“Red” braised pork belly recipe (hong shao rou)
Red braised pork belly is a popular dish throughout China, and there are many ways to make it. This is just one of the many, and although the cooking time is quite long, the prep time is only 5 minutes. A specialised version from Hangzhou is Dong Po Rou, and named after the famous artist/poet Su Dongpo.
The pork belly is cooked on very low heat, and you can cook it from 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how soft you want the meat to be – the longer the softer. Cooking it for longer than 1 hour risks the meat going too dry.
This recipe serves 2.
Ingredients
400g of pork belly
1 spring onion
30g of sugar
4 slices of ginger
5 star anises
2 tbsps of soya sauce
2 tbsps of shaoxing rice wine
You’ll also need salt to taste, water and a touch of olive oil/other cooking oil. Continue reading ““Red” braised pork belly recipe (hong shao rou)”
Scallion pancakes/flatbread recipe (cong you bing) – a Chinese paratha
Breads don’t always come out of the oven. This simple flatbread/pancake is very popular in China, both as breakfast, an accompaniment and as a snack, and is cooked in a frying pan. Now that the weather is colder, it’s even better straight out of the pan. Many claim that it’s the predecessor of the pizza, and I suppose, looking at how pizza doughs are made, there are similarities. The ingredients are simple: you just need some flour, salt, oil and spring onions (sesame seeds, sesame oil and five spice powder are optional but highly recommended).
The recipe is a lot looser than the others here, because there’s no set amount of oil to use, for example. In order to make it easier to follow, I’ve included more photos than usual.
The pancakes take around 40 minutes to make, but this includes 20 minutes of waiting for the dough to settle. The following recipe makes 2 pancakes.
Ingredients
1 cup of plain white flour (around 150g)
1/2 teaspoon of five spice powder
8-10 baby spring onions
3-4 drops of sesame oil
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
You’ll need water, more flour for dusting, and salt and olive oil at each folding stage. Continue reading “Scallion pancakes/flatbread recipe (cong you bing) – a Chinese paratha”
Beer braised duck recipe (pi jiu ya)
Legend has it that beer braised duck (also known as beer duck stew) was invented by the Qing dynasty emperor Kangxi. The story goes that he accidentally knocked his sorghum wine into a duck stew, and found that it improved the taste of the dish. Nowadays, the recipe usually uses Tsingtao beer, but most beers work, so you can test it out with your favourite.
In this version, I’m using Lowland Glen from the Harviestoun Brewery because the description mentioned a fruity finish with malty undertones. In the past, I’ve also used Guinness, which gave the duck a heavier taste.
The following recipe will give you quite a spicy version of the dish, so if you prefer a more lightly spiced version, I’d strongly suggest halving the chilli, peppercorns and fennel.
The cooking time is 50 mins (although prep time is super short), and this recipe serves 2. It’s really easy to make – as you can see, there are fewer steps than usual. Ideally, use a wok when you cook this.
Ingredients
2 duck legs or 1/4 duck
2 star anise
1/2 tsp of fennel seeds
1/2 tsp of Sichuan peppercorns
5-6 dried chilli
1 tbsp of soya sauce
1 bottle of beer (around 330ml)
1 baby spring onion
Oil for frying, and salt to taste. Continue reading “Beer braised duck recipe (pi jiu ya)”
Tea flavoured eggs recipe (cha ye dan) – a snack from China
Happy 2016! Let’s kick off the new year with a recipe for tea flavoured eggs: a common snack in China, lightly salted and fragranced with black tea. You can either use black tea leaves or tea bags such as these Twining black tea varieties. Assam works quite well and gives the eggs a nice flavour. Please don’t use green tea, as the flavours won’t feel balanced.
I’m using tea bags in this recipe, as I needed to use decaf tea. Otherwise, this is a quite strongly flavoured version of the recipe, as I prefer a stronger taste for the eggs.
Despite the long cooking time for this recipe (around 1 hour then soaking overnight), it’s actually very simple to prepare. The eggs will keep for 3 days if refrigerated, so you can cook a larger batch if you prefer.
Ingredients
4 eggs
3 tea bags
3 star anise
6-7 cloves
2 sprigs of cinnamon (I’m using the Chinese version here)
1 heaped tablespoon of five spices powder
1 tablespoon of soya sauce
Salt to taste Continue reading “Tea flavoured eggs recipe (cha ye dan) – a snack from China”
Straight to the heart: Chocolate Salami (salame di cioccolato)
Chocolate salami (salame di cioccolato) is the easiest Christmas dessert there is to make. There isn’t much work involved; even the oven can stay turned off. I usually use the same recipe you can find on Giallo Zafferano, but this time I mixed it up a little with a recipe from the book At Elizabeth David’s Table, where she calls it torrone molle (lit. soft nougat). All you need is 20 minutes of your time and patience, as it is a lot more delicious if made a day before you want to serve it. Despite being so simple, it is always a huge success, and I constantly get guests asking me to have a piece to take home. Consider it if you are out of ideas or time for a dessert for your NYE party, but also keep it in mind for any occasion.
David’s recipe uses the same amount for all the solid ingredients, but I have used a bit less sugar because I don’t like it when chocolate desserts are too sweet. Also, she uses cocoa, and while I much prefer a good dark chocolate bar to melt, it still gives a soft texture.
