Gu Lou Yuk 咕噜肉 Cantonese Style Sweet And Sour Pork

For many non-Chinese a good Chinese meal is incomplete without the ever popular sweet and sour pork, beef in black bean sauce and lemon chicken.... oh one mustn't forget the compulsory yang zhou fried rice (or better known as the special fried rice, recipe next).

The bastardised versions served at most Chinese restaurant simply do not reflect how wonderful these dishes actually are. Having shared with you the superior versions of beef in black bean sauce (豉汁牛肉) and lemon chicken (檸檬雞) , it is time to give this wonderful dish a much needed redemption.

No thick and soggy batter nor the familiar starchy dyed red sauce in this family recipe of mine. Instead you'll be getting crispy and light battered pork in a delightful sweet and sour sauce flavoured with ginger, vinegar, tomato ketchup, sugar and Chinese cooking wine. The crisp vegetables and pineapple add crunch and colours to this wonderful Cantonese classic

If you are not a fan of pork belly, do feel free replace it with pork neck or loin instead. For a northern version, please check out sweet and sour pork spareribs (糖醋排骨)

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serves 6 to 8 as part of a Chinese meal
you'll need;
1 kg of pork belly, removed rind, cubed and flatten with a kitchen mallet
5 cm knob of ginger, grated
1 spring onion (white part only), minced
1.5 tbs of light soy
2 tsp of sesame oil
a splash of Chinese cooking wine
a dash of white pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
corn flour for coating
peanut oil for frying
1/2 a red onion, cubed
1/2 a red pepper, cubed
1/2 a green pepper, cubed
1/4 of a pineapple, skinned and cut into chunks
1 small cucumber, cubed (treatment see below)
3 spring onions, cut into 2 cm lengths

for the sauce;
2 tbs of cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
a small knob of ginger, minced
120 ml of tomato ketchup
6 tbs of sugar
300 ml of white vinegar
100 ml of chicken stock
a dash of Chinese cooking wine
corn flour solution to thicken

Prepare the vegetables and pineapple.

Cut cucumber into chunks, rub in a tbs of salt and allow to stand for 10 minutes, squeeze out excess water and rinse well.

Marinate pork with ginger, spring onion, light soy, sesame oil, Chinese cooking wine, white pepper  and beaten eggs for at least 30 minutes. 

Coat pork pieces with corn flour and deep fry pork in batches until golden and crispy. drain well and set aside.

Saute onion and peppers with a little oil in a very hot wok for a minute, remove and set aside.

Heat up 2 tbs of cooking oil  and saute garlic and ginger over medium heat until fragrant (~ 1 minute). Add tomato ketchup, sugar, vinegar, stock and Chinese cooking wine, stir well and allow the sauce to come to a boil. Return the sauteed vegetables to the wok together with the pineapple and cucumber, stir and mix well.

When the sauce return to a boil, thicken the sauce with a little corn flour solution. Finally return the fried pork to the wok, turn off the heat and mix well.

Serve with plenty of steamed rice and enjoy!

Yum Muu Yang Polamai ยำหมูย่างผลไม้ Grilled Pork And Stone Fruit Salad

I have no idea why such a delicious dish was not posted closer to the date when it was first prepared... a question best leave to the X-File team.

I know we won't be getting any stone fruit here in Australia for a few more months but then I do have my readers over the northern hemisphere who are enjoying the abundance of stone fruits at the moment. Other seasonal fruits can be used of course; pineapple, kiwi fruit and rock melon is another combination that will work very well and if you are in the tropics, why not take advantage of the huge array of tropical fruits you have over there?

You may use the classic marinade (garlic, coriander root, white peppercorns and salt) with other meats of your choice. Seafood such as tuna, salmon and trout are also fantastic substitutes. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients available to you, remember sanuk (fun) is a crucial ingredient of a successful Thai salad.

