VacatioNg-Roast Pork anyone?

We roasted a 10 lbs pork shoulder during our vacation. It turned out amazing... We finished every bit of it. You have to crisp up the skin at the end. Forget about watching your cholesterol. You and your guests will be fighting over the yummy, crispy skin. I guarantee it! I'm not sure if you remember my "I heart pork" post, that is where I got my inspiration. The recipe I use is a typical latin one (pernil). You have to try it!

First you pick the meat. Don't you just love him... He's so happy.

Clean and make slits all over the pork to insert the garlic and marinade.

Recipe:

-One 8-10 pound bone-in pork picnic shoulder with skin

-1 head of minced garlic

-1 cup of cilantro( finely chopped)

-1 cup of onion ( small diced)

-1 tbsp of salt for every pound

- 2 tsp of ground black pepper

- 2 tbsp of vegetable oil

- 2 tbsp of white vinegar

- 2 tbsp of adobo seasoning

Combine the garlic , cilantro and onion in a medium size bowl. Stir in the salt, adobo, pepper, oil and vinegar. Rub garlic paste all over the pork. Make sure to get some of the paste into the incisions so the flavoring can penetrate the meat. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Allow the meat to sit at room temperature for 30 mins before cooking. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Slow roast the pork for 6 hours, uncovered, skin side up (this is if you have all the time in the world). You can also roast it at a higher temperature for a shorter cooking time ( 400 degrees for an hours and then at 350 degrees for 2-3 hours) I'm sorry, you're committed at this point. When that is done, set your oven to broil to crisp up the skin. Make sure you get all of the skin. Be very careful. It is extremely hot. Use oven mitts! You'll thank me after :)

This is the perfect roast.

We served it with rice, beans and tortilla wraps that night.

Wish you all were there. Enjoy!

Garlic and herb loin of pork

I've been making this recipe for many years and it never fails to impress. It is a Lydia recipe from her American Italian cookbook but I can't remember the last time I looked at the recipe, it is so easy! I use whatever herbs look fresh at the market usually a combination of a few of the following: rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley. I made this for father's day and served it with pasta with tomato, basil and ricotta and roasted asparagus on the side. We had salad and burrata for starters!

For 6 people I use a 3.5 lb loin of pork roast. Cut with a sawing action starting at the eye and "butterfly" it until it is all about the same thickness. It is a cut while unrolling kind of action. Then I buzz garlic (4 cloves), olive oil, salt and pepper and herbs (handful of each) in the processor or blender until it is a paste and spread it onto the meat.

Then roll the pork back up and tie with butcher string.

Put the roast into a dutch oven or other sturdy pot. It is best if the roast fits snugly. This pot was way too big for the roast but it was unusually long this time. Fill the pot with water until it almost immerses the roast. Add a few cloves of garlic and whatever herbs you've used for the paste, generous salt &pepper.

Bring to boil and simmer covered for about 2 hours. At 1:45 in you should start checking the water level. The idea is to simmer until the water evaporates and then add olive oil to crisp up the outside of roast. Keep turning and browning the roast at a med flame until all of it is crispy. If you're getting close to the 2 hour mark and there is still a lot of water start spooning some out. The roast should be completely cooked and ready to rest by 2.5 hours. Otherwise it'll start drying out and will not be as tender.

Rest for 30 mins, slice and enjoy!

Simple Stir Fry Minced Pork with Garlic & GInger

Here is a simple quick stir fry.

There are so many different options to serve this.

With noodles-rice-wrapped in lettuce- mix with any type of vegetables- 

topping on steamed tofu ..etc

Ingredients:

Minced Pork

Ginger

Garlic

oil

Marinade:

salt + white pepper

soy sauce

sesame oil

rice wine

Worcestershire sauce

brown sugar

1. Put together the marinade in a bowl, mix well and taste to your liking. Add to the minced pork and work it into the meat with your hands or a fork. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

2. In a heated wok add oil, ginger. When the ginger begins to brown add the garlic - stir - and add the pork, break and gently toss the meat with your spatula until all cooked.

Topped with fresh cilantro and ginger

Enjoyed it with a piping hot bowl of congee.

