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"

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)

Slow-Cooker Chick Peas with Tomato and Chorizo

These chick peas were supposed to be part of a vegetable curry, but like most grand plans on this training year, fell by the wayside. This dish is a "chuck it all in and turn it on" type of meal, save for soaking and boiling the chick peas first. If you can't be bothered with that, then just buy a couple of tins and reduce the amount of cooking time (I'm guessing a couple of hours in the slow cooker would be enough).

I bought a tiny slow cooker from Lakeland Limited with some birthday vouchers, which is the perfect size for one meal and which I cooked this dish in. It could easily be done on the hob or in the oven as an alternative.

Ingredients

• A very large handful of dried chick peas (I think this was about 600-700g when reconstituted)
• 10 - 12 slices of chorizo
• 6 ripe tomatoes (they must be ripe!)
• 1 tablespoon of tomato puree
• 2 shallots
• 3-4 big glugs of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp Knorr chicken powder (optional)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs (rosemary, oregano, thyme, marjoram)
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh basil leaves to garnish

Serves 4-6 as an accompaniment

Instructions

• Soak the chick peas over night, then drain, place in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 15 minutes
• Peel the shallots and slice into thin rings
• Score a cross in the bottom of each tomato and cover with boiling water, then leave for 5-10 minutes. Remove the tomatoes from the water, peel off the skin and dice the tomatoes
• Add the chick peas, shallots, chorizo, mixed herbs, chicken powder, tomatoes, tomato puree, bay leaf, mixed herbs and 3 large glugs of olive oil to the slow cooker. Season generously with salt and ground black pepper and mix thoroughly
• Switch the slow cooker onto high and cook for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally

• Remove from the heat, drizzle over some fresh olive oil, garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve immediately

Slow-Cooker Chick Peas with Tomato and Chorizo

Salt and Pepper Ribs (椒鹽排骨)

I could do with perfecting this recipe, as it's the first time I tried it. I would like to try the "double-frying" method mentioned in many recipes, but I tried slow-cooking to see if the tenderness could be retained, and to get some juices for a sauce.

Last weekend, we went to meet up with some rather wonderful friends, Simon and Kate, whom I can always rely on for belly laughs. The children were so unwilling to leave that we ended up going for dinner at the New Orchid Garden.

I was pleasantly surprised! I don't often go to Chinese restaurants that predominantly cater for western people, because the menus are very different, and the staff tend to look at you suspiciously, making you feel like a fraud. Then there's the usual "should I speak English or Chinese? Should I speak Cantonese or Mandarin? What on earth should I order from this menu? Should we put all of the dishes in the middle of the table, or does everyone stick to their own chosen dish? Aaarrrggghhhh!" internal conversation.

Nevertheless, we had a lovely meal, the service was very good and we all left feeling stuffed. The children behaved until we left, two hours after their bedtime! And they loved the prawn crackers. I felt a bit traitorous ordering foo yung and chips for them though.

The eldest loved the salt and pepper ribs, and salt and pepper anything tends to be a favourite of mine (although I prefer squid or chicken wings). I've tried to recreate the recipe, but it will need a little work, and an update next time I make it.

 

Ingredients

• 12-15 meaty pork ribs
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 1/2 onion, finely sliced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 red chilli, thinly sliced
• Coriander for garnish (optional)
• Sunflower oil for deep frying

Serves 4

 

Instructions

• Heat a wok or a heavy-based pan and add the salt, black peppercorns and Szechuan peppercorns. Stir them around for a couple of minutes, until they begin to release their aromas. Be careful not to let them burn
• Remove from the wok and allow to cool. Crush in a pestle and mortar, then stir in the five-spice powder
• Add the corn starch to the soy sauce and Shaoxing rice wine, and mix the marinade well
• Add half of the salt and pepper mixture to the marinade and mix well
• Pour the marinade over the ribs, and stir well. Cover and leave overnight in the refrigerator
• Put the ribs into a slow cooker, add the water  and cook on low for 4-5 hours. After this, remove the ribs, drain off any excess liquid (retain if you want to make a sauce) and sprinkle the remaining salt and pepper mixture over the ribs
• Heat approx. 3-4 cm depth of sunflower oil in a wok until the oil is moving around. You will know when it is ready if you put the end of a wooden chopstick in the wok, and bubbles start to appear
• Add the ribs, 5-6 at a time, and deep-fry for 3 minutes until golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper between batches
• When the ribs are all cooked, transfer to a warmed plate. Remove all but 1 tbsp oil from the wok
• Heat the oil to a medium-high heat and add the sliced onions. Stir-fry quickly for 1 minute until the onions turn glossy. Add the garlic and chilli and stir-fry for a further minute.
• If you wish to make a sauce for your ribs, add the retained juices from the slow-cooking process to the wok, and boil hard until the volume is reduced by 1/3, and the sauce is thickened and glossy
• Pour the onion mixture over the ribs and serve immediately

Salt and Pepper Ribs (椒鹽排骨)

Lemony Fried Pork Steaks (檸檬醬煎豬排)

I have to admit, this one didn't go down well at all with the children, which surprised me slightly. They love salmon steamed with lemon, ginger and soy, and are used to eating pork, so what's not to like?