Serve this refreshing salad as part of a Thai meal - with one of the two Thai curries (massaman curry with beef or panang chicken) I posted recently perhaps? If you are a fan of using fruits in savoury dishes, you might also want to check out my spicy prawns salad with stone fruits and corn.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
oven preheated at 200 C (conventional)
serves 4 to 6 as part of a Thai meal
you'll need;
2 pieces of pork fillets ( ~400g)
2 tsp of salt
2 cloves of garlic
2 coriander roots
2 tsp of white peppercorns
2 nectarines, stones removed and sliced
2 white peaches, stones removed and sliced
2 peaches, stones removed and sliced
1 small cucumber, sliced
2 spring onions, diagonally sliced
1/2 red onion or 3 shallots, sliced
a handful of mix lettuce leaves
4 soft boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
1/3 cup of cashew nuts, toasted

for the dressing;

2 coriander roots, chopped 

5 to 8 bird chilies, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

3  tbs of castor sugar

3 tbs of fish sauce

6 tbs of lime juice

pinch of salt

Pound garlic, coriander roots and white peppercorns with salt to a course paste, marinate pork with the paste for at least an hour.

Roast cashew in the oven for 15 minutes, allow to cool. For the dressing - place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well, it should taste hot, salty, sour, and sweet.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients and place in a large salad bowl.

Pan fry pork fillets with a little oil for 30 seconds on each side, transfer the pan to the hot oven and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to rest before slicing.

Add pork slices to the salad bowl, pour 1/2 of the dressing over and mix well. Top with egg wedges and sprinkle the cashew over. Leftover dressing can be kept refrigerated for a week.

Baked Chicken, Chorizo, Chickpeas And Orange Salad

Too soon for another chicken salad? Well not if you are on the same no carbs diet like us.

To make our dinner more exciting and to stop the critic at home from saying "chicken salad again?" I simply have to play around with the supporting casts, that includes the salad ingredients and the dressing. Here I have embraced the flavours of Spain and North Africa, the result is a very satisfying one.

P.S substitute chorizo with pastrami for a halal version.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serves 3 to 4 as a one dish meal
oven preheated at 200 C (conventional)
you'll need;

2 chicken breasts

1 tbs of smoked paprika

1 tsp of cumin powder

1 tsp of coriander powder

1 tsp of sumac

1 tsp of all spice

3 tbs of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 red onion, sliced

2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

2 oranges, peeled and cut into 3 cm slices

2 chorizo sausages, thickly sliced, panfried til golden and drained

1 can of chickpeas, drained

2 large handfuls of mix salad leaves

for the dressing;

1 tbs of red wine vinegar

2 tbs pomegranate molasses 

4 tbs of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste 

Slice chorizo sausages into thick slices and marinate chicken with spices, olive oil, salt and pepper for about 15 minutes or overnight if you plan ahead.

Prepare the red onion, tomatoes and oranges and set aside.

pan fry sausage slices with a little olive oil on both sides until golden, remove and drain well.

Pan fry chicken in the same pan until golden on both sides (~3 minutes/side) then transfer to the hot oven and cook for a further 12 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the chicken breast. Remove and rest at a warm spot, cut into thick slices just before serving.

Add chickpeas into the same pan and coat well with the flavoursome oil and pan juice. Remove and allow to cool.

Place mixed leaves, tomato, onion, orange slices and chickpeas and into a salad bowl, add dressing and mix well.

Divide salad into individual bowl and top with some chicken slices.

Figs, Prosciutto, Parmesan And Rocket Salad

This colourful salad appears regularly at the tummies' during the all too short fig season. I often serve this  alongside a simple pasta dish (i.e casarecce sicilliane with walnut pesto or spaghetti with chillies, anchovies, capers and pancetta.

If you are not overly hungry, this will be perfect as a light lunch with a glass of chilled pinot grigio or two.

serves 2 to 3 as a second course 

you'll need;

4 ripe figs, quartered

6 slices of prosciutto, pan fried till crisp and torn into pieces

a large handful of rocket

parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Pan fry prosciutto until crisp then tear into pieces. (you may serve this raw but we love the textures of the crispy prosciutto)

Place rocket in a salad bowl and arrange the fig wedges on top.

Add prosciutto crisps and parmesan shavings.

Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar  and season well.

Braised Chicken Wings With Pineapple 黃梨燜雞翼 - "Malaysian Monday 74"

What could one do with the odd piece of pineapple in the fridge before it gets chuck into the compose bin? Well it can of course be added to the juicer but I prefer to use it  in yet another one of my favourite childhood dishes.

Using fruits in savoury dishes might seem strange to many but it is a common practice to do so in many cuisines all over the world. They add natural sweetness or sourness to salads, stir fries or stews, cutting through the oiliness of a certain dish and adding crunch and freshness to others.

Here the humble chicken wings are first marinated then fried until golden before being braised together with the  pineapple in a hot and tangy sauce. The frying process unable the wings to absorb the sauce a lot better and the end result is a tastier and more appealing looking one.

P.S you may use chicken thighs or drumsticks for this recipe. Duck is delicious cooked the same way, simply increase the cooking time accordingly.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serves 3 to 4
you'll need;
1/4 of a pineapple, skinned, eyes removed and cut into large chunks
1.5 kg of chicken wings, cut into half
dash of Chinese cooking wine
2 tbs of oyster sauce
1.5 tbs of light soy
dash of sesame oil
dash of white pepper
corn flour or rice flour for coating
15 cloves of garlic
3 spring onions, cut into 3 cm lengths

for the sauce;
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
5 cm knob of ginger, chopped
2 to 3 bird chilies, sliced
2 tbs of oyster sauce
2 tbs of light soy
1 tbs of dark soy
3 tbs of Chinese black vinegar
2 tbs of sugar
dash of white pepper
3/4 cup of stock

Prepare the pineapple and cut into chunks.

Marinate chicken wings with oyster sauce, soy, sesame oil and Chinese cooking wine for at least an hour. 

Lightly coat chicken wings with corn or rice flour and swallow fry in batches until golden brown. Fry garlic cloves until golden, drain well and set aside.

For the sauce - Heat up a wok, saute garlic, ginger and chillies with a little oil for 30 seconds then add in the seasonings and stock, bring it to a boil.

Add pineapple chunks, chicken wings and fried garlic cloves to the wok and mix well.

Cover and braise on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until the sauce is reduced by half, add spring onion and cook for a minute more.

Serve with plenty of steamed rice.

My friend Sharon from Test With Skewer is hosting this month's event, please send all you entries to its.sharon@gmail.com

For more information about the event and on how to enter, please click HERE

Pear Tarte Tatin - Christmas Lunch 2011 Part 4

It would had been easier to serve a shop bought pudding to conclude our lunch but I decided to challenge myself with the fiddly task of baking one. Tarte tatin seemed like a very good choice for a non baker in a kitchen without the most basic baking essentials and tools.

It turned out to be a challenge indeed when I was making the caramel, luckily our friend A who is a chef saved the caramel and we did end up with a very delicious dessert. 

Using the sour cream pastry instead of the shop bought puff pastry most recipes called for was a very good decision. I highly recommend that as an alternative when you are making a tart/pie either sweet or savoury next.

Once again I must thank our friends B and A for making Christmas day 2011 a very memorable one!

serves 4
you'll need;
3 firm pears, peeled, cored and quartered
120 g of sugar
120 g of butter
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
sour cream pastry
fresh cream to serve

Prepare the pears and set aside. Don't worry if they discolour a little.

Place butter, sugar and spices in a pan and cook until the sugar dissolved and the mixture forms a light caramel.

When the caramel turns a lovely chestnut brown add the pears and cook until soften.

Pour off most of the caramel and arrange the pear pieces cut side up.

Roll out the sour cream pastry to a thickness of 3mm, cut pastry using plate slightly bigger than the pan as a guide. Place the pastry over the pears and tuck in the edges.

Bake the tarte tatin in the hot oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until it is golden brown. Place a plate slightly larger than the pan and invert the tart over.

Slice and serve with fresh cream and extra caramel sauce on the side.

The weather took a cynical turn and a large part of Victoria was pounded with a freak hail storm.... we ended up with a white Christmas down under!