Prawn and Iberico Pork Siu Mai 鮮蝦伊比利豬肉燒賣

A month ago I bought Iberico pork belly and prawns from my local butcher and I asked on Stories for cooking suggestions. Then @jchli7 kindly advised me to make siu mai, I never made dumplings or any Chinese wrapping things before so I really doubted myself if I can make it... However, I have been craving dim sum for so long (still need to get my dim sum fix sorted), I decided to make it myself, and the result was…WHOA! Just the taste of dim sum restaurant, and look at what I've turned it out!

 

INGREDIENTS

-Dumpling skins.

-12 x Prawns (200g), peeled and deveined, then pat dry and chop into small pieces.

(Keep 3-5 prawns to top on siu mai)

-Iberico pork belly (270g), chop into small pieces.

-5 x Shiitake mushrooms, soak in water until soften, then drain and cut into fine bits.

-Trout caviar and chives for decoration.

 

FOR MARINADE

-1/2 tsp salt

-1 tbsp soy sauce

-1 tbsp rice cooking wine

-1 tsp sugar

-1/2 white pepper

-1 tbsp sesame oil

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp plain flour

 

METHOD

1. Mix chopped pork belly, prawns and shiitake mushrooms thoroughly with marinade sauce together in a large bowl, leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes to let the ingredients absorb the sauce.

2. Scoop the meat fillings onto the centre of dumpling skin, use your hand to bring up the sides of wrapper around the fillings to make a cup shape. Put more fillings if needed.

3. Gently squeeze and stick the fillings together into dumpling wrapper with the opposite end of spoon, keep using both hands to straighten it and form a better shape.

4. Put the prawn on top of each siu mai, steam for 15-18 minutes. (my siu mai is HUGE, otherwise the traditional bite-sized ones take about 7-10 minutes to steam.)

5. Garnish with Trout caviar and chives before serving.

 

I didn’t manage to get wonton or siu mai skins so I used dumpling wrappers, and it turned out with 10 super huge and chubby siu mai. (I’ve never seen that big siu mai in my life.) All the process was actually easier than I thought, just needed to chop and prepare the ingredients, stuff the fillings into wrappers and steam, that’s it. And these homemade ones were so so tasty that I was happy to make it.

 

@jchli7 put a very useful step-by-step siu mai wrapping tutorial on his instagram highlight, I followed his steps and it’s easy to understand, defo worth checking it out if you are a beginner to make this much-loved Cantonese dumpling thing.

Taiwanese Soy-Stewed Pork Rice Bowl 台式控肉飯

 

Kong Rou Fan 控肉飯/Taiwanese Soy-Stewed Pork Rice Bowl is another locally loved dish that I have been craving recently. It’s very similar like Lu Rou Fan滷肉飯but Kong Rou Fan is usually cooked with large cut of pork belly that you can enjoy meaty texture with soy sauce based umami flavour. A sweet and savoury, gelatinous pork dish that would satisfy your craving. The pork is fully infused with rich flavours and the fats easily melt away when chewing. I just can’t help eating more rice than usual to extend this umami flavour and it would be also perfect to have it with some pickles and a fried sunny-side up egg!

⁠
INGREDIENTS
-350g pork belly, cut into 4cm pieces.

-1 tbsp golden caster sugar.

-1 tbsp dark muscovado sugar.

-3 garlic cloves, smashed.

-3 shallots, finely chopped.

-2 stalks spring onions, finely chopped.

-3 tbsp soy sauce.

-3 tbsp cooking wine.

-1 tsp white pepper.

-200ml water.

METHOD

1. Place pork belly chops in a non-stick pan over medium heat without adding oil, pan fry until golden on both sides.

2. Stir in caster sugar and dark muscovado sugar to brown the meat.

3. Transfer the caramelised pork belly into a pot, add garlic, shallots, spring onions, soy sauce, cooking wine, white pepper and water, bring it to a boil then simmer over the lowest heat for 1 hour. (Check constantly in case a pot boils dry.)