Lemon chicken is one of those "not really Chinese" dishes, in that it appears on Chinese takeaway and restaurant menus, but not so often in Chinese homes. For this reason, it was one of those guilty treats on the very rare occasions that we got "western Chinese food" from the takeaway - along with sesame prawns on toast, crispy (not really) seaweed, salt and chilli ribs and ... well I can't think of anything else. To be honest, I would usually opt more for a steak and kidney pudding or battered cod and chips (with mushy peas and gravy or curry sauce) if I was to get anything from the Chinese takeaway!

To me, this pork version did taste pretty good, and also unusual in our household, because there's a lot more sugar than I usually use in cooking. The loin steaks were sliced as thin as I could and marinated overnight, and were packed with flavour. The peas provided a nice taste and textural contrast to the pork and lemon sauce. The sauce was sweet, without being too sickly. Although it didn't go down well with the children, I'll probably be serving it again in an attempt to turn them.

 

Ingredients

• Approx. 300g pork loin (I bought a small pork loin joint) or pork escalopes
• 1 handful of frozen petits pois
• 2 spring onions, washed, trimmed and finely chopped
• Juice and finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
• 90ml water
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1tsp cornflour, mixed with 20ml water to thicken
• Sunflower oil for frying
• A few drops of sesame oil

For the marinade

• 1 clove of crushed garlic
• 2cm cube of peeled fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. Shaoxing rice wine
• 1 tsp Lea and Perrins Worcester sauce
• Pinch of ground white pepper

Serves 2

 

Instructions

• Rinse the pork chops, dry on kitchen towels and slice as thinly as you can (it helps to put the pork into the freezer for 30 minutes beforehand), or buy ready-sliced escalopes. Place the pork inbetween a couple of sheets of clingfilm and bash with a rolling pin a few times to tenderise the meat
• Place the chops in a bowl and add all of the marinade ingredients. Stir well to mix, then cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes or overnight
• Make the sauce. Place the sugar, water and lemon juice in a bowl and stir to mix
• Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a wok or large frying pan, until the oil is moving around the pan and very hot. Shake any excess marinade from the pork steaks and place in the pan. Let the steaks sit in the pan for 30-40 seconds before moving them, to allow them to brown and colour nicely. Turn once and let them brown on the other side too. When the steaks are cooked through (2-3 minutes), place them onto a warmed plate and set aside in a warm oven
• Pour any excess oil from the pan, leaving about 1 tbsp remaining. Add the spring onions and fry for 10 seconds, before adding the lemon and sugar mixture. Bring to the boil and add the petits pois. Boil for 30s or until the peas are cooked through. Thicken the sauce by adding the cornflour emulsion, a little at a time, until the desired consistency has been reached.
• Add the grated lemon zest and sesame oil, stir and remove from the heat. Pour over the pork steaks and serve immediately

Lemony Fried Pork Steaks (檸檬醬煎豬排)

Slow-Cooker Ham and Vegetable Soup

My kitchen is currently in tatters, due to some disastrous building work, and we have been surviving on one hob for the past few months, as our induction hob gave up the ghost. The kind man from Miele came out and charged me about £100 to tell me that it would cost more to fix than to replace.... nevertheless! A new hob is on order and should be with us in a week. Hooray! My dad will be pleased.

This soup takes about 15 minutes' prep, then you put the slow cooker on as you leave in the morning, and it's ready for dinner, save a bit of chopping and blending. The children were adamant that their favourite soup ever was canned tomato soup (I have a soft spot for this too), but they deigned to scrape their bowls clean, which made me happy. It's filling and comforting

 

Ingredients

• 1 onion, peeled and diced into 5-8mm pieces
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced into 5-8mm pieces
• 1 stick of celery, diced into 5-8mm pieces
• 1 floury potato, peeled and diced into 5-8mm pieces
• 1 slice raw ginger, peeled
• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1 corn on the cob, stringy bits removed
• The remains of a ham shank, skin/fat removed
• 2 tbsp each of red lentils, pearl barley and green and yellow split peas (or use a handful of soup mix, such as this one)
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• A generous amount of ground black pepper

Serves 5-6

 

Instructions

• Peel the tomatoes by scoring a cross into the base of each one, then submerge in freshly boiled water for 10 minutes. Drain the tomatoes and peel the skins off. Chop roughly
• Rinse the pulses under running water
• Place the ham shank into the bottom of the slow cooker, and add the onion, carrot, celery, potato, ginger, diced tomatoes, corn on the cob (break into half if necessary) and pulses
• Add the dried, mixed herbs and ground black pepper and give everything a stir to mix
• Cover with water and cook on low for 10 hours
• When the soup is cooked, remove the ham shank, ginger and corn on the cob. Place about 1/4 of the soup mixture into a jug and blend until smooth. Return the blend to the soup
• Using a sharp knife, scrape the corn kernels from the cob and return to the soup
• Remove the meat from the ham shank and using a couple of forks, shred the meat thoroughly. Return to the soup
• Give the soup a good stir and add a little more water, if it is too thick. If it is too thin, remove some of the soup, blend and return, and mix
• Serve in big bowls with thick slices of toast (even better if you can melt some cheese on top)

Slow-Cooker Ham and Vegetable Soup

Fish-Fragrant Pork and Aubergine Pot (魚香茄子煲)

There are several different ways of cooking this dish, but this one got the seal of approval, not only from my dad, but also my mum (who doesn't like spicy food) and even the toddler. The aubergines release a lot of water, so don't worry if your dish looks a little dry to start - keep stirring it occasionally, and you will see the sauce begin to appear.

