To my hubby marts 29, 2008

Roast Pork

3kg belly pork with skin
130g coarse salt
A pinch of five-spice powder

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Score the inner pork belly with a sharp knife.Rub the meat with 30g of coarse salt and the five-spice powder.

Pierce metal skewers through the upper and lower portion of the pork belly to prevent it from shrinking during roasting. Rub the remaining coarse salt on the skin of the pork belly.

Roast the pork for 45 minutes to an hour. Halfway through the roasting time, remove the roast pork from the oven and rub off all the salt from the skin. Prick the skin all over with a stainless steel tenderiser needle.

Return the pork to the oven and roast it on high heat until pork is blackened and skin is crispy. Remove from oven and scrape off the blackened part.

Return to oven and continue roasting till done.

Barbecued Pork

Marinade:
1.2kg sugar
55g preserved soybean paste
55g hoisin sauce
20g fermented bean curd (nam yue)
500ml light soya sauce
250ml dark soya sauce
Red dye (optional)

1.5kg belly pork (remove skin)

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

Mix the marinade ingredients.Divide pork belly into five strips (about 300g each). Marinate pork belly strips for about 3 hours. Carefully pierce the marinated pork belly strips vertically with a skewer.

Roast pork belly in the oven for 30 minutes, basting the meat with the marinade every ten minutes.

Shanghainese meat dumplings

skin
250g Hong Kong flour
120ml water

filling
500g pork loin, minced
50ml ginger and onion juice
100ml superior stock
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil1 tbsp sugar1 tsp salt or to taste
1 pinch white pepper powder
50g frozen superior stock, cut into 5g cubes

dipping sauce
30g ginger, cut into julienne
3 tbsp black rice vinegar

To prepare skin: In a large bowl, mix flour with water and knead into a smooth dough. Cover the dough with a warm towel and leave to rest for 15-20 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a thin sausage shape and cut into pieces, about 7g each. Using a mini rolling pin, roll out each piece into a flat circle.

To prepare filling: In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Cling wrap and store in the refrigerator until needed.

To assemble: Fill each dough circle with a heaped tablespoon of the filling and a cube of frozen superior stock. Seal the edges with 18 pleats. Steam for 6 minutes. Serve piping hot with shredded ginger and black vinegar.• To make the superior stock, simmer old chicken, Yunnan ham, pork loin and chicken feet together for 3-4 hours

Quail eggs with mayo

5 quail eggs

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ tbsp truffle oil

¼ cup tobiko (flying fish roe)

Bring water to a boil. Place quail eggs in and boil for 3 minutes. Remove and place in cold water. Peel shell. Trim ends so they lay flat on serving dish. Cut into halves.

Mix mayo and truffle oil. Place a little truffle mayonnaise on one side of each egg halves. Top mayo with tobiko and arrange on serving platter.

Truffled quail eggs

50g fresh/preserved black winter truffles
¼ cup hazelnut oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
24 quail eggs
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

¾” round cutter & pastry bag fitted with a ¼” plain tip

Very thinly slice truffles. Cut out circles from slices with round cutter. Mince enough scraps to measure 1 tbsp and reserve with 2 tsp juice from jar if using preserved truffles. Whisk oil into lemon juice in small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Spoon 1½ tbsp vinaigrette into another small bowl and add truffle circles. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Cover quail eggs with 1″ water in small saucepan. Simmer covered 5 minutes, then refresh under cold water. Peel eggs and halve lengthwise. Push out yolks and mash with chives, minced truffles (and any juice if using preserved truffles), and remaining vinaigrette to create paste.

Season with salt and pepper and transfer to pastry bag fitted with tip. Chill deviled yolks in bag. Arrange egg white halves on platter and pipe in just enough deviled yolks to fill holes. Cover each yolk with a truffle circle.

Grilled honey-lime chicken

Marinade:
1 cup honey
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 medium hot green chilli pepper, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, mashed
8 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

Combine marinade ingredients; mix well and pour over chicken. Allow the chicken to marinate for between 2 and 4 hours. Grill the chicken breasts, turning over often and basting frequently with the marinade, until chicken is moderate­ly firm on both sides. Remove from grill.

Serve whole or sliced.

Roasted lamb leg with garlic sauce

1 lamb leg (around 2kg)

Seasoning butter:
150g butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tsp dried or fresh thyme
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp ground fennel or anise seedssalt and pepper to taste

Garlic sauce:
12 cloves garlic
200ml white wine (or water)
½ tsp caster sugar
salt and pepper to taste 4 egg yolks

To prepare and roast lamb leg: Mix together all ingredients for seasoning butter and use to coat the lamb leg. Place in a roasting pan and allow to marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.Roast lamb leg in preheated oven at 160ºC for about 2 hours, or until the juice runs clear when pierced with a skewer (for every kg of meat, allow 30 minutes cooking time). Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

To prepare garlic sauce: Peel garlic and simmer for 20 minutes in salted water. Drain and process in blender with white wine (or water), sugar, salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a saucepan. Add egg yolks and place pan over a low fire. Whisk briskly until mixture doubles in volume and becomes creamy.

To serve, carve lamb and spoon a little garlic sauce over each portion, or serve sauce on the side.

Beef Wellington

2 filet mignons, about 6 ounces each

sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 small onion, chopped finely

1 garlic clove, minced

4 ounces button mushrooms, chopped finely

sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

1/2 sheet puff pastry dough, thawed

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.Season the filets with salt and pepper.Melt the butter with the oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the filets for about 2minutes on each side and remove to a cool dish.Add the onion and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes over medium high heat until soft.

Add the mushrooms and sauté just until soft. Season with salt and pepper totaste. Remove mushroom mixture to a clean towel to absorb any of the oil. Roll out your puff pastry thinly and slice to make 2 squares, making sure eachsquare will completely cover each filet. Place about 2 tablespoons of mushroom stuffing (the fancy name for this isduxelle) in the center of the dough and put a filet on top. Bring the sides ofthe pastry up all around the filet and seal with a bit of the eggwash.

Flip the filet over so that you have the seams on the bottom and place them on alightly oiled baking sheet.Brush with the beaten egg. Bake the Wellingtons for 15 to 22 minutes (15 minuteswill be rare, 22 minutes will be well done) You can test with a meatthermometer, 125 degrees for rare and 155 for well done.

Let the Wellingtonsrest for 5 minutes before cutting.

Sunday Omelet

Simply slice and dice your favorite omelet ingredients and add spices of your choice.

Suggestions For Ingredients
Shredded cheese
Diced onion
Green onion
pimento
diced ham, crumbled bacon, or chicken
sliced olives
chopped celery
chopped tomato
mushrooms

basil

tarragon
salt
pepper
caraway seed
cumin
garlic

Place sliced and chopped ingredients of choice in a zip top baggie.
Add two raw eggs to the bag of ingredients.

Close baggie removing most of the air from the bag.
Squish and shake the baggie until all ingredients are mixed well.

Drop several bags into a large pot of boiling water and cook until firm (about 15 minutes)
Remove bag from water with slotted spoon and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Open baggie carefully and slide omelet onto plate.