Quick 'BBQ' Pork Fajita

It was a lazy evening and we could not be bothered to go out for dinner so I looked in the fridge to find something I can make for dinner. We were lucky there was a small piece of pork belly in the freezer, some tortillas and red pepper! I came up with this mix and match of the recipes in my head and it turned out really nice. The flavours of the caramelised onion, pan fried pepper and the honey coated pork strips just bond together very well. The honey coated pork strips give a marvellous fragrant and it tasted fairly close to Chinese BBQ pork (char siew)!.The sweet and juicy pan fried red pepper added a twist to the whole thing and we could not really bothered to add any dressing or sauce to it. Very simple, very quick (like 20 minutes from scratch), and taste good. Nevertheless, I would eat this than a greasy takeaway.

Ingredients: (makes 3 fajitas)
150g Pork belly (cut into 3-4 strips)
1 Red pepper (sliced)
1 Onion (sliced)
3 Tortillas/ corn wrap
1tbsp Sake/ cooking wine
1tbsp Light soy sauce
1tsp Honey
1tbsp Vegetable oil

Marinade
1/2 inch Ginger (grated and juiced)
1tsp Light soy sauce
a pinch of salt
a dash of white pepper




Steps:
1. Marinate the pork strips with the ginger juice, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside. Heat a non-stick pan at medium heat, add the cooking oil and stir fry the onion for 1 minute until fragrant.
2,3. Add the red pepper and stir fry together with the onion until the onion becomes caramelised and the pepper is soften (this may take 4-5 minutes). Transfer onto a plate and set aside.
4. In the same pan (do not add any oil) at medium heat, add the pork strips and fry both sides until golden.
5. Pour sake (or wine) from sides, stir the meat until the wine is evaporated and disappeared.
6. Pour the light soy sauce from sides, stir to let the meat coated with soy sauce.
7. Off heat, add the honey over the meat and stir quickly to let the meat coated with the honey. Set aside.

8. Heat a clean non-stick pan at low heat, add a slice of tortilla and count 20 seconds. Flip the tortilla over and heat the other side for 20 seconds (this helps in making the wrapping becomes easier and taste better), remove from heat.
9,10,11. Add some caramelised onion, pepper and a strip (or two) of the 'BBQ' pork in the middle, and wrap it up and your fajita is ready to serve! Alternatively, wrap up both ends and cut it in the middle to make two portions, now you can share it!

Tips:

• At step 5, wait until the wine is all dried up before adding soy sauce to avoid the bitter taste of alcohol.
• The burnt parts of the pork is created in step 6 when the light soy sauce meet the dry hot pan but do not allow too much burnt signs on your pork it will taste bitter and not a healthy option at all.
• Step 7 has to be done fairly quickly and the meat has to be transferred off heat as soon as possible to avoid the heat of the pan burn the honey and create bitterness. 

Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Egg (咸蛋蒸肉饼)

This is a very simple dish but it is more than a common family dish because everyone likes it even kids. I think this is the simplest thing you can teach your kids when they first learn to cook instead of frying an egg because this involved no oil splashing that puts off so many beginners from cooking. Very simple, goes very well with steamed rice or porridge/congee, full of flavour and yes you can hardly find this in the restaurants!

Lets make it at home and if you have just upgraded to become a wife or mum, this is one of the dishes that you must learn up to impress your loved ones. Also if you are in the middle of planning for today's meal this could be one of it. ^^

Ingredients: (serves 2)

100g Minced Pork

2 Eggs

1 Salted egg

1/2tsp Light soy sauce

a pinch of salt

a dash of white pepper

Steps:

1. Wash away the clay that covers the salted egg. Crack the salted egg and separate the yolk and white in separate bowls.

2. In a bowl, add in minced pork, crack the 2 eggs in together with salted egg white, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Stir with a fork until combined.

3. Lightly oil a stainless steel plate, pour the meat mixture into the plate and place the salted egg yolk in the centre.

4. Prepare your steamer and bring the water to the boil. Steam the meat mixture in the steamer at medium high heat for 16-18 minutes. Check with inserting a chopstick or skewer at the thickest part. If the skewer comes out clean and no pink juices come out from the hole, it's cooked. Otherwise steam it for another good 2-3 minutes. Serve hot!

Tips:

• Use a wide plate so that the meat can be cooked evenly
• If you want to make a bigger portion just double the ingredients and steam for 22-25 minutes. Check using the skewer as mentioned in step 4.
• You can use ceramic plate but it takes 2-3 more minutes of steaming.
• You can also make this using a rice cooker. Place it on the steaming tray above your rice cooker when the rice is rinsed and ready to be cooked. Put on the lid, switch the cooker on and it should be ready when the rice is cooked. 