4. Serve with rice and enjoy with some pickles!

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Black Carbonara Squid Ink Pasta 培根蛋黃墨魚麵

Have you been to Eataly ? This hyped Italian food market is definitely a new trendy spot in East London offering a huge selection for Italian food obsessives. The first time I went to Eataly, it was just a quick look around, but during the second time visit I got myself squid ink pasta from their fresh pasta counter as I just can’t resist its gorgeous black colour. I made black carbonara which is very simple and doesn’t take too much time from start to finish. Also, I thought squid ink pasta would taste more salty and briny, but it actually tastes just like normal pasta with a very light seafood hint. However, its dramatic colour would certainly give you a delightful visual treat to enjoy a dish.

 

Here is how I make my Black Carbonara:

 

INGREDIENTS
-120g squid ink pasta 
-40g bacon lardons 
-1 egg and extra 1 egg yolk
-2 tbsp grated cheese⁠

-Basil and additional grated cheese to garnish.

-Ground black pepper to taste. (optional)

 

METHOD

1. Cook pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente. (I cook for 6-7 mins)

2. Beat 1 egg with grated cheese in a bowl.

3. Fry bacon lardons in a heated pan with 1-2 tbsp oil until brown and crispy.

3. When the pasta is ready, drain and transfer to the pan with bacon fat over low heat, mix well to coat thoroughly.
4. Turn off the heat, stir in egg and cheese mixture, season with black pepper if needed.

5. Drop an egg yolk, garnish with basil and additional grated cheese.

 

 

Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan 台式手切滷肉飯

Lu Rou Fan, or Braised Pork Belly Rice, is one of Taiwan’s beloved comfort foods which can be found in every part of Taiwan. This classic one-bowl-dish has variations due to regional differences. For example, in the south of Taiwan, people called it ‘Rou Zao Fan’ 肉燥飯 rather than Lu Rou Fan; the taste is also sweeter than what I usually had in the north. I remember when I first visited Tainan (a city in the south of Taiwan), I was surprised they served Lu Rou Fan with meat floss (a dried, fluffy meat product) together which I then realised it helps absorb the sauce and gives a good mixure of rice bowl. Have to say I love the southern version of Lu Rou Fan more as it just overwhelms my taste buds. Since I haven’t had Lu Rou Fan for ages, I decided to make my own spin on it again. It’s so tasty to blend the tender, fatty pork with rice, and that sticky oily sauce is a golden touch to create extra flavour that makes Lu Rou Fan outrageously luscious. This dish may take a little work but is not as hard as you thought. The flavour, the sweetness and umami are amazingly comforting, and you could not get enough.

 

Ingredients

-400g pork belly, cut into strips

-7 shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and squeezed. (keep mushroom soaking water)

-4 tbsp dark muscovado sugar

-1 large shallot, finely chopped.

-2 cloves of garlic, smashed.

-2 tbsp finely chopped spring onion whites.

-40ml soy sauce.

-2 tbsp oyster sauce.

-25ml rice cooking wine.

-1 tsp white pepper.

-1 tsp Chinese five spice.

-3 star anises.

-3 bay leaves.

-2 hard-boiled eggs.

 

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat, add pork belly and cook until golden and rendering the fat.

2. Stir in dark muscovado sugar to brown the pork belly.

3. Add shallots, spring onions and garlic, stir fry until soften and fragrant.

4. Add shiitake mushrooms, star anises, bay leaves, white pepper and five spices, pour in rice cooking wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce and mushroom soaking liquid. (add extra water if needed.)

5. Add hard-boiled eggs, cook over low heat for 20 minutes.

6. Serve over steamed rice, top with meat floss (if you have) and pair with picked radish or cucumbers.

 

Braised pork develops better flavour overnight so to enjoy it the next day would have the most aromatic flavour.