There are a few ingredients which might be difficult to get outside of a Chinese supermarket, but you could try substituting the toban jiang with yellow bean sauce and chopped chillis (keep the seeds in if you want some heat), the Shaoxing rice wine with dry sherry, and the salted mackerel with a tablespoon of Thai fish sauce.

 

Ingredients

• 1 pork loin steak, minced
• 2cm cube fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 pinch ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• A few drops of sunflower oil
• 1 aubergine
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp spicy toban jiang (辣豆瓣醬 chilli bean sauce)
• 2 spring onions, whites and greens chopped into 5mm lengths
• 1 aubergine
• 1 small piece (2 X 3cm) salted mackerel
• 80ml water
• Sunflower oil for frying
• A few drops sesame oil

Serves 3-4

 

Instructions

• Squeeze the juice from the grated ginger over the minced pork. Add the ground white pepper, the cornflour and a few drops of sunflower oil and combine well. Cover and marinade for at least 30 minutes in the fridge
• Soak the mackerel for 10 minutes in boiling water, then peel away the skin and bones, and flake the flesh roughly
• Half-peel the aubergine lengthways, so that you get a stripy effect. Slice the aubergine lengthways, then cut the slices into matches, roughly 10-12mm sides. Cut each match in half, the size should be similar to that of chips
• Heat a tablespoon of sunflower oil in a hot wok, until the oil is moving. Add the spring onions and stir-fry rapidly for 10 seconds
• Add the minced pork and garlic, and stir-fry rapidly, until the pork is browned
• Add the Shaoxing rice wine, light soy sauce, sugar and toban jiang, and stir rapidly to combine. Add the aubergines and salted mackerel, and stir the mixture together to coat the aubergines
• Add 80 ml water to the wok and bring back to the boil. Reduce the heat to moderate, cover and let cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the mixture from sticking to the base of the wok
• When the aubergines are softened, thicken the sauce if required by adding 1/2 tsp cornflour mixed in 20ml water
• Remove from the heat and add a few drops of sesame oil. Serve immediately

Fish-Fragrant Pork and Aubergine Pot (魚香茄子煲)

Pork Ribs and Papaya Soup (木瓜排骨湯)

So on one of my sad Friday evening ambles to the supermarket, I spotted a couple of papaya for 39p and how could I resist? I swear it was Il Divo blaring "Oh Holy Night" over the loudspeakers that messed with my head.

Pretty much the only time I ever have papaya is after having a baby, as it's rumoured to be good for milk production - and my dad has a "bible" of all of the foods that a new mother can eat. Literally, meal by meal by meal for about six weeks post-birth! We usually come to blows by about week 4, but really Dad, I love and appreciate your efforts!

This soup is normally done with peanuts, but the youngest is starting to show signs of a peanut intolerance, so I've substituted with almonds. I've used "north" (bitter) and "south" (sweet) almonds in this soup, and the mix should be approx north:south 1:3. If you can't get the north and south almonds, then use raw peanuts (a small handful) or even maybe try normal almonds.

I cooked this soup in my 婆婆's 3 litre crockpot (probably older than I am). It could also be cooked in a pan, brought to the boil then simmered for a couple of hours, or in a vacuum cooker.

 

Ingredients

• 350g pork ribs
• 1 dried octopus (章魚幹)
• A thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled
• 2 papaya, deseeded, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 2 red dates (jujubes)
• 1/2 tbsp north almonds
• 1 1/2 tbsp south almonds
• 2-3 tsp salt

Serves 6

 

Instructions

• Rinse the dried octopus and scrape off any sand or grit. Cut into 3 or 4 pieces
• Place the ribs into a pan, pour over boiling water and boil for 5 minutes, to get rid of any scum and impurities. Drain and rinse under water
• Place all of the ingredients except for the papaya into a 3 litre crockpot and pour over enough water to nearly fill the pot
• Cook on high for 6-7 hours. 2 hours before the end, add the papaya to the pot
• At the end of the cooking, add 2 tsp salt to the soup and taste. Add more salt if required, until you have achieved the required taste

Pork Ribs and Papaya Soup (木瓜排骨湯)

Thai Flavours Kohlrabi with Minced Pork (泰式芥蘭頭炒豬肉)

At this point, I will admit that I'm not sure what kohlrabi is called in Chinese, so I hope my dodgy memory serves me correctly here - because Google Translate said something I didn't recognise at all... I also have no idea whether kohlrabi features in Thai cuisine, but there was fish sauce, chilli and sugar in it, so it was more Thai than anything else.....

I would like to see kohlrabi available more widely - it's relatively easy to grow, and has a mild, slightly cabbagey taste. I like to cut it into sticks, stir-fry it, then add some water to the wok, cover and steam it until it still has some bite. You can add all sorts of flavours to it (but not fermented tofu!). With the minced pork, I fancied chillis, then the fish sauce seemed a logical addition.

