We're having a party this Saturday. It's a housewarming party (despite the fact we moved in almost 4 months ago), but I'm a control freak and have pretty much taken charge of the event. And, as I never do things by halves, it is going to be big. My facebook events page states that I will be making 'snacks', but anyone who has been to one of my parties knows that snacks are a slight understatement. It's the perfect opportunity to show off my cooking skills and I love playing hostess, so I usually spend the whole week and all day of the event running around the kitchen like a mad hatter. I'm often a little over-ambitious and tend to over complicate things, and with our two-stove hob and an oven about the size of my toe, this is sure to be an interesting one. "Why don't we just get a couple of bags of crisps?" Ali asked. "I don't do crisps", I replied.
We're trying to keep it relatively cheap, so we're using ingredients that are readily available in China instead of going to the expat shops. I've got a kind of middle eastern/mexican theme going on, a strange combination, involving obscene amounts of coriander (which I will have to tone down, cos Ali can't stand the stuff, strange boy). The menu has changed considerably, but so far I've planned:
Olive and paprika flatbread
Cumin and garlic flatbread
Hummus
Mouttabal
Falafel
Aubergines in honey batter
Spicy sweet potato wedges
Salsa
Nachos
...and I might do cookies for dessert, as that's all our oven seems to be able to handle at the moment, and an as of yet undecided fun dessert that doesn't involve the bloody thing.
Eek! I'm excited.
Monday, 4 May 2009
Hong shao rou
Many people squirm with disgust at the thought of eating fat. Whether it be found on a juicy steak, a pork chop, or the rind on your bacon sandwich (man I could kill for one of those right now), it's always the after thought left on a plate with the crumbs while everything else around it has been devoured.
One of my favourite Chinese dishes is hong shao rou, or red braised pork. It was also the favourite dish of China's most famous son Chairman Mao, who was fond of simple, home-style peasant cooking, so much so that he went to great lengths to ban fine dining in many Chinese restuarant. I digress. Anyway, hong shao rou is almost all fat and I don't care. It's lush. The dish uses belly pork, or as the Chinese attractively call it, five flower pork, referring to the layering of fat and meat. The layer closest to the skin is a tough, thick piece of fat, which almost matches the amount of meat that comes with it. I can imagine most people are repulsed by this, but when braised for a few hours, this layer of repulsion becomes tender, incredibly flavoursome and almost melts in your mouth. The sauce it's covered in is delightfully rich, sticky, sweet and slightly spicy, lightly seasoned with star anise, cassia bark and ginger.
The hong shao (red braised) is a popular method of cooking in many parts of China, but red braised pork is the method seen in its most famous form. Different versions of it are served up all over China; the Shanghainese version is unsurprisingly sweet, while the Sichuan and Hunan versions have a slight spicy kick and fairly different methods of cooking.
2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
2 cloves garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
2 star anise
piece of cassia bark
small piece of ginger, crushed and roughly chopped
2 tbsp light soy sauce
approx 500ml of chicken stock (you can use water if you don't have any)
a handful of chopped spring onion greens
salt and sugar, to taste
1. Put the piece of belly pork into a pot of boiling water and leave to simmer for a few minutes to cook a little. Take it out of the water and when cool, chop into largish cubes, making sure to include every layer in each piece. You can save the water used to boil the pork to add to the stock cubes (if using) or instead of the water.
2. Heat the oil and sugar in a large saucepan or wok over a gentle flame until the sugar melts, then turn the heat up carefully, while stirring, until the sugar turns a caramel brown. Be careful not to burn the sugar as it's a bloody nightmare to clean off the pan. Add the pork and stir fry for a few minutes, then throw in the garlic and shaoxing wine and stir for another minute or two.
3. Add the chicken stock or water to cover the pork (you might not need to use it all but may need to use some more later) then throw in the garlic, cassia bark, star anise, chillies, and soy sauce. Give it a stir and bring to the boil, then turn down to a low heat for about 75 minutes. Keep checking on it and give it a stir every so often. If there's too little of the sauce, add some more of the chicken stock.
4. Turn the heat up before the end of cooking to reduce and thicken the sauce, taste and add sugar and salt if necessary. Add the spring onion greens, and serve with mashed potato or plain boiled rice, and steamed or braised greens. My recipe for braised pak choi is here.
One of my favourite Chinese dishes is hong shao rou, or red braised pork. It was also the favourite dish of China's most famous son Chairman Mao, who was fond of simple, home-style peasant cooking, so much so that he went to great lengths to ban fine dining in many Chinese restuarant. I digress. Anyway, hong shao rou is almost all fat and I don't care. It's lush. The dish uses belly pork, or as the Chinese attractively call it, five flower pork, referring to the layering of fat and meat. The layer closest to the skin is a tough, thick piece of fat, which almost matches the amount of meat that comes with it. I can imagine most people are repulsed by this, but when braised for a few hours, this layer of repulsion becomes tender, incredibly flavoursome and almost melts in your mouth. The sauce it's covered in is delightfully rich, sticky, sweet and slightly spicy, lightly seasoned with star anise, cassia bark and ginger.
The hong shao (red braised) is a popular method of cooking in many parts of China, but red braised pork is the method seen in its most famous form. Different versions of it are served up all over China; the Shanghainese version is unsurprisingly sweet, while the Sichuan and Hunan versions have a slight spicy kick and fairly different methods of cooking.
I made this on Wednesday when Dave came to visit. I don't usually cook on the weekends because we eat out, and Dave doesn't get a chance to sample my efforts much, so I made him my favourite hong shao rou, served with mashed potato and braised pak choi. It can be served with rice or noodles, but mashed potato is the perfect accompaniment. Pour the sauce over the mash, and it seeps into it, making for a delicious combination of sloppy sweet mess. The ultimate comfort food. The recipe is below, but forgive me as the measurements are very vague- I tend to just add to taste...plus I'm kinda making this up as I go along...
Hong Shao Rou (Red Braised Pork)
Serves 4
500g belly pork2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
2 cloves garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
2 star anise
piece of cassia bark
small piece of ginger, crushed and roughly chopped
2 tbsp light soy sauce
approx 500ml of chicken stock (you can use water if you don't have any)
a handful of chopped spring onion greens
salt and sugar, to taste
1. Put the piece of belly pork into a pot of boiling water and leave to simmer for a few minutes to cook a little. Take it out of the water and when cool, chop into largish cubes, making sure to include every layer in each piece. You can save the water used to boil the pork to add to the stock cubes (if using) or instead of the water.
2. Heat the oil and sugar in a large saucepan or wok over a gentle flame until the sugar melts, then turn the heat up carefully, while stirring, until the sugar turns a caramel brown. Be careful not to burn the sugar as it's a bloody nightmare to clean off the pan. Add the pork and stir fry for a few minutes, then throw in the garlic and shaoxing wine and stir for another minute or two.
3. Add the chicken stock or water to cover the pork (you might not need to use it all but may need to use some more later) then throw in the garlic, cassia bark, star anise, chillies, and soy sauce. Give it a stir and bring to the boil, then turn down to a low heat for about 75 minutes. Keep checking on it and give it a stir every so often. If there's too little of the sauce, add some more of the chicken stock.
4. Turn the heat up before the end of cooking to reduce and thicken the sauce, taste and add sugar and salt if necessary. Add the spring onion greens, and serve with mashed potato or plain boiled rice, and steamed or braised greens. My recipe for braised pak choi is here.
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