a pan. Add in 2 tablespoon oil and 2 tablespoon sugar. Turn to low heat. Keep stirring to let let sugar melt first and then turn brown.

3. Add in pork. Stir fry and pork will also become brown. Add in spices: ginger, bay leaves, star anise, and dried chili. Stir fry till aromatic.

4. Pour in hot water about 2-3 cm higher than all ingredients. Cove the lid and simmer for 20 mins.

5. For the vegetables, I chose potatoes and puff tofu. Potatoes are peeled and cut into medium pieces. Place potatoes over pork and then tofu puff on the top. Those that hard to be cooked are always at the bottom layer. Cover with lid and simmer for another 25-30 mins.

6. Turn to high heat and reduce the sauce a bit. Then ready to serve.

Bitter gourd, Black Fungus & Pork Stir-fry

Pork better contains a bit fat.

1. Cut pork into slices. Remove the seed of bitter gourd and cut into slices. Soak black fungus in water for 3 mins. Tear into smaller pieces.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the pan. Sear pork first till slightly brownish.

3. Add in a little ginger shreds. Then bittergourd and black fungus.

4. Stir fry for 1 min. Add in 1 tsp cooking wine and 1 tsp light soy sauce. Stir fry evenly for 2-3 mins.

5. Season with salt. And ready to serve.

https://flic.kr/p/2a8u2K9

Quick and easy.

“The Rice Killer”- Braised Pork Belly

I’ve cooked braised pork belly for many many many times. Seems that my husband will never get tired of it. Due to the dark rich sauce and juicy tender pork, this dish also has a nick name “the rice killer”. Because with this dish, you can have a lot rice.

The secret  lies in sugar and soy sauce. I can guarantee you that when you cook braised meat, add in soy sauce and sugar, you will get delicious sauce.

  1. Boil pork with cooking wine, ginger slices and green onion till soft and chopsticks can easily go through. Rinse under water. Cut whole pork belly into small cubes.
  2. Heat a pan. Because pork belly contains fat. So no need to add oil. Sear the pork with low-medium heat till brownish.
  3. Add in 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon sugar and 1 tsp cooking wine. Stir fry to let pork be coated with sauce.
  4. Pour in enough hot water just covers all the pork. Also add in bay leaves, star anise and ginger slices. Bring to boil.
  5. Lid on and turn to low heat. Simmer for at least 20-30 mins. If you want your pork to be super soft, you can simmer for longer time, like 1 hour.
  6. Lid off. turn to high heat and reduce the sauce.

My husband has superpower of detecting this dish. Every time with this dish on table, he will just pick it up very accurately with no mistake. I have to threaten him that if he doesn’t have any vegetables in other plate, I will put this dish away. 🙂

Pork Floss & Spring Onion Bun

I made pork floss the other day, and the idea of making pork floss & spring onion bun came to me. I don’t have much experience of making bread. So I search on YouTube and found this video:

I just followed this recipe.

If you want to make pork floss at home, you can please refer to my previous blog:

Homemade Pork Floss

For those who cannot read Chinese, I can help to do some translation:

Ingredients for bread

salt 2g

sugar 10g

yeast 4g

egg 1

butter 20g

bread flour 230g

water 100g

  1. dissolve yeast in warm water and rest for 10 mins.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients.
  3. Combine all ingredients above except butter till it become a dough.
  4.  Cut butter into the dough. Two options: bread machine or by your hands. I knead the dough by my hands. I was kneading it and watching a TV drama at the same time. The whole kneading process last for 1 and a half episode.
  5. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic warp and let it rise till 2 times big.
  6. Flatter it into a disc. Put it into a 27×27 baking pan.
  7. Place the baking pan into oven, with a big bowl of hot water underneath. Let the dough rise again till 2 times big.
  8. Preheat oven to 180 degree c.
  9. Brush dough with egg. Sprinkle white sesame and spring onion (green part).
  10. Into the oven and bake for 12 mins.
  11. Cut bread into squares or whatever shape you like.
  12. Take two pieces of them. Brush the back with mayonnaise. Sprinkle a little pork floss. Stick them together. Then brush the edges with mayonnaise, dip in pork floss.

https://flic.kr/p/2cxLaFi

I was very generous with pork floss and used all the pork floss I made before. I have to admit that my bread is not so soft as the ones sold in bakery shop. My husband still like them though.

