Taste Tradition - Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Cabbage a.k.a. Mui Choy

OK, so I think I got some momentum on this now and managed today to capture a third post on traditional Chinese recipes from mom. 

Have you seen or eaten Mui Choy/Mei Cai/Preserved Mustard Cabbage before? It looks like this after soaking for 2-3 hours.

So here's what I managed to download from mom's head. She learned to cook this as a teenager - mind you, we're talking about somewhere around the 1950s. 

Ingredients:

500g Pork Belly (wash it in hot boiling water on the stove for 15 min - see pic below)

300g Mui Choy/Preserved Mustard Cabbage (soak for 2-3 hours)

6 Garlic, minced

Rice Vinegar, 1 Tbsp

Dark Soya Sauce, 1 Tbsp

Sesame Oil, 1/2 Tbsp

Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Soak vegetable for 2-3 hours, then cut into 1/2" thick - see pic.

2. Clean pork belly as above and cut into 1/2" thick - see pic.

3. Heat oil in hot pan, then add minced garlic. 

4. When fragrant and slightly brown, add meat. Stir for 2 minutes.

5. Add seasoning - pinch of salt, pepper, sesame oil, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar.

6. Allow taste to infuse, then add vegetable.

7. Add more dark soya sauce so meat and vegetable are of same colour (optional).

8. Stir for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.

9. Add 2 bowls of water, bring to boil, then allow to simmer till almost dry, then add another 2 bowls of water.

10. Simmer for half an hour, partially covered, till meat is tender.

11. Serve with a bowl of steamed organic brown rice. 

Find yourself a nice wooden bench and enjoy with a pair of chopsticks. As with all Chinese moms, my mom makes enough to last a week. In all honesty, this dish tastes best after a day or two!

Click here to see the first post on Mom's 10-minute whole fish dish and the second on Chap Chye (Chinese Mixed Vegetables).

Speaking of moms, don't forget to wish yours, Happy Mother's Day today!

Home-baked Oats and Honey Granola, reduced sugar of course

I tidied up my pantry and found many small packages of leftover nuts, seeds and dried fruits. I decided to do my own granola at home based on what I've seen my pastry chef do at the social enterprise. Call this the recipe to clear snack scraps.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup Rolled Oats (higher fibre and less processed than quick cooking oats)
- 1/2 cup Raisins and Cranberries
- Handful of leftover almonds, walnuts, pecan nuts, brazilian nuts, figs, apricots, dates (no quantity, just scraps to clear)
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (choose this over the sweetened version)
- 2-3 Tbsp Manuka Honey or any good quality pure honey (more if you like it sweeter)
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar (very little compared to store-bought granola)
- Some leftover buckwheat crackers that had already gone soft in the fridge
- And..and..and....Sticks and Twigs!

I used a very simple method - just mix everything together and bake in the oven at 200C for 12-15 minutes, depending on oven performance and personal taste. Like all first loves, there's a beautiful tinge of sweet-bitterness if you get it ever so slightly, just a tad burnt.

Here's the before and after look.

How gloriously resurrected are the soft nuts and limp crackers.

Yes, use baking paper so they don't stick to your tray.

Expect clumps and clusters when the brown sugar and honey caramelise beautifully with these wholesome ingredients. Allow to cool completely before serving with plain yoghurt or milk, topped with your favourite fruit. You can also sterilise a bottle and store them airtight. They should keep for weeks. Or they could finish in one afternoon!

Remember these rascals below? Yes, they found their purpose in life. Now, they give off a beautiful crunch in the teeth and taste absolutely divine!

This combo meal of 10 different nuts, seeds and fruits gave off a wonderful aroma when I pulled open the oven door. I particularly enjoy the crunch of every bite, and the occasional cranberry or raisin gave me temporary respite whenever my soft palate needed it.