 

Ingredients

• 2-3 small kohlrabi (I bought one large, but the small ones are a bit less fibrous)
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 red chilli, finely sliced (leave the seeds in if you want heat)
• 150g pork mince
• 2cm cube ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• A pinch of ground white pepper
• 1-2 shakes of light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour + additional for thickening
• A few drops sesame oil
• Sunflower oil for frying

Serves 4

 

Instructions

• Squeeze the grated ginger juice over the minced pork. Add a shake of ground white pepper, 1 tsp corn flour, 1-2 shakes of light soy sauce and a few drops of sunflower oil. Cover and leave to marindade for at least 30 minutes
• Cut the top and bottom off the kohlrabi, and peel the skin layer off. Slice in half down the length of the kohlrabi, then cut down the length into sticks, approx. 1cm square at the top
• Heat 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a wok until very hot. Add the pork mince and stir-fry until it is sealed, and has taken on some colour
• Add the kohlrabi, chopped garlic and chilli to the wok and stir-fry rapidly for a minute or two, until the ingredients are mixed, aromatic and coated in oil. Take care not to let the garlic catch and burn
• Add the Thai fish sauce, sugar, and 50ml water. Bring the mixture to the boil, then cover and boil gently for 7-8 minutes, until the kohlrabi is soft, but retains some bite
• Thicken the sauce by adding 1/2 tsp cornflour mixed with a little water, if required, and bringing back to the boil
• Remove from the heat, add a few drops of sesame oil. Stir and serve immediately

Thai Flavours Kohlrabi with Minced Pork (泰式芥蘭頭炒豬肉)

Hong Kong Style Baked Pork Chops with Rice (港式焗豬扒飯)

This is my take on this Hong Kong diner-style recipe, and it went down quite well tonight. The children usually have minced or finely sliced, stir-fried meat, and are not used to eating chops/steaks, so they took a bit of persuading. I used two large pork chops, which was enough to feed two adults and 3 small children. I also used fresh tomatoes in the recipe, but a tin of chopped tomatoes would be just fine as a subsitute.

 

Ingredients

Marinade

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 3 good shakes of light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp sunflower oil

Tomato Sauce

• 4-5 large, ripe tomatoes
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp worcester sauce
• (Optional) 1 tsp Knorr chicken powder
• Approx. 100ml tomato ketchup

Other ingredients

• 1/2 a romano pepper, or a standard red pepper, finely diced
• 1-2 handfuls of frozen petits pois
• 1/2 a large carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 2cm cube of ginger, peeled and finely grated
• Approx. 3 bowls of cooked rice, which has been refrigerated overnight or for half a day
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 large, thick pork chops
• 150ml chicken stock
• Ground white pepper
• A couple of handfuls of cheddar or mozarella cheese
• Sunflower oil for frying

Serves 2-3

 

Instructions

• Combine the marinade ingredients and pour over the pork chops into a shallow dish. Cover and marinade the pork chops for at least 30 minutes
• Make the tomato sauce. Skin the tomatoes by scoring a cross in the bottom of each tomato, then pouring boiling water over until fully submerged. Leave for 10-15 minutes, then pour away the water. Peel the skins off the tomatoes, then chop roughly and put aside
• Heat 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a heavy based saucepan to moderate heat, then add the crushed garlic and let bubble gently for a minute or so, to flavour the oil. Do not let the garlic catch and burn
• Add the tomatoes, the chicken powder, worcester sauce and tomato ketchup, and stir well to combine. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Break up the sauce with a fork or potato masher

• Pre-heat the oven to 185 degrees fan
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or large frying pan to high, then add the diced carrots. Stir-fry quickly for 30 seconds, then add the romano pepper and the grated ginger, and stir-fry quickly for another 30 seconds.
• Add the rice and stir-fry quickly for 2-3 minutes, until the rice is completely coated in the oil and the ingredients are well combined
• Add a handful or two of frozen petits pois, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Add a dash of light soy sauce and mix well
• Push all of the rice to one side of the wok, then tip the wok so that there is an empty space at the bottom. Add the beaten egg and chop and scramble it quickly with a spatula, until it is cooked. Combine the egg and fried rice
• Pour the rice mixture into a baking dish, and pour over 150ml of hot chicken stock

Fried Rice

• Heat 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in a large frying pan until it is very hot. Shake any excess marinade from the pork chops, and place in the frying pan. Brown on 1 side of a minute or so, then flip over and brown on the other side
• Place the pork chops onto the rice

• Pour the tomato sauce over the pork and rice, and sprinkle the grated cheese on top
• Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and browned, and the tomato sauce is bubbling
• Remove from the oven. Place the pork chops onto a chopping board, and cut into pieces, if serving more than 2 people. Stir the rice, and serve with the pork in warmed dishes

I might use more cheese next time...

 

 

Hong Kong Style Baked Pork Chops with Rice (港式焗豬扒飯)

Barbecue Pulled Pork

My friend, Amy, introduced me to the Facebook group "Slow Cooked Wonders", then sent me the recipe for "Epic Pork". I'd done something similar in the slow cooker before, so this is my personal take on the recipe. It made a big difference to get rid of some of the cooking liquid before adding the barbecue sauce, and although it would be easier to use a shop-bought sauce (in which case I like Paul Newman's Original Sticky BBQ Sauce), it didn't take much more effort to make my own version. And the great thing about that is that I get to plug Colman's OK sauce. I am very attached to this sauce, as I was responsible for installing the process plant at Colman's in Norwich, which makes it! Now that the memories of falling into bed at 5am, exhausted after a night of commissioning, to be woken at 5.30am by an operator saying "we need you to come in, we can't get the clean working", are in the dim and distant past, I remember my time in Norwich very fondly.



