Name: Hot and Sour Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 3
Ingredients: 1 tsp vegetable oil; 100g pork belly - thinly sliced, pepper-and-salted; 1 tsp potato starch / katakuriko; about 250g soft tofu - cut into cubes; 1/2 carrot (~50g) - cut into julienne; 2 to 3 shiitake (~60g) - sliced; 60g leek - cut into julienne; 2 to 3 eggs; For the Soup :; 800ml water; 3 tsp Chinese chicken bouillon powder; 1 tbsp cooking sake or white wine; 1 to 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 1 to 1.5 tsp kosher salt (adjust to your taste); 1 tbsp oyster sauce; 1 tbsp potato starch / katakuriko dissolved in 1.5 tbsp water

February 6, 2021

Hot and Sour Soup

Persons

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Total Time

50 minutes

Ingredients

1 tsp vegetable oil
100g pork belly - thinly sliced, pepper-and-salted
1 tsp potato starch / katakuriko
about 250g soft tofu - cut into cubes
1/2 carrot (~50g) - cut into julienne
2 to 3 shiitake (~60g) - sliced
60g leek - cut into julienne
2 to 3 eggs

For the Soup :

800ml water
3 tsp Chinese chicken bouillon powder
1 tbsp cooking sake or white wine
1 to 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 to 1.5 tsp kosher salt (adjust to your taste)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp potato starch / katakuriko dissolved in 1.5 tbsp water

Instructions

1. In a cooking pot, heat 1 tsp vegetable oil and cook the pork. When the pork is almost cooked, add carrot, leek and shiitake. Stir-fry for a few minutes.
2. Pour the water (800ml) and bring it to a boil, adding chicken soup powder, cooking sake, soy sauce, kosher salt, oyster sauce.
3. Once it has boiled then add tofu and bring it to a boil again. Add vinegar (1 or 2 tbsp, depending on your taste). Pour the dissolved potato starch to thicken the soup. Then add the beaten eggs but don't mix them in until the eggs are cooked.
4. Serve hot! Add Ra-yu (chili oil) or homemade rayu if you like spicy!

September 19, 2020

Japanese Chashu/Char Siu

Japanese Chashu Braised Pork Belly

Persons

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

2 hours

Total Time

2 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients

650g pork belly in a single chunk - (or up to 1kg) - rindless and boneless
20g fresh ginger - cut in half
2 garlic cloves - cut in half
1 green parts of leek

For the marinade :

2 tbsp mirin
50ml soy sauce
50ml cooking wine or cooking sake
2 tbsp white sugar
1 garlic - grated
water (I used 3L for this recipe)

Instructions

1. Roll up the pork belly and tie up with a cooking string.
2. Place the pork, green parts of a leek, garlic, and ginger in a large cooking pot. Pour enough water to cover the pork (I added about 3L this time).
3. Cook over high heat and bring it to a boil. Skim off any foam from the surface, then reduce the heat to low. Cover with aluminium and simmer for 2 hours, turning the pork occasionally (lowest heat).
4. Meanwhile we make the marinade sauce! In a small cooking pot, add all the marinade sauce ingredients except the grated garlic. Heat over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil. Remove from the heat and set is aside until the pork is ready.
5. After the 2 hour simmering Transfer the marinade sauce into a bowl and add the grated garlic. Take the pork out and place it on a plate. Don't throw away the broth, if you make Ramen :). Roast the outside of the pork with a cooking torch if you can.
6. Transfer the pork into the marinade sauce and coat it on all sides with it. Let it sit until it cools to room temperature.
7. Transfer the pork and sauce into a zip-lock back and marinate overnight in the fridge.
8. Next Day Transfer onto a cutting board, remove the thread and slice :)
Use it for ramen topping, char siu don or fried-rice!

Notes

Note : Keep the broth in which you boiled the pork if you are making ramen.