You Fan / Taiwanese Sticky Rice 油飯

On this post I would like to introduce you one of my most missed and favourite home dishes in Lunar New Year, my all-time-favourite Taiwanese food, that is Taiwanese Sticky Rice, or we called You Fan 油飯   in Mandarin.

 

You Fan is a common festive food in Taiwan, we eat You Fan for special occasions such as Lunar New Year, religious practices or newborn baby’s first month celebration. (In Taiwanese culture, You Fan is given to celebrate the birth of baby boy and cake for baby girl.) You Fan is a savoury dish to bring up so much umami flavour along with the sticky chew of rice. I remember when my grandma cooked You Fan for all our family, I can eat a lot and had to force myself to stop otherwise I would just eat too much! For me, my grandma’s homemade You Fan is always the best and irreplaceable, therefore having You Fan, especially when I am currently so far away from my Taiwanese family, makes me feel comfort and reminds me of pleasant memory at Lunar New Year reunion when I was in Taiwan. The ingredients to make You Fan are simple and quite  straightforward to make. Here is how I made my You Fan.

Ingredients

-300g sticky rice.

-100g pork belly, cut into strips.

-A handful dried shrimps, soaked in rice cooking wine for 15 minutes, drain and set aside.

-3 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup of water, once soften, drain and cut into thin strips. Keep mushroom soaking water.

-A handful fried shallots or fried onions.

-4-5 tbsp soy sauce.

-1 tbsp sugar.

-1/2 tsp white pepper.

-1-2 tbsp sesame oil.

-Coriander or spring onion curls to garnish.

 

To Cook Sticky Rice

There are two ways to cook sticky rice:

-Add water to sticky rice, the ratio of sticky rice to water is 1:0.6. (No need to soak beforehand.)

-Steam for 20 minutes and rest for 10 minutes.

Or you can:

-Soak sticky rice in water at least 6 hours, then drain the water.

-Put baking sheet on a heat-proof bowl or a container, evenly place soaked sticky rice on the baking sheet.

-Steam for 15-20 minutes.

 

How to steam without a steamer?

-Use a large pot, lift a plate inside with a holder. (Or you can make three balls with aluminium foil and place them on the bottom of pot to hold the plate.)

-Pour in 1/2 inch of water and bring it to boil.

-Steam your food with a lid on.

 

Method

-Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan over high heat, deep fry soaked dried shrimps until bubbling and fragrant.

-Add shiitake mushrooms, stir fry until brown, then add pork belly strips until cooked through.

-Add soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper.

-Pour in mushroom soaking water and bring it to a boil, then reduce to the lowest heat and simmer with a lid for 15 minutes.

-Add cooked sticky rice and fried shallots in, break it up with a spatula and continuously stir until sticky rice is evenly coated with sauce.

-Season with sesame oil and cook over low heat for a further 3-5 minutes.

-Sprinkle with coriander or spring onions (optional), serve immediately.

 

 

Speedy Kimchi Jjigae / Kimchi Stew 韓式泡菜鍋(快速版)

Kimchi Jjigae (or Kimchi Stew) is my quick fix for chili weather especially when I have a jar of kimchi in the fridge. I originally followed an easy recipe by Chef Paek Jong-Won (His YouTube link here) but then I’ve made it my way with ingredients that I can easily get from the UK’s supermarkets. (I know Ajumma Republic gochujang and kimchi are available at Sainsbury's) Don’t always have Korean chilli flakes/powders so I usually use gochujang and soy sauce mixture to make the broth flavourlful with extra umami. Piquant, hearty, full of flavour, Kimchi Jjigae is surely great for cold winter days but you can also enjoy at any time. Just take a spoon of soup along with kimchi and meat and pour over with the rice, trust me, it’s so appetizing and you would eat more rice than usual to extend the flavour.

 

Ingredients

-100-150g Kimchi, cut into bit-size pieces. (Make sure it’s sour! you can’t make good Kimchi Jjigae if kimchi is not sour enough.)

-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped.

-3-4 pieces firm tofu steaks or cubes. (I used Cauldron tofu.)