Colman's OK Sauce - a product close to my heart!

The recipe on the Facebook group mentioned discarding the rind after the slow-cook, but being Chinese stingy, I rendered the fat in a frying pan, poured it off, and made myself an enormous pork scratching instead. The children had the pork in sandwiches, but we ran out of bread, and the adults had it with boiled rice and stir-fried greens - both meals were very good.

 

Ingredients

• 1 pork shoulder, 1.7 - 2kg
• 1/2 glass white wine
• 1/2 glass apple juice
• 2 slices of ginger

Barbecue Sauce

• 35g butter
• 1 small onion, chopped finely
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 mug of cooking liquid from the slow cooker
• 1/4 mug of tomato ketchup
• 3/4 mug of Colman's OK sauce (or use a brown sauce)
• 2 tbsp worcester sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp paprika
• (optional) 1 tsp chilli flakes
• (optional) 1 dessert spoon of cornflour, mixed with 50ml of water for thickening

Serves 8-10

 

Instructions

• Wash the pork shoulder and scrape/burn/pull off any stray hairs
• Place the shoulder (skin side up) in a slow cooker. Add the white wine, apple juice and ginger. Cook on low for 8-10 hours
• When the pork has finished cooking, remove it from the slow cooker, cut off the rind (you can discard this or make it into a pork scratching) and set aside
• (If you are making your own barbecue sauce, take a mugful of the cooking liquid)
• Pour the cooking liquid away and return the pork to the slow cooker. Shred with two forks, then pour over the barbecue sauce and mix thoroughly
• If you have time, leave the pork and the barbecue sauce to slow cook for an hour, to let the flavours mingle
• Serve with crusty bread, or with rice and green vegetables

Barbecue Pulled Pork with Crusty Bread

 



• To make your own barbecue sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan
• Add the chopped onion and minced garlic, and soften over a moderate heat for 5 minutes
• Add the cooking liquid from the slow cooker, tomato ketchup, OK sauce, worcester sauce, ground black pepper, balsamic vinegar, honey, paprika and chilli flakes and stir well to combine
• Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 25 minutes
• After cooking, remove from the heat and blitz to a puree with a stick blender or in a liquidiser
• If you wish to thicken the sauce, return to the hob, and add 1 dessert spoon of cornflour, mixed with 50ml of water. Bring the sauce to the boil and stir until the sauce is thickened

• To make a pork scratching, use a knife to score the fat on the underside of the rind
• Heat in a moderate frying pan until the fat renders - pour off the fat periodically
• When most of the fat is rendered, turn the heat up and place the rind skin-side down. Press down with a spatula until the rind is bubbling and crisp
• Drain on kitchen towls, grind over salt and pepper, cool and enjoy

Enormous Pork Scratching

Crispy Roast Belly Pork (燒肉)

Yum. Yum yum yum. Just the thought of whole bellies of crispy pork in the window of a Chinese restaurant has me salivating. It took several attempts to get this right, and even now it doesn't always go to plan. For example, today I took the belly pork out of the oven and thought "Hmm. It looks rubbish, and I promised Mum and Dad I'd give half to them. They'll be disappointed." The skin had not bubbled up enough, and I thought it would be rock-hard, but surprisingly, it was not bad.

I ran into the fabulous butcher near work, Edge & Son in New Ferry, 5 minutes before closing time on Friday. Although the shelves had been emptied, I got a lovely belly of Gloucester Old Spot. Thing is though, and I'm not sure if it's the same with supermarket pork belly, there were still many bristles attached - not long, just stubbly. I scraped with a knife, but even after 2 hours with a pair of tweezers (and it was 2am by this stage), still struggled to get rid of them all. Apparently I need a blow torch! Suggestions welcome, anyway. The bristles weren't too noticeable in the finished dish, but I knew they were there.

I saw Larkin from Masterchef do interesting-looking things with a hair dryer to his belly pork, presumably because he only had 3 hours to dry the thing out, and I'm tempted to try this technique sometime - my usual method is just to leave it with a kitchen towel over the skin in the fridge, overnight. I poured a kettle of boiling water over the skin, as this shrinks it and is said to make the skin crispier. However, I wonder whether that's why it was so hard to remove the bristles - next time, will try without. A halogen oven seems to give a better success rate, but you can also roast the belly pork in a normal conventional or fan oven. You can crisp the skin up under a grill after cooking, but keep an eye on it, as it burns quickly.