Jeyuk Bokkeum (Korean Stir Fried Spicy Pork) 韩式辣炒猪肉

A few weeks ago we happened to have popped into a chain supermarket that sells different kinds of imported groceries. We always like to hang around places like this because we can find so many things that we used to eat/use when we were in the United Kingdom especially snacks and some cooking ingredients from other countries. We actually went there for the bread flour (it is not easy to find bread flour in Malaysia) and we bumped into this Korean goods corner. I found this hot and spicy Kalbi Marinade and the picture on the label reminds us the grilled black pork in Jeju Island, South Korea. My husband was so excited and we got it home and made this spicy stir fried pork. This was the first time I used the sauce and I remember I saw red pepper paste and other ingredients on the label so I believed I do not have to add too much flavour into it. It is spicy, sweet and very hot! We liked it so much but I know I should reduce the marinade next time to avoid sausage lips after eating this XD

Ingredients: 
300g Pork belly (about 1inch wide but thinly sliced)
1 1/2 tbsp of Hot and Spicy Kalbi Marinade (I added 3tbsp and it was fiery!!)
1/2 Onion (wedged)
2 cloves Garlic (sliced)
1/2 stalk Leek (cut into 1/2 inch wide)
100g Oyster mushrooms (washed and roughly sliced - they shrink after cooking)
some Cabbage Kimchi (roughly chopped) - optional
2tbsp Sesame oil
3tbsp water
A pinch of salt

Steps:
1. Add the marinade into the pork and stir well. Leave it aside for at least 20 minutes.
2. Heat a pan at medium heat. Add sesame oil and followed by onion and garlic. (Sesame oil get burnt easily so do not wait too long)
3. Stir fry the onion for a few seconds and add the pork (including the marinade) into the pan. Stir fry until the pork is crispy on the outside.
4. Add kimchi, leek and mushroom and stir fry a little (do not reduce the heat).
5. The heat and ingredients dry up the pan in second. Add water from the sides at this stage together with a pinch of salt and stir fry until the sauce is reduced to the maximum. 
6. Remove from heat and ready to serve with steamed rice or wrap with fresh lettuce the Korean way of eating. Enjoy! 

Dry Pork Curry (干咖喱猪肉）

It was a lazy weekend and I decided to cook a dish that we can actually finish the whole plate of  rice with it. Curry pork came into my mind and it was really easy both in preparation and cooking. The sauce is so thick like what I wanted it to be and the spiciness was enough to heat up every single cell in the body! We loved it though because it goes really well with rice and the flavour can easily spice up your taste buds in seconds.  

Ingredients:

200g Pork (with bone or boneless, cut into big chunks)

1 Onion (sliced)

1tbsp Minced garlic

1tbsp Minced shallots

1tbsp Minced ginger

1tbsp Curry powder (I used Baba's, Adabi is less hot in my opinion)

1tbsp Chilli powder (reduce to suit personal taste)

1tsp Turmeric powder (optional)

2tbsp Coconut milk powder

4tbsp Evaporated milk

500ml Water

1/4tsp Sugar

1/2tsp Salt (adjust to personal taste)

3tbsp Cooking oil

Steps:

1. Heat a pan at medium heat. Add cooking oil into the pan and followed by onion slices. Stir fry the onions until they are softened. 

2. Add garlic, shallots, ginger and fry until fragrant.

3. Make a well in the middle of the pan and add curry powder, chilli powder and turmeric powder. 

4. Stir gently for 10-15 seconds until fragrant (it is right when your nose starts to feel itchy!)

5. Add in pork and stir fry until the meat turns into white colour on the outside.

6. Pour the water into a large bowl and stir in the coconut milk powder until no lumps. Pour the mixture into the pan from sides. Stir well and bring it to a boil. Continue simmering with lid on for about 20 minutes.

7.  Remove the lid and add the evaporated milk. Stir well and continue simmering without lid for 10 minutes or until the sauce reaches the desired thickness.

Ready to serve ^^

Tips:

• This is a healthier version of curry because only small amount of coconut milk is added. If you like a richer flavour you can always swap the evaporated milk at the end with a thick coconut milk mixture - mix 3tbsp of coconut milk powder with 6tbsp of water OR add 40ml fresh coconut milk straight away.

• The powdered spices can absorb plenty of oil but do not bother to add gallons of oil. You will get a better fragrance if you keep frying. The main point is keep stirring to make sure they mix well in the pan and not getting burnt. 

Kare Katsu (Japanese Curry with Pork Chop) 日本咖喱猪扒饭

Japanese curry is one of my favourite because of the tangy gravy which goes very well with any ingredients and most importantly white rice. There are choices of mild, medium and hot (or extra hot on some brands) for the curry cubes. I always go for mild or medium because Japanese curry is not meant to be hot in my opinion. You can add any vegetable into the curry and that will create a nutritious meal! I like it with tonkatsu (fried pork chop) too! When the crispiness of the pork chop meets the marvellous thick curry sauce, mmm...you will only know how it feels when you eat it. 

