Stir-fried Green Beans with Minced Pork

Green beans (or string beans 四季豆) are in season right now. They are fresh, cheap, and nutritious. Amongst heaps of different ways of cooking them all over the world, I really like the Chinese way. There’s a popular Chinese dish, Fried String Beans (乾扁四季豆) that uses a unique way of preparing green beans. It’s quite simple, just deep fry the beans to bring out their natural sweetness before using them to stir fry with any other ingredients you like. Believe or not, you won’t taste this heavenly sweetness of green beans, if you blanch them in boiling water. It’s worth trying.

Ingredients:

• 350 gm green beans
• 100 ground pork
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp XO sauce (or to taste), available at Asian grocery stores
• a handful of snow cabbage (雪菜salted vegetable) , available at Asian grocery stores

Marinade:

• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• 1 Tbsp water
• a pinch of white pepper

Seasoning:

• 1/3 tsp salt
• A pinch of sugar

Method:

1. Soak snow cabbage in water for 20 minutes. Rinse and drain well. Chop into small pieces. Wash green beans thoroughly and remove ends. Pat dry with kitchen towel. Marinate ground pork for 15 minutes.
2. Heat oil in wok or frying pan over medium heat. The oil should just cover the green beans. Test the oil with a little piece of green bean. If bubbles arise, the oil is ready. Deep fry the green beans in hot oil until tender. Place on kitchen papers to absorb excess oil.
3. Drain hot oil into a container and retain about 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in wok. Add marinated pork and stir fry until cooked through. Set aside.
4. Heat oil to sauté and quickly stir fry snow cabbage until aromatic. Toss in minced pork and green beans. Sprinkle with salt, sugar (and cooking wine if desired) to taste. Lastly, add XO sauce. Dish up.

Notes:

1. Make sure that no water should be with any green beans before adding into the hot oil to deep fry.
2. The used oil could be recycled for stir-frying with meat or seasoning for steamed fish.
3. Adding some water and cornflour to minced pork would make the texture of meat taste smoother after stir-frying.

Borscht Soup with Garlic Bread Recipe

Borscht (or Borshch) is a hearty beetroot vegetable soup considered to originate from Ukraine or Eastern Russia. Can’t you believe it? It’s very popular in Hong Kong, yet with a tweak of adding more flavour. You’ll easily find Borscht in the set lunch/dinner menu of cafés run by Hong Kong people. They often use beef soup and add some tenderized beef chunks going with all kind of vegetables. You might think it’s not that kind of original Borscht, but many Hong Kong people like having some meat or bones to cook soup. My family also likes to have a piece of toasted garlic bread to go with this soup. We just feel that we don’t need anything else, totally satisfied.

Ingredients:

• 4 strips beef brisket (or beef bones for soup)
• 2 to 3 stalks celery
• 2 potatoes
• 1 onion
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 carrot
• 1/4 cabbage
• 2 garlic, crushed
• 10 to 15 white peppercorns
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 lemon, grated juice, to taste
• salt, sugar, white pepper to taste
• 2 cups (500ml) beef or vegetable stock
• 2.5 L boiling water

Method:

1. Blanch beef brisket (beef bones) for 3 minutes to remove blood. Trim any fat away from the meat.
2. Add beef brisket (beef bones) into a large pot of boiling water, together with beef stock. Cook for 90 minutes, or until the meat is tender.
3. Rinse and cut all vegetables into bite-size pieces.
4. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté garlic until aromatic. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add celery and cook for a while. Then add other vegetables and sauté until softens.
5. Toss all vegetables into the stock. Add tomato paste, white peppercorns and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.
6. When all the ingredients become tender and you’re satisfied. Season well with salt, sugar, white pepper and lemon juice to taste, along the way you have to taste it by yourself. When satisfied, remove from heat. Serve hot in a bowl. Garnish with parsley if desired. (This time I used Chinese celery as picture shown, adding a touch of oriental flavour. Hehe…) Serve with garlic bread.

It’s pretty easy to prepare garlic bread:

• 2-3 garlic buds
• 2 Tbsp softened butter
• Mixed herbs, to taste
• 2 white bread slices (or French bread)

Method:

1. Use a grater to make minced garlic. Mix well with softened butter and mixed herbs.
2. Spread the butter mixture evenly over both sides of bread slice. Broil each side of bread slice in a preheated oven for 1 to 2 minutes at 180C (356F), or until browned. Keep an eye on them. Don’t leave them unattended. They’ll be burned otherwise. The bread will brown very quickly.