 

Ingredients

• Approx. 1kg pork belly (leave the rind unscored), ribs removed
• 1 tbsp yellow bean sauce
• 1 tsp five-spice powder
• 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
• A few pinches of salt

 

Instructions

• Scrape the pork rind with a sharp knife and remove any remaining bristles with a blow torch or a pair of tweezers. Place the belly, skin-side up, onto a chopping board or tray over a sink, and slowly pour a full kettle of boiling water over the skin. You will see the skin shrink and tighten
• Dry the belly with kitchen towels, turn over, and score the flesh lengthways, making incisions around 0.5cm deep, approx. 3cm apart
• Place the belly skin-side up. Take a skewer or a small, sharp knife, and stab the rind all over, several times (think Psycho shower scene). You want to have as many small holes as possible in the skin, as these will bubble and crisp when the belly is cooking. Although it isn't advisable to stab through the entire thickness of the belly, it's such a forgiving joint that I am not too careful
• Prepare the marinade by mixing the yellow bean sauce, five-spice powder, light soy, honey and hoisin sauce in a bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush this generously over the flesh, working it into the incisions. Do not brush over the skin
• Place the belly, skin-side up, in a tray. Sprinkle with salt and rub into the skin. Place a folded kitchen towel over the skin and leave in the refrigerator overnight to dry out

Pork Belly, Stabbed, Skin Salted, Marinaded and Ready for the Fridge

• Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees fan. Remove the kitchen towel from the pork belly. Place on a rack on a baking tray and roast for 50-60 minutes - turn down the heat to 180 degrees if the skin looks as if it is burning
• Remove from the oven and rest for at least 20 minutes. Cut off any burned marinade from the sides of the flesh. place skin-side down on a chopping board, and chop into pieces through the incisions
• Serve with rice

Don't worry about burned marindade - the flesh will be moist and white underneath

 

Crispy Roast Belly Pork (燒肉)

Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)

I adore this dish, but sadly we don't make it very often nowadays. "Mapo" translates as "pock-marked grandmother", so this dish is sometimes known as "pock-marked grandmother's tofu".

The children aren't yet ready or willing to eat this lip-numbing Sichuanese dish, so the portions I've measured out will make enough for two adults. You can buy ready-made jars of mapo sauce (麻婆醬) in the Chinese supermarket, but I have made it using a spicy ground bean sauce, tobian jiang (辣豆瓣酱).

Lee Kum Kee Chilli Bean Sauce (辣豆瓣酱)

 

Ingredients

• Approx. 150g pork mince (I minced a single pork loin steak)
• 200g firm tofu, cut into 1.5cm cubes (I used Cauldron tofu from the supermarket)
• 2 tsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp sunflower or vegetable oil
• 2cm cube raw ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 150ml chicken or pork stock
• 2 tsp chilli bean sauce (la toban jiang 辣豆瓣酱)
• 1/2 spring onion, finely sliced on the diagonal
• A small handful of frozen petits pois
• A few drops of sesame oil
• 1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil for frying
• 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 tsp cornflour, mixed with 20ml water

Serves 2

 

Instructions

• Dry-fry the Sichuan peppercorns for 20 seconds, or until they begin to release their aroma. Crush them lightly and set aside
• Add the light soy, dark soy, sugar, Shaoxing rice wine and 1 tsp sunflower oil to the pork mince and mix thoroughly. Set aside and marinade for at least 20 minutes
• Heat a wok until very hot. Add 1 tbsp sunflower oil and swirl it around the wok
• Add the pork mince and fry it quickly, lifting and chopping the mince with a spatula to cook it. Once it is sealed, add the minced garlic and ginger and fry quickly for 20 seconds
• Add the chilli bean sauce to the mince mixture with any remaining marinade and stir-fry, ensuring that the sauce is thoroughly mixed with the mince
• Add the chicken or pork stock to the mince and bring it to the boil. Cover and boil gently for 5 minutes
• Add the cubes of tofu and petits pois and stir gently to mix with the pork mixture. Bring back to the boil. Add the cornflour/water mixture to thicken the sauce, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes, until the petits pois have cooked through and the tofu has taken on the flavours of the sauce
• Remove the wok from the heat and add a few drops of sesame oil. Place in a warmed serving dish, garnished with the ground Sichuan peppercorns and spring onion. Serve immediately

 

Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)

Stir-Fried Cabbage with Bacon (煙肉炒椰菜)

I'm sure that there's some cabbagey-bacony dish in many cuisines - something like it always pops up on the Christmas table, and I have happy memories of having lunchtime teppan-yaki cabbage and bacon in the food court downstairs in the Metro Tower in Shanghai, when I worked there back in 2001.

We've been away for a week, and 3 days before we went, my parents emptied their fridge into mine (they were going away too). This led to much frantic peeling, chopping and freezing, and heartbroken chucking of fruit and veg into the composter. Some things I left in the fridge, including a sweetheart cabbage which I'd picked up for 10p or something in my local Waitrose on a Sunday afternoon. I used this in tonight's dish, coupled with the remainder of a packet of pancetta and it was lovely - but standard white or green cabbage and streaky bacon would be just as tasty.

