婆婆's "Spaghetti Bolognese"

When I was a child, we pretty much had Chinese food all the time, apart from school lunches. This was due to my 婆婆 (my mum's mum) living with us, who did the cooking in the house. So we would always have a hot meal for lunch and dinner, rice with a selection of dishes. There would always be vegetables and often steamed fish, which I hated and thought of as bony and slimy. I remember her sitting in our lounge with a chopping board at her feet and a cleaver in each hand, mincing meat as we chatted or watched TV. There would also always be leftovers from the previous meal. As children, one of our favourites was when 婆婆 would fry slices of pork luncheon meat (午餐肉), and also open a can of pineapple chunks - that salty and sweet combination with the rice was always a winner.

We used to get incredibly excited when we had non-Chinese food, as it was a rare occasion. The 婆婆 referred to in the title of this post is actually my mum, so my children's 婆婆. I remember when she used to make us "spaghetti bolognese", as a special treat. It doesn't have much in common at all with a bolognese sauce as we might know it, but it is sweet and comforting. Tonight I recreated it for my family and it brought back a real feeling of nostalgia. I have adapted it a little, mainly because I had four tomatoes to use up. My children cleared their plates and the middle child asked if I could make it more "authentically" next time, using just tomato ketchup and no fresh tomatoes! I'll definitely do this, next time I make it - just follow the recipe, omit the tomatoes and add more ketchup and water if needed.

Ingredients

• 4 large, ripe tomatoes
• 250-300ml tomato ketchup
• 350g pork mince
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 bowl of frozen petits pois
• 2 shakes of worcester sauce
• 2 shakes of light soy sauce
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and bashed with the flat of a cleaver
• 2 slices of raw ginger, peeled and bashed with the flat of a cleaver
• A pinch of ground white pepper
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil for frying
• A dash of sesame oil
• Water to thin sauce if necessary
• Salt to taste (optional)
• 300-350g dried spaghetti

Serves 5 - 7

Instructions

• Cut a cross into the bottom of each tomato and cover with boiling water. Leave for 10 minutes, then drain and cool. Peel the tomatoes, then de-seed and dice finely.
• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok, then add the garlic and ginger. Stir-fry quickly, taking care not to burn
• Add the diced onion, increase the heat and stir-fry for a few minutes, until the onion has softened. Add the minced pork and brown it until it is all sealed
• Add the worcester sauce, soy sauce and white pepper and mix it in thoroughly. Add the diced tomato and stir-fry for a few minutes. You can remove the garlic and ginger after this stage if you like
• Add the tomato sauce to the wok and mix thoroughly. Add a little water to thin the mixture if necessary. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 35-45 minutes, or until the onion has softened. Add sugar if you wish the sauce to be sweeter. 
• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions
• When the spaghetti has 5 minutes to go, add the petits pois to the wok of sauce. Stir the sauce and simmer it for the remaining 5 minutes
• Drain the spaghetti when it is cooked, then add it to the wok. Reduce the heat to very low, then add a little sesame oil. Mix the pasta and the sauce thoroughly in the wok. Add salt to taste if you like, at this stage
• Serve in warmed dishes

婆婆's "Spaghetti Bolognese"

Stewed Pork Belly with Beancurd Skin (南乳腐竹炆豬肉)

I bought two slices of pork belly, which have been sitting in my freezer for a while. The children don't like it (too fatty), and I can't make crispy pork belly when it's already been sliced.

My parents advised me that when cooking the beancurd skin, they achieve that lovely chewy texture by deep-frying the skin after it has been reconstituted, then cooking it slowly for a long time. I usually can't be bothered deep-frying - too messy, too unhealthy and I am left with a huge quantity of tainted oil (which I do reuse, but it takes ages to use up!). I use a heavy-based pan with a frying basket, which makes lifting the ingredients out of the pan far easier. I also deep-fried the pork belly before the slow-cook. The end result was sweet, rich and sticky, with meltingly tender pork contrasting well with the chewy beancurd skin and the sweet petits pois. The sauce was lovely when mixed with rice and the petits pois added a nice, colourful touch to the dish.

Ingredients

• Two slices of pork belly, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 3-4 lengths of dried beancurd skin (腐竹)
• 1-2 cubes of fermented red tofu (南乳), plus 3 spoonfuls of the liquid in the jar
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and bashed with the flat of a cleaver
• 2 slices of raw ginger, peeled and bashed with the flat of a cleaver
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 1/2 teaspoon of granulated sugar
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce for colour
• Frozen petits pois (as many as you like)
• Sunflower or vegetable oil for deep-frying
• Splash of sesame oil
• Water to top up