Enjoy!

Pork Chops in Tomato Sauce (Chinese Recipe)

This dish, Pork Chops in Tomato Sauce is best served with white rice. My mother really knows how to cook the tomato sauce just right to our taste, sweet but not too sour. I liked her way of cooking tomato sauce so I follow until now. She is very clever to choose the brown sugar in pieces, not white sugar, that perfectly matches with the taste of cooked tomatoes. I won’t taste the delicate balanced effect if white sugar is used. So I keep using my mother’s way to cook tomato, until I learnt from my mother-in-law how to prepare tomato. She deseeds tomatoes before cooking every time. This trick makes the strong sour taste of tomato go away and helps us enjoy eating tomatoes even more. Well, I didn't peel the tomatoes because the tomato skin could retain good looking, avoiding from being turned into a mess easily while stir-frying.

Do you have any tips on how to cook tomato sauce? Welcome to drop a line in the comments.

Ingredients:

• 350 gm boneless pork chops (thin slices preferred)
• 3 tomatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 1/2 Tbsp ketchup
• 28 gm brown sugar (片糖), or to taste (chopped into small pieces)
• 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup water
• spring onion, chopped for garnish (optional)

Marinade:

• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp white sugar
• 2 tsp egg white
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger sauce
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• Salt, to taste
• Pinch of white pepper

Thickening:

• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 2 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Rinse pork chops and pat dry on kitchen paper. Tenderize with the back of a chopper. Marinate at least 20 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a frying-pan or wok over medium heat. Add pork chops and cook until both sides are lightly brown. Dish up and set aside for 10 minutes. Wait until juice absorbs, cut into pieces.
3. Add oil and sauté minced garlic. Toss in tomato chunks. Sprinkle with salt to your taste, add water to cook and bring it to the boil. Stir in sugar and ketchup, covered. Cook until sugar dissolves and tomatoes soften. Toss back pork chops, quickly stir well and cook for a little while. Add thickening to your preferred consistency. Dish up. Garnish with spring onion. Done.

Hot Cross Buns (Easter Recipe)

Would you be surprised if you know that I hadn’t tried the cross buns until I moved to Australia?

As Easter’s coming around the corner every year, lots of hot cross buns are on sale at every supermarket here in Australia. Well, I think I’m not exaggerating. Who would not try some when seeing those soft and fresh buns? Neither would I. They are really delicious for those who love eating buns with currants and/or mixed dried fruits inside. The crosses on the buns indicate that it’s a festive snack for Easter. But I wonder how many people would care.

I tried to bake some cross buns for this year’s Easter as my husband likes bread with raisins very much. Although these cross buns are good for Easter seasons, they can also be healthy snacks for morning teas. Just skip the step of making the cross over tops of buns if desired when baking on ordinary days.

Makes 12

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain flour (or organic plain flour )
• 7g dried yeast
• 3/4 cups dried currants
• 2 Tbsp caster sugar
• 3/4 tsp mixed spice
• pinch of salt
• 20g unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
• 150ml milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Flour paste for drawing crosses:

• 4 Tbsp plain flour
• 2 to 2 1/2 Tbsp water

Glaze for brushing buns:

• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp caster sugar

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine sifted flour, dried yeast, mixed spice, sugar, salt, and currants.
2. Use a little saucepan, melt butter. Add milk to cook for 1 minute until lukewarm.
3. Add warm milk mixture and egg to flour mixture. Use a flat-bladed knife or spatula to combine thoroughly. Use clean hands to complete mixing and form a soft dough. Note: The dough is very sticky at this stage. You need more patience to knead the dough until you feel the surface of the dough is not-so sticky, around 15 minutes. If you have an electric bread machine, that’s easy. Use your machine to combine ingredients and form dough according to the instructions of your menu. No dirty hands then. Haha…
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth. Place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel on top. Set aside in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until dough doubles in size (see picture above).
5. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Punch dough with your fist to release some gas (see picture below), and let dough return to its original size.
6. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Divide into 12 even portions and shape each portion into a ball. Place balls onto lined tray, around 1cm apart. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 30 minutes until buns double in size.