Ingredients

• 1/2 sweetheart cabbage, shredded into 5mm strips
• 3 strips of pancetta or streaky bacon, cut into 5mm strips
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
• 1 slice of raw ginger, peeled and bashed with the flat of a cleaver
• 1/2 tsp chicken powder
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 50ml water
• Few drops sesame oil

Serves 2 as a side dish

Instructions

• Heat a wok or heavy-based frying pan until very hot. Add the pancetta/bacon and fry (without disturbing it too much) until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and put to one side. Drain away the oil, until approx. 1 tbsp remains in the pan. If you do not have this much oil from the pancetta or bacon, top up with sunflower oil
• Heat the pan back up and add the slice of ginger. Fry quickly for 30 seconds to flavour the oil, then add the shredded cabbage. Stir-fry quickly for 1 minute until the cabbage is glossy - take care not to burn the cabbage
• Add the garlic to the pan and stir-fry quickly for 1 minute, before adding the chicken powder, sugar and water. Mix to combine, cover the pan and lower the heat, until the water is boiling but not too vigorously. Boil for 4 minutes until the cabbage is softened but still with some bite
• Add the pancetta or bacon back to the pan and heat through. Remove from the heat, then add a few drops of sesame oil and mix in
• Remove the slice of ginger and serve immediately in a warmed dish

Stir-Fried Cabbage with Bacon (煙肉炒椰菜)

Slow Cooked Pork and Peas with Chu Hou Sauce (排骨豬腩炆碗豆)

We've been growing peas this summer, much to the delight of my eldest. She loves to help me to shell the peas whilst sitting in the sunshine, but refuses to eat them!

This is a lovely slow cooker recipe which requires a bit of preparation, but it is well worth it. If you don't have a slow cooker, you can cook it in a casserole and place in a low oven (say 120 degrees fan) for 90 minutes or so.

Ingredients

• 300g pork belly strips, cut into large chunks, about 3-4cm length
• 250g meaty pork ribs, cut into 4cm lengths
• 1 heaped tablespoon chu hou (柱侯) sauce - use hoisin sauce if you don't have it, and add a bit more garlic and ginger to the pot
• 3-4 slices of ginger, bashed with the flat of a cleaver
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, bashed with the flat of a cleaver and peeled
• 1 very heaped tbsp of chu hou (柱侯) sauce
• 1-2 tbsp of light soy sauce
• 1 capful of shaoxing rice wine (or substitute dry sherry)
• 1 star anise
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 450ml pork stock
• 2 big handfuls of shelled peas
• 1 tsp sugar
• Few drops of sesame oil
• Sunflower oil for frying

Serves 2 hungry people

Instructions

• Prepare the marinade. Place the chu hou sauce, light soy sauce, shaoxing wine, cornflour and star anise into a bowl and mix to combine
• Place all of the pork into a large pan and cover with boiling water. Boil gently for 5 minutes to allow the scum to rise to the surface. Drain into a colander and rinse the scum from the meat
• Heat about 1cm depth of sunflower oil into a wok until very hot. Add the ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds, before adding the garlic
• When the garlic begins to turn golden, add the pork. Keeping the heat high, move the pork around the wok, until it is sealed and browned. Remove the garlic and ginger and discard
• Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and place into a bowl. Add the marinade to the pork and mix well to give the meat an even coating
• Heat the oil remaining in the wok, and add the sliced onions. Stir fry quickly for a minute or two until the onions are softened and glossy. Remove from the wok, leaving behind as much excess oil as possible

(optional - at this point I added the onions to the pork and left it in the fridge overnight, as I was putting it into the slow cooker the next morning for dinner)

• Place the pork, onions, peas, sugar and pork stock into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours
• At the end of cooking, skim away any excess fat from the surface of the sauce. If you wish to thicken the sauce, place in a pan on the hob and add some cornflour mixed with a little water - a teaspoon of cornflour at a time. Add a few drops of sesame oil and serve with boiled rice

Slow Cooked Pork and Peas with Chu Hou Sauce (排骨豬腩炆碗豆)

Served with Rice

Steamed Pork Ribs (蒸排骨) - Two Variations

These steamed ribs are one of my eldest's favourites, although she recently lost her two front teeth so they might be off the menu for a while. I asked my butcher to chop them for me into 4 cm lengths (2kg, 10 minutes before closing time, I bet he loved that!). However, I've since learned from my friend, Kit, that I need to ask for the meaty ribs, as the ones I got were a bit on the skinny side. For supermarket ribs, I would go out of my way to buy Waitrose's free range pork ribs - my Mum made a lot of these for me after my eldest was born, and recommends them highly.

Chu Hou (柱侯) sauce is a soybean sauce, which can be found in Chinese supermarkets. An alternative could be hoisin sauce, maybe with a little more garlic and ginger.

Chu Hou Sauce

Because my parents do it, I soak the ribs for a few hours, which makes them lovely and soft. You can make batches of these and freeze them in their marinade. Once defrosted, they sit in a steaming basket above your rice while it cooks, for a hassle-free dinner.

Ingredients (with Chu Hou Sauce)

• Approx. 500g pork ribs, chopped into 4cm lengths, soaked for a few hours and drained
• 4-5 slices of peeled, fresh ginger, cut into matchsticks
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 2-3 dessert spoons of chu hou sauce
• Few drops of sesame oil

Serves 2

Instructions

• Place the ribs, ginger, cornflour, chu hou sauce and sesame oil into a large bowl and combine thoroughly
• Let marinade for at least 30 minutes, ideally overnight
• Place in a steaming dish and steam for 20 minutes
• Serve with rice



Variation (with Black Bean, Garlic and Chilli Sauce)

A tasty variation is to replace the chu hou sauce with black bean and garlic sauce, and add a sliced red chilli. If you don't like too much spice, de-seed the chilli before adding it to the mix.