What would be your creation with this dish?

Hunan Deliciousness!

Are you ready for some Heat?! Let's talk Hunan style!

Our friend Max speaks highly of this Restaurant "Hunan House" and his favorite dish, the Braised Fish Head.

Right away I was intrigued. His good friend Roger and family also joined us, which was perfect as he knew exactly what to ordered. And here is his order:

Started with the cold appetizers

Pickle Cabbage with chopped chili

Chilled Marinated Beef Tendon with Tripe.
The tripe was thinly sliced giving it a smooth light texture.

Chilled Conch in chili oil

Deep Fried Little Fish, stir fry with fresh chili and scallion.
( with tail and head crunchy yet tender inside and very tasty)

White Pepper with Chunks of Beef which I believe was preserved.

Thinly Sliced Lamb stir fried with watercress,onion,chili and cumin

lamb and cumin ...yes .. i know....

Little Wok with Pork Intestine simmering away in Chili oil.

Grilled Whole Peppers and Stir Fried Water Spinach Stems

Fried Pumpkin Cakes

And star of the night is the Braised Fish Head. I believe it a Asian Carp

Which I found perfect with freshly chopped chilies, tomatoes and green onion bathing in a tangy broth with a hint of heat.
Quite amazing right? Oh boy one taste and believe me you will be HOOKED!

I was surprised that I was able to handle this amount of heat! The chilled pickled cabbage and a bowl of rice helped.

Leaving with the numbing sensation from the spices was a really nice way to end a cold snowy night.
We'll be back!

Chinese Herbal Soup with Chicken.....

Are you a soup lover? I am! That's the main reason why I'm posting about this soup again! Who doesn't enjoy a bowl of something delicious and warm in your tummy? It’s almost like a hug from the inside out. As for chilled soups, nice in a different way and that will be another post for the summer.

Once again I've made my favorite soup with healing powers. Nothing beats having something so tasty and healthy at the same time. For those who missed my original soup post, here is a quick link* .

Working with Chinese herbs is one of the reasons why I enjoy making this soup. They are so pretty with their different shapes and color and add such deep flavor to the soups. I've worked with a few different herbs but did you know, there is a never ending list of Chinese herbs to cook with? How exciting! There is a lot to learn about Chinese Herbs from how to cook with them to their medicinal qualities. The Chinese Soup Lady ”is a very helpful site when you want to learn about the different ingredients and herbs which you may find in many authentic Chinese Soup. These herbs come dried so you can stock up for a few weeks or longer depending on which ones. Combine with your favorite meat and vegetables and you will have a meal in a pot!

Here are some pictures to share:

*adding chicken feet to your stock will make it more silky and they are fun to eat!

I like to dip them in some soy with white pepper...yum!

Aren't they pretty in those lovely bowls!

The bowls a gift from my sister....Thanks Em*

I HEART PORK

I was away two weeks ago on a much needed vacation in the Dominican Republic. I happened to be in town the day they were celebrating their annual pigs day. The picture you see here are pigs on a stick that were roasted to perfection. They were lined up on every street. There were hundreds of them. I felt like I was traveling with Anthony Bourdain but it was just my boyfriend, Adam. Not the same...

They sold the meat for $5 a pound! It was all out in the open. They chopped the pig right in front of you. I was in pork bliss. I couldn't even hear Adam calling me to ask how much he should buy. How much to buy?? What was he kidding??? Could we have eaten more than a pound for lunch? It was then put on a styrofoam plate and wrapped with a plastic black bag. I love how they don't care about packaging. It was nothing but pork every where and one stand that sold loaves of bread.

Of course we bought some. I really wanted to ask if they also had hot sauce but knew I would be pushing it. Here you see the butcher giving us the thumbs up for his pigs. I'm sure they were all roasted at the same place. We went back to our hotel and happily ate our pound of pork with just bread in our room on the terrace. It was perfectly salted and super moist. The skin was perfectly crisped. I heart pork...

Sunday Lunch at An Nhau Vietnamese Restaurant

How lucky are we ?!