For up to eight people.
Ingredients:
175g butter
175g dark chocolate
175g ground almonds
100g sugar
175g plain biscuits such as Petit Beurre or Rich Tea (broken into almond-sized pieces)
1 whole egg and 1 yolk
Continue reading “Straight to the heart: Chocolate Salami (salame di cioccolato)”
First time making: spiced apple juice
It’s finally the festive season, and this year, I needed a non-alcoholic mulled wine or cider alternative (after all, Christmas is all about minced pies and mulled wine). I’ve looked through the Jamie Oliver incredible mulled cider recipe and the Nigella mulled cider recipe, and have taken the spices I like best out of the two for this spiced apple juice recipe. Oh, and of course, as there’s already plenty of sugar in the juice, there’s hardly any need to add sugar in there.
I’ve always loved mulled wine and ciders with bits of fruit in the pan, so I’ve included chunks and apple and clementines as well.
This takes about 5 minutes to prep and will serve however many people who will be able to drink a litre of spiced apple juice. As this is made from juice, it’s perfect for children and your designated driver.
Ingredients
1 litre of apple juice
1/2 apple
2 clementines
1 stick of cinnamon
3 cloves
2 fresh bay leaves (optional)
2 tbsps of honey
Shredded pork and coriander recipe (xiang cai chao rou si)
This simple and quick pork and coriander stir-fry dish comes from Northern China, just south of Beijing – from Shandong – and is part of the Lu cuisine (which is why it’s not a stew this time!)
Sometimes it has been modified to a spicier dish (by adding chilli), but the original version only uses salt, soya sauce, cooking alcohol, ginger and spring onion for flavouring. My family never made it with chilli peppers, so this is what you’ll find here.
The best cut of pork for this stir-fry is the fillet (aka the tenderloins). The cheapest pork I found during my shopping trip was already cubed, so that’s what I’m using. To make up for the cut, I’m cutting these into smaller pieces here. The aim is for it to cook very rapidly, so the prep time is roughly 10 minutes, but it should only cook for around 5-6 minutes.
This version of the recipe serves 2.
Ingredients
200g of pork
1 egg
1 tbsp of plain flour
4-5 spring onions (small)
2 slices of ginger
1 tbsp of soya sauce
1 tbsp of Shaoxing rice wine
200g of coriander
Salt to taste
2-3 drops of sesame oil
Yes, that’s not a typo, you really do need 200g of coriander! Continue reading “Shredded pork and coriander recipe (xiang cai chao rou si)”
Hearty winter meatloaf with tomato sauce recipe
Now that the weather is getting colder, a good serving of meatloaf can warm you right up. That, and I had some bread to use up. I’ve adapted this recipe over time from the BBC Good Foods hot or cold meatloaf recipe, as I prefer my meatloaves a bit nuttier and slightly herbier, but with less onions. The tomato sauce compliments the meatloaf really well, so I’ve included it here.
This will serves 4 people. Prep time is roughly 15 minutes, and it will need 1 hour in the oven.
Ingredients
500g of minced pork
4 tbsps of powdered parmesan
1 tbsp of dried oregano
2 slices of granary bread with nuts
1/2 an onion
30g of fresh parsley
8 slices of prosciutto
1 egg
For the sauce:
2 vine tomatoes
3 tbsps of tomato sauce
Continue reading “Hearty winter meatloaf with tomato sauce recipe”
Smoking Hot Cinnamon Buns
It is definitely about time to get festive, and nothing fills me with more Christmas spirit than some good old baking. This time, rather than taking out the Sardinian recipe book, I turned to the opposite side of Europe and got inspired by the Scandinavian islands. Mouthwatering memories of sinking my teeth on the most amazing cinnamon buns during a trip to Stockholm made me search through the several recipes available on line. I was even tempted to use my sourdough to make them when I saw this recipe by Chef In Disguise. But since these were my very first cinnamon buns, I opted for a simpler and quicker option, found in Nigella’s book How to Be a Domestic Goddess.
This recipe will make 20 buns and takes about 2 hours to make.
Omurice – omelette with fried rice
Omurice is basically fried rice wrapped in an omelette – two delicious foods in one! It’s a western-inspired Japanese recipe, and you can generally find it in all sorts of cafés. It can look like a piece of edible art (as you can see from this rilakkuma-inspired omurice). Whatever form it may take, at the heart of the dish is always fried rice, omelette and the all-important tomato ketchup.
This recipe serves 2 (makes 2 omurices), and takes 40 mins to cook. I have pre-prepared the chicken here, as this version is more meat-heavy than what you’d normally find, and I didn’t want the chicken to feel dry. It’s been marinaded in buttermilk overnight.
Also, I prefer using buttermilk for omelettes, as they make the omelettes much fluffier than using milk or just using eggs without either.
Ingredients
200g of chicken breast
100ml of buttermilk
3/4 cup of rice
1 block of chicken stock cube
3 eggs
1 tbsp of powdered parmesan (optional)
A pinch of black pepper
150g peas
1/2 onion
Tomato ketchup
You’ll also need salt to taste.
Blender & Basil 