Lee Kum Kee Black Bean and Garlic Sauce

Steamed Pork Ribs with Black Bean, Garlic and Chilli

Pork and Tomato (番茄豬肉)

We used to have this as beef and tomato when I was a child, but then there was the mad cow disease scandal, and my parents took beef off the menu at home immediately. So we substituted everything beefy with pork, and this one never changed back. Mind you, the only really beefy dish my Dad does nowadays is beef flank slow-cooked with mooli (I'm salivating just thinking about that one).

Ordinarily I'd just use sliced pork loin, but because the not really a baby anymore is still only small, I bought some pork leg and put it through the food processor.

Ingredients

• 200g pork mince, or thinly sliced pork loin
• Thumb-sized piece of raw ginger, peeled
• 1 teaspoon of cornflour
• 4 large, ripe tomatoes
• 2-3 tablespoons of tomato ketchup
• 1 dessert spoon of worcester sauce
• A splash of light soy sauce
• Half a large onion, sliced thinly
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2-3 handfuls of frozen petits pois
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and bashed with the flat of a cleaver
• Ground white pepper to taste
• Sunflower oil for frying
• A splash of sesame oil

Serves 2-3

Instructions

• Grate the ginger finely and squeeze the juice over your pork. Add the cornflour, a drop of sunflower oil and some ground white pepper and mix to combine. Leave for at least 20 minutes. (If you don't have time for this, just add the cornflour, oil and pepper to the pork and mix, and throw a couple of slices of ginger into the wok with the garlic later).
• Skin the tomatoes. Cut a large cross into the bottom of each, place in a large bowl and pour boiling water over. Leave for 15 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. The skin should peel off easily. Chop roughly and put to one side
• Heat some sunflower oil in a wok or flat-bottomed pan, and add the beaten egg. Spread it around the surface, so you have a thin pancake of egg. Flip over and cook through. Remove from the heat, chop into pieces and put to one side
• Give the wok a wipe and return to the heat. Add a small amount of sunflower oil and when hot, add the garlic clove (and the sliced ginger if using). Swirl around the oil to flavour it, and remove before it starts to burn
• Add the chopped onions to the wok, and stir-fry for 5 minutes until softened
• Add the pork and stir-fry until it is browned
• Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, worcester sauce and light soy sauce, and stir to combine. Add a little water to loosen the mixture, if required, and white pepper to taste
• Cover the pan and leave to cook for 15 minutes
• Add the petits pois and cook through for a few minutes
• Add the egg at the end, heat through and add a couple of drops of sesame oil
• Serve with rice

Pork and Tomato with Rice

Steamed Pork with Salted Eggs (咸蛋蒸猪肉)

This dish takes me right back to my childhood, and is a comforting meal accompaniment to soft, fluffy rice. Most nights, we would have our rice in bowls, then separate dishes of meat, fish and veg to pile on top of the rice. However, this is one of the few meals where you should empty your rice from bowl to a large dish, help yourself to a generous portion of the pork and egg, then mix it all thoroughly, and enjoy with some stir-fried or boiled green veg.

The methods seem a bit fiddly, but they are worth the effort - the secrets to this dish are pack a small amount of meat as loosely as you can in the bottom of the dish, to use as fresh eggs as possible, and to use cooled boiled water to mix with your eggs. The aim is to get as smooth and glossy a finish as possible on your egg. I added some ground white pepper to my egg mixture, but I think this detracts from the appearance.

Salted duck eggs are available in every Chinese supermarket. I've just used the last egg which was given to me by my parents, who salt their own. One day I will get around to salting a large jar of these myself!

Ingredients

• Approx 250g pork mince
• Thumb-sized piece of raw ginger, peeled
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• Generous sprinkle of ground white pepper
• A generous lug of sesame oil
• (1 or) 2 salted duck eggs, both yolks but the white of only one
• 2 hen's eggs, as fresh as you can
• Cooled, boiled water 
• Splash of light soy sauce
• Drop of sunflower oil

Serves 3-4

Instructions

• Grate the ginger finely and squeeze the juice over your pork mince. Add the cornflour, 2-3 good lugs of sesame oil and a sprinkle of white pepper. Mix the whole lot thoroughly, cover and leave to marinade in the fridge for 20 minutes or as long as you can (I left mine overnight)
• Place the pork into the bottom of a steaming dish, and fluff it and spread round the base loosely. If you compact it, it will shrink and get hard during cooking
• Take the two salted duck egg yolks and slice each in half. Lay the half-yolks on top of the pork mince. Place the dish into a wok or steamer over water, and steam for 10 minutes.

Pork and duck yolks after 10 mins steaming

• Meanwhile, make your egg mixture. Place the white of one of the duck eggs into a bowl. Add the two hen's eggs and 2 parts cooled boiled water per 1 part hen's egg - so I added 2 hen's eggs, then used the half-egg shell to put in 8 measures of water. Add a drop of sunflower oil
• Combine the egg mixture gently, trying not to create too many air bubbles. Pour over the top of the pork mixture, cover and steam for approx. 10 minutes. If your water/egg ratio is wrong, or if you steam for too long, the egg will go rubbery and matt in appearance and texture
• You can tell the egg is ready by poking it with a chopstick or spoon - when it is no longer liquid, remove it from the steaming rack.
• Pour over a splash of soy sauce and serve

The white pepper spoiled the appearance somewhat

Steamed pork with salted eggs