Fried Pork Chop

Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 Pork loin (1-1.5cm thick)

2tbsp Plain flour

1 egg

4-5 tbsp bread crumbs (Nama panko)

salt and pepper for seasoning

3 tbsp cooking oil

Steps:

1. Remove the thick fat at the edge of the pork loins. If your loin is too thick you can cut horizontally from the non-fat side and stop before the fat edge to form a butterfly chop. Make a few cuts on the meat and pound it for 30 times to make a tender texture. Season the meat with some salt and pepper on both sides.

2. Prepare three dry plates. Add plain flour on one plate, one beaten egg on the second plate, and bread crumbs on the third plate. 

• Place the meat in the flour and make a thin layer of flour covering both sides of the meat. 
• Dunk it into the egg and flip over to cover the other side with egg. 
• Transfer the meat to the third plate and make sure both sides of the meat are covered with bread crumbs.

3. Heat a pan and add in the cooking oil. Add in the pork chop and fry on a medium heat for about 2 minutes on one side or check and flip when it is golden brown. Fry until both sides are golden and place it on kitchen towel to remove excessive oil. Do the same to the rest of the meat.

Japanese Curry

Ingredients: (serves 2)

50g Chicken breast (diced)

1 Potato (diced)

1/2 Carrot (diced)

1 Onion (diced)

1 clove Garlic (minced)

2 cubes Japanese Curry cubes (I used S&B medium hot curry cubes)

200ml water

1/2 tsp Oyster sauce

1 tbsp cooking oil

soy sauce and sugar to taste

Steps:

1. Heat a pot at medium heat and add the cooking oil. Add the onion and garlic. Fry until fragrance and add the chicken. Stir fry until the meat turns white. 

2. Add the carrot, potato and oyster sauce. Stir well.

3. Pour in all the water and bring to boil. 

4. Add the curry cubes into the stew and stir gently until the cube is completely melted to form the sauce. 

5. Continue simmering until the vegetables are all soften and you get the thickness of gravy you like. 

6. Add some soy sauce and sugar to taste. 

7. Prepare some of hot steamed rice on a plate, place the fried pork chop (cut into strips) at one side, scoop some curry and pour over the rice and pork chop. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Steamed Minced Pork with Tian Jin Preserved Vegetable (Nanny's Recipe) 冬菜蒸肉饼（奶奶的食谱）

Tian Jin preserved vegetable is one of the most important ingredients in our kitchen because when you have nothing much in the fridge, you can make a big pot of yummy soup with some meat and preserved vegetable. Add this into the porridge (or congee) can easily enhance the flavour and it is so commonly used in many Chinese dishes. Steamed minced pork with preserved vegetable is one of my favourite mum's food and I can easily finish the whole plate of rice with this single dish.

The main ingredients of the dish are simple including minced pork, finely chopped preserved vegetable and seasoning. The common method is to combine everything, place in a plate to form a 1/2 to 1 inch thick meat cake and send it into the steamer. My mother like to make us our granny version which needs a little bit of frying before sending it into the steamer which pretty well keeps the juice and flavour in the meat after steaming. Here you go the recipe and you better prepare more steamed rice tonight just in case.

Ingredients:
(serve 3-4 people)

200g Minced pork

3tbsp Tian Jin preserved vegetable 

1tsp Oyster sauce

1tbsp Light soy sauce

1tsp Sesame Oil

1tsp water

1tsp corn flour

1/4tsp White pepper

a pinch of salt

2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

1tbsp Cooking oil

Steps:

1. Soak the preserved vegetable in a bowl filled with about 200ml water for 15-20 minutes. Rinse at least 3 times to remove dirt. 

2. Pat dry the vegetable and chop into fine pieces.

3. In a large bowl add in the minced pork, chopped preserved vegetable, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of water, corn flour, white pepper and salt. Stir to mix everything together with a spoon. 

4. Press and shape the meat mixture into a half inch thick disc according to the size of your plate. 

5. Heat a pan with medium heat, add in 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add in garlic and fry for about 10 seconds. 

6. Place the meat cake over the garlic and fry until it is lightly golden (beware do not burn the garlic) one side and turn it over. Try to scoop the whole thing including the garlic when you over turn it. 

7. Lightly oil the plate (steel plate is preferable as it is better in transferring the heat)  surfaces and place the meat cake on it (garlic side faces up).

8. Send it into the steamer and steam for 20-22 minutes over high heat. Remove from heat and serve hot.

before and after steaming

Tips:

1. Do not add any water to the meat cake after frying and before sending it into the steamer. Juices and excessive fat will come out naturally from the meat after steaming and that is the best sauce for your rice.

2. Do not over fry the meat to prevent drying out. Just check when the meat turn white and lightly golden then it is the best time to turn it over.