-5 pieces pork belly slices. (sometimes I even used thinly sliced streaky bacon.)

-1 & 1/2 cups of stock. (prefer fish or mushroom stock)

-1 egg (I used Clarence Court egg)

-A handful enoki mushrooms and pak choi (optional)

-Chopped spring onions and white sesame seeds to garnish.

 

Sauce mixture for soup

-1 tbsp gochujang.

-1 tbsp soy sauce.

-1 tsp fish sauce.

-1 tsp sugar.

 

Method

-Heat stock in a saucepan over medium high heat, once it starts to boil, add kimchi, pork slices, garlic, enoki mushrooms, and pak choi to cook for 5 minutes.

-Whisk in sauce mixture, cover a lid and gently simmer for 5 minutes.

-Add tofu steaks and simmer for another 10 minutes.

-Crack a fresh egg on top, garnish with chopped spring onions and white sesame seeds, serve immediately with rice.

 

我一開始煮泡菜鍋的時候，都只是傻傻的把泡菜跟高湯一起煮，甚麼也沒加，當時覺得味道超淡的，後來才知道要先炒泡菜跟豬肉再加高湯，也從YT上學到白鐘元老師的快速泡菜鍋作法，現在則幾乎都是參照這種煮小火鍋的方式煮泡菜鍋，我雖然沒有用韓國辣椒粉，但我會在高湯內加韓國辣椒醬、醬油、一點糖、跟魚露增加風味，我覺得湯頭也一樣好喝；然後煮泡菜鍋的泡菜真的是要用那種放很久、酸度比較明顯的，之前曾用過新開封的泡菜，但煮起來的味道就是比較不夠。另一個TIP是說可以用洗米水來煮，據說這樣煮出來的湯頭會比較濃厚，不知道有人有試過這個撇步嗎?

Pigs in Blankets

 

When I first heard about Pigs in Blankets I think the name sounds quite cute. I also found it has reginal variations like in the US the term refers to hot dog wrapped in dough pastry but in the UK it refers to sausage wrapped in bacon. Pigs in Blankets are also commonly seen at Christmas table, they are classic Christmas side dish that you can simply buy it from supermarkets but it’s also simple to make it at home. I don’t think it requires any complicated cooking skills, all you have to do is to wrap sausage in bacon and leave it with oven. Here is how I made my Pigs in Blankets, I used caramelised onion sausages so they already tasted quite flavourful, this is one of the most easiest recipes that you can’t fail.

 

Ingredients:

-4 caramelised onion sausages from The Jolly Hog.

-4 thinly slices smoked streaky bacons from Waitrose.

(You can surely use any sausage and bacon of your choice.)

 

To make sauce mixture: (Equal parts of soy sauce and honey.)

-1 tbsp soy sauce.

-1 tbsp honey or sugar.

-A few rosemary. (Plus additional to garnish.)

 

Method:

-Preheat oven to 180°C-200°C.

-Wrap sausage with bacon each, place on a baking tray and season some oil on top, cover with cling film and cook in oven for 6 minutes at 200°C.

-Flip each sausage over and continue to cover with cling film in oven for cooking a further 3 minutes.

-Pour the sauce mixture and rosemary in, stir well and send it back to oven (without cling film) for another 10 minutes until golden.

-Top with more rosemary.

(I served with Brussels sprouts and some redcurrants.)

 

當我第一次聽到培根捲臘腸有個「豬包毯」(或毯包豬？)的名字覺得甚是可愛，雖然超市的架上常看到這項食材，不過因為曾有一位朋友跟我說過她在瑪莎買的豬包毯非常不OK(朋友是個對難吃食物很寬容的人)，加上我一直覺得英國臘腸口感怪怪的，於是我好像就從來都沒有想過要買豬包毯來吃。後來是買了Jolly Hog的某款臘腸，肉質口感不僅扎實且嚼勁十足，而且吃起來帶有甜味，吃起來跟台灣香腸極為相似，於是我就想說乾脆拿它來自製豬包毯，再怎麼樣應該都會比超市現成的好吃吧？做法也很簡單，基本上就是拿培根來把臘腸捲一捲、送進烤箱烤一烤就完成了(期間翻面一次跟拌一次醬汁)，這個據說是聖誕節餐桌必備的經典配菜，但我覺得拿來配白飯應該也很好吃。

Pak Choi Fried Rice Christmas Tree

𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭 !

 

Last time when I made Hong Zhao/Red Yeast Paste Fried Rice I came up with an idea…since I am doing mostly Asian cooking here, how about making Asian cuisine look Christmassy even it’s not traditional Christmas food? Then here it is, Pak Choi Fried Rice Christmas Tree. Okay this tree may be short as it was not supposed to be like this but I think the colour looks festive to match Christmas vibe, don’t you think?

 

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞:

 

𝐈𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬:

-3 to 4 pieces thinly sliced smoked streaky bacons.

-1 bunch of Pak Choi, finely chopped.

-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.

-1 bowl of rice, cooked.

-1 pinch of salt to taste.

-Seaweed and white sesame to season. (Optional.)

 

𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝:

-Heat a pan over medium low heat, place thinly sliced bacon in a single layer, flip over when golden crispy brown, then set a side.

-Use the same pan, wipe some oil up with kitchen paper towel, add chopped garlic and Pak Choi to stir fry over medium heat until soften.

-Add cooked rice to mix evenly, add salt to taste.

-Transfer Pak Choi fried rice into a plate, use a serving spoon to shape it like a tree.

-Break up crispy bacon and sprinkle on top, season with seaweed and white sesame.

 

 

之前做紅糟炒飯時意外發現炒飯配色滿有聖誕節慶感的，那時就有在突發奇想說也許可以做成小飯糰，然後疊成聖誕樹的樣子，應該也可以很應景？不過紅糟醬用完了，後來是想到用青江菜炒飯替代，然後小飯糰也懶得捏，最後是直接用飯匙立出聖誕樹的造型(不准說它是金字塔，Kings Cross有個聖誕樹裝置造型也是這樣的)，配菜則是毛豆，紅紅綠綠的，說是聖誕餐應該也不至於太突兀吧。

National English Breakfast Day : Full English Breakfast

 

Speaking of well-known British dishes, what would you think of ? I think English Breakfast, sometimes called a ‘’fry-up’’, is one of the most famous and popular British foods that most people would love. And today on December the 2^nd is actually 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲 to celebrate the heritage and tradition of this iconic British dish, so I’ve made myself a proper full English breakfast and tried to included nearly everything an English breakfast needs on the plate except black pudding. (I am totally fine with black pudding, I just didn’t get this ingredient from my online grocery shopping.)

 

Here is my full English Breakfast :

-Caramelised onion sausages from The Jolly Hog.

-Smoked streaky bacons & mushrooms from Waitrose.

-Cauliflower hash browns from Strong Roots Uk.

-Baked beans from Heinz.

-Cherry tomatoes from Sainsbury's.

-Fibre sliced loaf from Hovis.

-Egg from Clarence Court.

-Milk tea from Nittoh.

 

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 ? 𝐎𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 ? 

You can also go to my instagram Reel page to see how I arranged everything on this pan.

 

說到英國代表食物，你會想到甚麼呢？英式早餐絕對可以排在名單中的前幾名吧，我記得以往每每去住英國鄉間的B&B，最期待的就是隔天早上B&B主人現做的英式早餐；因為發現12月2日是National English Breakfast Day，於是也在家裡給自己做了一套英式早餐，我必須要承認我沒有很愛茄汁豆(血布丁跟茄汁豆讓我選的話我應該會選血布丁)，但為了這個英式早餐的完整性我還是加了！即便已經買了最小罐的豆子，但現在還剩有約半罐的份量在冰箱不知道該拿它怎麼辦，可能到時煮韓式部隊鍋時再把它消滅掉吧。