Homemade Pork Floss

Actually I didn’t know where floss can be used except bread until my husband told me he used to add floss in porridge. And the other day, when I was in a supermarket shopping for ingredients to stuff my fridge, I noticed that a box of 300g lean pork is s$3.5 while a small box of pork floss is over S$5.0. I was like “hmm, since lean pork is much cheaper, maybe I can try to make pork floss by myself.”

Actually, making pork floss doesn’t need many ingredients, but it does requires a lot of patience.

1. Cut lean pork into slices around 1 cm thick.

2. Place pork into a pot. Add in enough cold water about 2-3 cm higher than pork.

3. Turn to high heat and bring the water to boil. Skim the soup, remove the foam. Add in ginger slice, star anise, 1 tablespoon cooking wine and 1 tsp salt. Cover the lid and simmer for 30 mins.

4. Take the pork out. Cool and let them dry.

5. Put all pork into a zip bag. Use rolling pin to pat the pork till there is no more big lumps of meat. If there is still big chunk of pork, you can tear it into small pieces by hand.

6. Heat a pan. Add in 2 tsp oil. Turn to lowest heat.

7. Add pork in. Stir fry with patience till pork starts to become a bit fluffy.

8. Add in 1 tablespoon light soy sauce and 1 tablespoon sugar.

9. Stir fry till pork fully mixed with soy sauce and sugar.

10. Put fried pork pieces into a blender. Blend till they become completely fluffy.

11. Then put them back into the pan. Stir fry to dry them up.

12. Spread them in a big plate. Cool down and also to dry up completely.

https://flic.kr/p/Qowfz3

Yu Xiang Rou Si (Yu Xiang Shreded Pork)

Yu Xiang Rou Si is a famous Sichuan dish. It’s Chinese name is 鱼香肉丝, because 肉丝 sounds like Rose. Many Chinese people joke its English name should be Yu Xiang Rose. 🙂

1. Cut pork into shreds. Put them in a bowl. Add in 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon cooking wine, 1 tsp salt and 1 tablespoon corn starch. Mix well and let them marinate for a little while.

2. Prepare the sauce:

2 tablespoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 tsp salt and 1 tablespoon corn starch.

Mix all the ingredients above in a small bowl.

3. Heat a pan. Add in some oil ( a little more than usual). When oil is hot, add shredded pork in. Quickly separate them and fry them till white and cooked. The set them aside.

4. Same pan. Add a little oil if needed. Heat it. Sauté chopped garlic and ginger. Then add in 1 tablespoon Sichuan pixian soy sauce. Stir fry till aromatic.

5. Add in shredded carrot, black fungus. Stir fry till vegetables softens.

6. Add shredded pork in. Pour in sauce. Stir fry to mix well and reduce sauce. Add in shredded green chili. Stir fry for another 2 mins.

Ready to serve.

Steamed Ribs with Vermicelli

1. Rinse ribs under water to wash them clean. Soak them in water to let all the blood out. Change water several times till water is clean.

2. Marinate ribs with 2 tsp light soy sauce, 2 tsp oyster sauce, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 1/2 tsp chopped ginger, 2 tsp sugar and 1 tablespoon corn starch. Mix them all well. Marinate for around 2 hours.

3. Soak vermicelli in water till soft. Cut shorter with scissors.

4. Take the ribs out and put into another bowl. Add in 2 tsp oil, and 1 tablespoon corn starch. Mix well again.

5. Spread vermicelli in a plate. Add in 1 tsp light soy sauce, and 1/2 tsp oyster sauce. Mix with chopsticks.

6. Place ribs over vermicelli. Pour marinade on top.

7. In boiling water and steam for 15-20 mins.

8. Garnish with chopped spring onion.