It brought great cheer to me on a dull and gloomy morning, you know, one of those mornings when you wake up and wonder WHO AM I AND WHAT THE HEAVEN AM I DOING?? It made my day to know I've cleared out all the annoying small leftover packages. Yes, the small joys in my life now.

And now, to stock up on fresh inventory - I'm thinking pine nuts, hazel nuts and some Middle Eastern figs. Speaking of Middle Eastern, did you know it's Independence Day for Israel this week, 15 May?

Healthy food = tasteless food?

Check this out - healthy pretzel snacks made from organic brown rice, organic quinoa, organic flax seeds, organic sesame seeds, and ... listen to this... organic curry powder!

This is the most tasteless thing I have ever put in my mouth! Even the health conscious hubster found it hard to swallow, literally.  Quote: "It's so organic you can taste the sand!" Unquote. It is not food and certainly no snack! Come to think of it, the name is pretty appropriate - it's no different to picking up a twig from the floor and try to bite into it.

I am all for healthy food. If you have been following my blog, you will know that to be true. But these sticks and twigs are pushing me off the edge. The only way to get through this pack is to have a really good dip.

What's the worst healthiest food you've ever eaten? I honestly believe food can be healthy and tasty at the same time, and you don't have to choose one over the other.

Wait, I found a way to revive these sticks - check out the next post.

Raspberry Ripple Cheesecake Ice-cream

There's my raspberry ripple cheesecake ice cream. It's made from the fresh raspberries that I had macerated earlier. It didn't achieve the height I was looking for but I was happy with the taste and texture.

Raspberry ripple has been my favourite ice cream flavour (sometimes it's a toss between this and chocolate) but it's something I share in common with my sister, so this reminds me much of our childhood days. 

I poured half a cup of freshly-brewed espresso onto a slice and was rewarded with a powerful combination of sweet, tangy, bitter taste.

Recipe (adapted from Wendy. Thanks, Wendy.)

No baking needed but you need to prepare the raspberries overnight, and you need a few hours to freeze the final product before serving.

Ingredients
150g Fresh or Frozen Raspberries macerated with 30g Sugar (Click here to see how it's done)
200g Cream Cheese at room temperature
50g Sugar
200g Plain Yoghurt
250ml Whipping Cream
30g Sugar

Method
1. Prepare an 8" pan - line it with Cling Wrap so cake can be removed easily. Or you can use any ice-cream tub and dig in directly!
2. Beat cream cheese with 50g sugar till smooth and creamy.
3. Mix in yoghurt and check taste. Add more sugar to taste if necessary.
4. Whip cream in a chilled bowl until it thickens, then add 30g sugar and whip till soft peaks.
5. Fold cream into cheese mixture.
6. Fill pan with 1/3 of mixture, then level it. Spoon half of raspberry sauce over and gently spread it around.
7. Gently dollop with remaining mixture and smooth the surface.
8. Here's the fun and sexy part - Drop teaspoons of raspberry sauce onto the ice cream and with a knife or fork, draw on the sauce to create ripples.
9. Freeze cheesecake for a few hours or overnight. Transfer from freezer to chiller half an hour before cutting and serving.
10. Good on its own or drizzle a few teaspoons of espresso for an added kick.

Word of the Week - Macerate

Try macerating with one hand and taking a photo of it with the other!

I've never heard of this word till I read it in Wendy's blog. Such a strange word that actually sounded offensive to a friend, purely based on sound. Simply put, it's a culinary term that means to soften or break down something, usually by soaking in a liquid. In the case of the raspberry here, it is sprinkled with sugar, then left overnight in the fridge to sit and release their own juices. This process makes the food more flavorful. Don't confuse this with marinade though, as the fruit does not go into any cooking form thereafter.

In this picture, the texture is jam-like and you can choose to break it down further with the back of a spoon. For me, I like to taste the fruit chunks.

How much do you like fresh and real fruit in your dessert. No, that's not a question.

Check out my next post when I use these macerated raspberries to form a ripple cheesecake ice-cream based on Wendy's recipe.