We get to visit our baby sister at An Nhau Restaurant, with such charming decor and most importantly, delicious dishes. Talk about a pleasent welcome, she ran to me with open arms , so adorable! ! ( wonder if she greets everyone that way )
We decided to sit in the open garden surrounded by cozy gazebos and bamboo. Oddly the weather worked out for us in the month of November. Here I will share what we ordered:

Shrimp Summer Roll served with peanut * traditional sauce

Salt * Pepper Crispy Calamari

Shaken Beef Cubes with Watercress serve with

side of sliced lime and S*P

( squeeze the lime juice into the S*P dish and dip the beef cube, a nice twist and a first for me )

Caramelized Pork Belly, delicately sliced .served with pickle greens

do i need to say more.... just that i'm getting hungry posting this.

Slow Drip Espresso with Sweet Condense Milk

A little bird told me something lovely is going to happen to the Garden*

Definitely Returning..

For location information and to view the complete An Nhau Menu ,click HERE*

Previous An Nhau post : http://cookng.blogspot.com/2009/09/little-vietnamese-girl.html

Dried Beancurd Pork Barley Soup - Fu Jook Tong

I think this is the best soup I ever made! This was the first time I made it and I think I nailed it! I wish I can say the same of all my dishes. The results vary a lot especially when working with new ingredients. I love this soup and all its wonderful ingredients. Chinese soup is so enjoyable and simple to make.

Ingredients: A

• pork neck - parboil first
• dried shitake mushroom - soak until soft
• gingko nuts
• pearl barley
• garlic

Ingredient: B

• dried bean curd sticks -break into desire size ( i like it 1-2") break into bits for creamy texture - soak until soft.

In pot of boiling water add ingredients A, bring to boil again then let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Add * B , the softened beancurd sticks (skin, sheets - there so many variations, looks like a stick and I will call it a stick)

Simmer for 30 mins on low flame.

Seasoning : salt , white pepper , and oyster sauce.

First taste..starts with the bold flavors from the pork and mushroom, then you get the great textures of the barley and gingko nuts and finally a creamy finish with the soy bean curd, some of it melted in the soup.

How lovely ..

This is actually also a base for a very popular dessert,

just remove the pork, mushroom, garlic

and add rock sugar!

Bitter Melon ( Gourd ) Carrot Pork Soup

Flu Season is here ...eck! What do we have in the tool bag to fight this nasty ailment ?

Visit the Doc for the Flu Shot , excercise , daily vitamins , Purell, ignore it button , Mothers, don't touch anything or anyone..( I personally need to work on this list )I do know a delicious and very beneficial way!

Mama's Bitter Melon Soup!

This is another soup with healing powers, packed with vitamins and rich in nutrients.

The star of this soup is the Bitter Melon. To learn more click here*

Ingredients:

2 Bitter Melon - Clean , cut in half , scoop out the cotton like seeds and cut into 1-2" bite size

( to ease the bitterness rub salt on the melon and let it sit for 15 mins, it really works)

Pork Ribs - 1/2 lbs

1 lg Carrot - chop in chunks

Goji berries - hand full

Red dates - hand full

Ginger - 1 knob

Garlic - 1 clove

White pepper

Fish sauce

Oyster Sauce

Start a pot of water, bring to boil and add all ingredients.

( parboil the pork to remove impurities before adding to the pot)

Bring to a boil then let it simmer for 1 hour. I added a dash of fish sauce ,white pepper and oyster sauce.

How good does this look!

Had this with rice and oyster sauce on the side for dipping.

Bowl of goodness with the unusual bitter flavor ( almost like black tea bitterness) it can be strong but the fish sauce mellowed it out. Hints of sweet & tangy flavors from the carrots and herbs and of course there's the ribs..mmmmmmmm

slurp*

** Soup is tastier the next day**

Chinese Steamed Minced Pork with Dry Salted Fish

Here is another family favorite an authentic Tai Shan's dish -steamed minced pork with salted dried fish..Some like to use other surprise bits like dried squid, scallop, mushroom, salted duck egg, water chestnut, there's more can't think of now ( fill me in on what I missed).

I was given a bag of goodies on the day I visited mama Ng..thanks mom!

In the bag, she has given me a salted yellow croaker, what to do .....got it! straight to the butcher and got what i needed.