Serves 4

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 140 degrees. Wash the pork belly cubes and dry thoroughly on kitchen towel. Half fill a roasting tin with hot water and place the beancurd skin in, until it has softened. Remove the softened beancurd skin and dry thoroughly on kitchen towel
• Heat a 3cm depth of cooking oil in a heavy-based pan until bubbles appear on a wooden chopstick which is placed in the oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the pork belly and deep fry for 4 minutes. Remove the pork and place on kitchen towels to absorb some fat. Re-heat the oil and when it is ready, add the beancurd skin, frying for 30 seconds. Remove and place on kitchen towels to absorb some of the oil
• Heat a tablespoon of oil in a heavy-based pan over a moderate-high heat. Add the ginger and fry for 1 minute. Add the garlic and continue to stir-fry, making sure it doesn't catch and burn. Add the sliced onions and fry for 1-2 minutes until they begin to soften
• Add the fermented red tofu and break it up in the pan. Add the pork belly and beancurd skin, then add 3 spoonfuls of the red liquid and mix thoroughly with the ingredients
• Add the Shaoxing wine, sugar and dark soy sauce to the pan, then top up with water until the ingredients are almost, but not quite covered. Mix thoroughly then return to the boil
• Transfer to a casserole dish if necessary and put the lid on. Place in the oven for 1hr 30 minutes
• Remove from the oven - the sauce should have reduced in the pan, so add a little more water if necessary
• Place back on the hob on a low heat and add the petits pois. Stir, cover and cook for a further 3-4 minutes
• Remove from the heat and add a splash of sesame oil. Serve with steamed rice

Stewed Pork Belly with Beancurd Skin (南乳腐竹炆豬肉)

Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs

This dish is a favourite of my middle child, and also his friends. The slow-cooking makes the meat so tender that it falls off the bone, and the top parts of the rib, including the connective tissue, are soft and chewy enough to eat - this is my favourite part!

I buy meaty, free-range ribs from Waitrose, and allow 3-4 ribs per person. A bottle of barbecue sauce, around 300ml will be enough and we are trying various brands.

In an ideal world I would toast my coriander and cumin seeds in a hot pan, then grind to powder, but ground spices would be a convenient alternative (especially since said middle child smashed my pestle in a fit of scientific curiosity...).

Ingredients

• Approx. 1kg of free-range, meaty pork ribs - allow 3-4 ribs per person
• 1 bottle of barbecue sauce, approx. 300ml
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 1 tsp mustard powder (use mustard paste if not available)
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves

Serves 3-4

Method

• In a bowl, mix approx. 1/3 of the barbecue sauce, the crumbled stock cube, mustard powder, coriander, cumin and peppercorns.
• Place the ribs into the slow cooker, then coat them in the barbecue sauce mix so that they are thoroughly covered. Top with enough water to just cover the ribs, then add the bay leaves
• Put the slow-cooker on high for approx. 3.5 - 4hrs
• Heat the oven to 200 degrees C fan
• Line a roasting tin with greaseproof paper, then remove the ribs carefully with a spatula or slotted spoon - be careful to keep the meat on the bone! place the ribs in a single layer in the roasting tin, then pour the remaining barbecue sauce from the bottle over the ribs and use pastry brush or spoon to cover the ribs

Ribs out of the slow cooker and ready for the oven

• Cook in the oven for 20 minutes.

• Remove from the oven, when the ribs are starting to crisp on the outside. These are lovely, served with rice and stir-fried vegetables. 

Barbecue Slow Cooker Ribs

Minced Pork Vermicelli in Black Bean Sauce (豉汁豬肉粉絲)

I've neglected this blog for a few years, having fallen into some mundane "same 10 meals always" routine, and not really had enough time or imagination to think up new dishes.

Now everyone is a bit older, and a few of them are a bit fussier, whilst others are less fussy, I'd like to revive it whenever I get the chance. We've not been eating enough Chinese food, so I've had a couple of days of cooking relatively simple meals - tonight we had this dish, along with some steamed pork and salted eggs and some simple boiled vegetables with oyster sauce. i don't cook with the mung bean noodles (also known as glass noodles or cellophane noodles) very often - I find that if I soak them first they tend to fall apart, so I gave these a quick rinse and only dropped them into the dish in the final few minutes of cooking. Middle child, being a noodle monster, loved it.

Ingredients

• 200g pork mince
• 1 tsp cornflour
• pinch of ground white pepper
• 1cm cube of fresh ginger, grated
• few drops of sesame oil
• 1 slice of ginger and 1 peeled clove of garlic, bashed with the side of a cleaver
• 2 x 50g pack of mung bean vermicelli
• 1 tbsp black bean and garlic sauce 
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 5 leaves from a chinese leaf, chopped into pieces
• sunflower or vegetable oil to fry
• 1 tsp cornflour in 25ml water to thicken (optional)
• water

Serves 4-5

Instructions

• Mix the pork with the corn flour, white pepper and sesame oil. Grate the ginger, then squeeze the juice over the mince and mix well. Cover and leave for an hour if you have time (I left mine overnight)
• Rinse the vermicelli in a sieve and set aside
• Heat the sunflower oil in a wok until it is "moving" hot but not smoking. Add the slice of ginger and garlic, then stir-fry to flavour the oil
• Add the pork mince and stir-fry until browned through. Add the black bean and garlic sauce and sugar then add 100ml water, stir well, lower the heat and cover. Let simmer for 5 minutes
• After 5 minutes, add the chinese leaf to the wok. Stir well and add extra water if necessary (the ingredients should not be completely covered but there should be enough water to come about 1/2 way up the ingredients). Cover the wok again and let simmer for another 4 - 5 minutes
• When the chinese leaf looks slightly wilted, add the vermicelli to the wok. They will absorb water, so add more water if needed. 
• When the noodles have lost their opacity, the dish is ready. The vermicelli should be chewy but not too soft. Thicken the sauce with cornflour/water if desired, and remove from the heat. Add a few drops of sesame oil and serve in a warmed dish.

Minced Pork Vermicelli in Black Bean Sauce (豉汁豬肉粉絲)