September 23, 2019

Easy and quick roasted pork belly

Persons

Prep Time

30 hours

Cook Time

40 hours

Total Time

70 hours

Ingredients

650g pork belly

Ingredient A

50ml cooking sake or cooking white wine
1 tbsp fresh ginger - grated

Ingredient B

50ml soy sauce
50ml mirin
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp hondashi powder

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, place the pork belly and pour water to cover the pork completely (about 1cm more water above the pork). Add the ingredient A and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat to low and cook for about 30 to 40 min at low heat.
2. In a frying-pan, add all ingredient B and bring it to a boil. Place the boiled pork from #1 on the sauce. Let it cook down while coating the sauce on all pork sides.
3. Slice the pork and serve!

June 18, 2019

Pork noodles (udon)

Persons

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

15 minutes

Total Time

45 minutes

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onion - thinly sliced
2 carrots - thinly sliced
400g - thinly sliced pork - cut into bite sizes
1 tbsp katakuriko/potato starch
1500ml water

Seasoning

2 tbsp sake or cooking white wine
60g soy sauce
40g mirin
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tsp dashi powder

Instructions

1. In a sauce pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and cook onion and carrot until wilted. Add the pork and cook for a few minutes. Add the katakuriko/potato starch and mix well.
2. Add the water and all the seasoning ingredients. Bring it to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. That's your soup.
3. Bring a big pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, cook the udon until cooked through.
4. Using a fine sieve to drain water and transfer to serving bowls.
5. Pour the hot soup from #2 over the udon / noodles in the serving bowls. Try to put the meat and vegetable on top of the udon to decorate.

April 12, 2019

Topinambour Sandwich with pork

Topinambour sandwich with pork

Persons

Prep Time

1 hour

Cook Time

40 minutes

Total Time

1 hour, 40 minutes

Ingredients

5 to 6 topinambour (about 500g) - cut into slices (about 3mm) and soak in vinegar (lemon) water for about 30min.
3 to 4 garlic cloves - finely chopped
25g fresh ginger - finely chopped
520g graged pork
1 leek - roughly chopped

Ingredient A

1/2 tsp fine salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp katakuriko/potato starch
2 tsp chicken stock powder or torigara chicken stock powder
2 eggs - mix with 80ml milk
some cake or plain flour
some panko / bread crumbs

Instructions

1. In a bowl, add garlic, ginger, grated pork and ingredient A. Mix well to combine. Set aside.
2. Drain the topinambour and gently pat them dry with a paper towel. On a slice of topinambour, place about 1 tbsp filling from #1 and spread. Cover with another slice of topinambour on top and press down to make a sandwich.
3. Combine 2 eggs with milk. Coat the lotus roots 'sandwich' with katakuriko/potato starch thinly. Dip it in egg mixture, and finally coat it thoroughly with Panko (bread crumbs).
4. Put a tiny amount of panko in the hot oil to check if it is ready. If it sizzles, it's ready! (or stick a chopstick in the oil and see if bubbles start to appear around the chopstick). Remove excess panko from your 'sandwiches' and press them gently. Fry them both sides until browned.
5. Serve hot!

March 26, 2019

Pork Belly Rice Bowl (butabara donburi)

Persons

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Total Time

40 minutes

Ingredients

500g pork belly/loin - finely slices
2 garlic cloves - finely chopped

Ingredient A

55g soy sauce
2 1/2 tbsp mirin
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ginger powder
65ml water
1 1/2 tbsp cook white wine or cooking sake
5g honey
1 tbsp katakuriko/potato starch - dissolve in 2 tbsp water

Instructions

1. In a skillet, heat 1 or 2 tbsp oil and fry the garlic until fragrant. Add the pork and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Transfer to the plate and set aside.
2. Using the same killet from #1, add all ingredients A and bring to a boil. Once boiled, add the pork. Simmer for 4 to 5min.
3. Add the dissolved katakuriko/potato starch to thicken the sauce.
4. Serve the pork on a bowl of rice!