Pig’s Trotters in Ginger and Sweetened Vinegar 豬腳薑醋

This traditional Chinese dish conveys a mystical message even in Chinese community, as it’s often cooked for women post-labour. In fact, it’s a dish that everyone, including men, can enjoy, and needless to have a fear of embarrassment. Many Chinese yumcha restaurants offer this dish with a very pricey tag. The pig’s trotters (aka pork knuckles) are so moist, tender and succulent after the slow cooking in the tasty sweetened black vinegar. The natural collagen of pig’s trotters is very good for our health too. Both of my daughter and hubby especially like the hard boiled eggs that soaked in the tasty sauce. They can finish one after another. What I have to do is to make sure they don’t over eat.

Every family has its own version of this dish. The recipe I posted here is adapted from my mother-in-law’s cooking. She used to cook this dish for her daughter and every daughter-in-laws in her family, including me of course. Lucky me, I could learn from her in person during my travel back to Hong Kong. Hope you’d enjoy this dish as much as I do. A side note, my MIL only uses the Pat Chun Sweetened Vinegar（百珍甜醋）, because she loves its taste the most and doesn’t need to blend it any other kind of vinegar.

Pomegranate Souffle

What draws me to pomegranate, might be its vibrant red, perhaps its healthy benefits to our body. Comparatively, pomegranate contains much more antioxidants than many other kinds of fruits. Some people might be put off from its acidity and astringency. But for me, I just like its unique flavour. I can’t explain how and why I fell in love with this fruit during my first encounter. Not only does its juice taste great, especially in cocktails and mixed drinks, but also it can be a wonderful ingredient of making desserts. Take this soufflé as an example, the tangy taste of the pomegranate provided a perfect balance to this elegant dessert, which ended our dinner perfectly the other day.

This soufflé was baked with Royal Pom’s complimentary pack of two giant pomegranates that I’ve ever seen that big. They were very nice, perfectly grown, and juicy. Only one pomegranate was far enough to make juice for two large soufflé cups. I was very satisfied with the taste and texture, as well as amazed by its colourful looking. But I don’t quite understand why the soufflés turned into light purple in colour, instead of light red. Anyone has any idea?

Chicken, Leek and Pea Pie (Maggie Beer's Sour Cream Pastry)

Gladly that I broke my routine and baked this chicken pie, instead of cooking rice, for our dinner the other day. Even though my husband is a rice lover, he’s pretty attracted by the delicious fillings. We could have all the proteins and vegetables we need in a pie. For myself, I love the pie crust in particular, that's made and adapted from Maggie Beer’s Sour Cream Pastry recipe. The sour cream made the pastry taste so wonderful, producing a soft and flaky texture, that you don’t want to miss any bit of it. What can beat a home-made pie? It smelt so good, when it’s baked fresh from the oven. The pie pastry and fillings can be made in advance, nicely kept for days in refrigerator. You can resemble and bake this pie on the go, then enjoy a hot delicious pie without waiting too long. This chicken pie is pretty versatile, suitable for summer or winter days.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake (Two experiments)

This 5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake is so popular, and you can easily find and choose the recipe you like the most via google search. I’ve been curious about how to make a chocolate cake in such a short time. Is it different from those baked from oven? Does it taste good? How is its texture like? After browsing a dozen of this kind of chocolate mug cake recipes, I decided to take a different route and tried two different cooking ways. Why? Simply for fun. Both mug cakes tasted wonderful. No matter you choose which way, I highly recommend this chocolate mug cake if you’re a chocolate lover when you have a midnight craving for it, or on any no-bake days for whatever reason. This recipe is a keeper. Save it in a place, as a chocolate cake lover, some how you’ll need it some day.