7. Preheat oven to 190C (374F).
8. Mix flour with water together to make smooth flour paste. If it’s too thick, add a little more water as you go. Transfer to a small snap-lock bag, snipping off a corner of the bag. Pipe flour paste over tops of buns to form crosses. Pop in the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until buns are brown and cooked through.
9. While baking buns, mix sugar with water in a small saucepan. Warm over low heat, until sugar dissolves. Brush warm glaze over cooked hot cross buns. Serve warm. Delicious!

Japanese Pork Loin chops Recipe

Whenever my family dines out for some special occasions, like celebrating anyone’s birthday, we often choose Japanese cuisine simply because my kids are BIG fans of Japanese foods. I, myself, love their crispy pork chops with curry, either served with white rice or salad.

Recently I tried to cook the crispy pork chops in Japanese style at home. It’s quite easy and quick, yet I don’t like deep-frying in my home-cooking. To recycle the giant amount of used oil is a troublesome job for me. So I experimented to use pan-frying with a bit more of oil instead in order to save money and avoid the troublesome job. Here’s a trick to cook with less oil, still resulting in enjoying delicious Japanese pork chops with crunchy outside and juicy inside.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

• 3 pork loin chops (or pork fillet)
• corn flour, to coat pork chops
  
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Seasoning:

• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Method:

1. I used pork loin chops about 1 to 1.5cm thick. That would be the best ones especially for this recipe because the meat would retain moist after frying. Rinse the pork chops and wipe dry with kitchen towel. Use a sharp knife to cut the long edge of pork chops in several places (see picture). By doing this, when the pork is cooked, it won’t shrink and keeps in good shape. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Follow the steps in sequence: put cornflour lightly on the pork, dip in beaten egg, coat with breadcrumbs and pat them well. Fry the pork chops in a frying-pan over medium heat until both sides are golden. Pop them into a preheated oven at 180C (356F). Bake for 20 minutes. Test them by inserting a needle or toothpick. If clear liquid runs out, the pork is cooked through. Let cool down on wire rack. Serve with any salad you like. Or add curry sauce to go with white rice. Yummy!

Tips:

1. I used pork loin chops that were very tender so I didn’t need to tenderize them with the back of a chopper as I usually do.
2. Once the pork is done, take them out from oven straight away. Let them cool on wire rack. Otherwise the crispy outside cannot be kept if they set on a platter while still hot.

Braised Pork Ribs with Coco-cola Recipe

You might have tried Coco-cola. But ever tried to cook anything with it? Here’s a very delicious and popular Chinese dish, using Coco-cola to cook sauce with pork ribs. The Coco-cola penetrates pork ribs and make the texture of them so tender. You won’t taste the original and special taste of Coco-cola anyway. If you are a fan of Coco-cola, like my daughter, get a cup of coco-cola to go with this dish. Is it a good idea?

Baked Seafood Soup with Puff Pastry Recipe

Seafood is quite expensive in Brisbane. If I’m lucky, I can get some on sale sometimes. Unexpectedly, there were some really fresh marinara mix available at Coles the other day. I grabbed 300 grams of them for only 3.1 dollars. Then I baked this soup for my daughter who is a BIG fan of baked soup with puff pastry. Honestly speaking, she could finish the whole pot at ease by herself.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

• 300 gm marinara mix (A mix of fresh seafood, may include fish, shrimp, or oyster,)
• 1/2 onion
• 1 puff pastry

• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbsp white wine
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 1/2 Tbsp plain flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp thickened cream
• 1/2 egg, whisked
• a handful of dried parsley
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C
2. Rinse marinara mix and wipe dry with kitchen paper. Season with salt and pepper. Cut onion into pieces.
3. Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat. Brown marinara mix in batches. Toss all back in frying pan. Add white wine and heat to dry. Set aside.
4. In a large saucepan, heat butter and sauté onion over medium heat. Keep stirring until the onion is translucent. Reduce heat to low. Sift flour in and stir well. Add cooked marinara mix and continue to cook over medium heat. Pour in 1/3 of chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil, add the rest of chicken stock and water. Stir occasionally to make soup thicker. Stir in milk and cream. Once it boils again, remove from heat. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Turn into a 18cm wide and 7.5cm deep ramekin.
5. Trim puff pastry and cover the ramekin. Brush on whisked egg. Carefully put in oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the pastry is lightly brown. Done.

Tips:

1. You might like to use any seafood highlights available at nearby supermarket. To give the soup more variety, use a combination of two or three types of seafood, like fish, shrimp, oyster or mussel.
2. It could be a good idea of using three smaller ramekins instead, if you like.