Ingredients:
salted fish
ground pork

corn starch

fresh ginger - thick slivers

dried shitake mushroom - chopped
Scallion
white pepper
sesame oil
soy sauce

Wash the and slice the fish. Lined the bottom of the plate with ginger place the fish and cover with rest of ginger. Drizzle oil and steam until done. something smells fishy.....

While the fish is done remove from steamer and let it cool. Mix together the pork, mushroom, scallion (white part ),cornstarch , sesame oil, white pepper, let it sit until fish is cool.

When fish is cool to touch remove all bones and add in to the mix along with the ginger and oil the fish was steamed in.

Steam until done.

Drizzled light soy on top and serve with rice and steamed chinese broccoli.

This can be fried aswell but I prefer this way with the juice mixed wth the rice ......

mmmmm you know what I'm talking about..remember the tapping sounds of the chopsticks cleaning the last bite of rice.......my tummy is growling as I'm writing this.. :)

 I believe this is traditionally made with Mui hurn - a salted dried fish with finer taste and texture.

Tastewise .....yup good old fashion Mui Hurn wins!

We can never get bored of this old time favorite.

Chinese Herbal Pork and Mushroom Soup

How about a delicious homemade soup with super powers! Mmmmm...mom used to make a big pot of soup almost every week and they are all delicious even the herbal ones.

It is the weekend, feeling overworked lately and decided to make a healthy soup. Here I made a nice hearty herbal soup. I used 2 nice chunky pork bones ( first time using these,  they are the blade bone near the neck )which gave the broth a nice deep flavor.

Ingredients:

dried shitake mushroom, potatoes, fox nuts ,wolfberries, red dates , yellow soybeans

soak all until soft except the wolfberries ( soak when soup is almost done or they will get mushy)

oh yes and garlic

look at this pretty mushroom after soaking

Here are the pork bones,
a bit scary looking but very tasty.
Parboil for a few minutes to get
rid of the impurities then rinse.
Then add bones into the pot of water with soaked
ingredients and potatoes.
Bring to a boil then lower flame and let it
simmer for 45 minutes. Then remove and take
all the meat off from the bone and add back
to the pot along with the soaked
wolfberries, simmer for another 10 minutes.

Aren't you proud of me! This smells and taste so gooooood. I will try my best to explain the wonderful flavors: a hint of earthiness from the mushroom, pork so tender & sweet, tang from the wolf berries and red dates, and the fox nuts with the yellow soybeans gave this soup a velvety finish. You can add soy or salt. Have it with rice if you like.. I just love soup and rice together ! Have a bowl of nourishing yummy tong !

You can learn more about chinese herbs from one of my favorite Soup Blogs:
Great photos and descriptions!
http://www.homemade-chinese-soups.com/chinese-herbs.html

Spaghetti with Italian Sausage Spinach Meatballs

In the mood for meatballs and thought of a recipe I came across the other day

 " Chicken and Spinach Meatballs" from Girl Gone Gourmet.  Pay her a visit , very nice blog.

For more flavor I used Italian sausage instead of chicken and boy i'm glad i did. This was my first time on making meatballs so there were a few bumps here and there.

Ingredients:

    

Meatballs

• italian sausage 
• spianch
• mozzarella - shredded
• egg
• panko ( did not have any that night )

 Sauce  

• onion - diced
• garlic - diced
• canned whole tomato (crush with hands)
• balsamic vinegar
• milk
• brown sugar + white pepper

take casing off and quickly blanch the spinach mix with meat and mozzarella and cup into shape with hands

the shape did not stay, started to flatten

here is where i had trouble -no panko! no sticking ! and water from the blanching did not help!!grrrrrr

 

so i had to quickly fry and brown them to hold the shape then transfer on to foil and baked for 20 minutes.

start putting the sauce together by heating the onion and garlic add sauce / sugar....simmer

add the meatballs and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

 

while simmer meatball sauce , time to cook the pasta.

when done , serve on plate and top it off with some parmigiano reggiano!!!!!

                                     

Even though i was missing panko and basil .......this dish was still very enjoyable!

anyone know any meatball tips?