Pork My Way

Char siew served on top of aromatic rice and cucumbers

I would say that char siew has become one of my favourite foods in the recent years, probably due to the fact that my father has exposed me to perfect char siew in Malaysia (e.g., Bill Khoon and his Famous Seremban Favourites restaurant).

My definition of perfect char siew: roast pork, sticky and sweet, ever-so-slightly charred with crunchy bits, yet soft and tender with wobbly layers of fat. 

To me, pork belly is the best cut for char siew; the tender meat is sandwiched between melting layers of fat, and the crunch is formed through a mix of charred fat and sticky glaze.

I would not use pork neck ever again; I used this cut the first time I made char siew in Sydney (as recommended by the lady at the butcher's) many years ago. The result was a piece of well-flavoured meat, with the absence of juicy fatty layers.

What??? No fat??? How can??? My father was incredulous at the mention of no-fat char siew.

Pork belly, it is. A nice piece of pork belly can be cut length-wise into thin strips (about 6 cm in width).

This is one belly I love

Now that I have chosen the meat, then comes the marinade. I would break down the marinade to three components: sweet, salty, and aromatic.

Char siew marinade has lots  of sugar in it. Many recipes on the Internet would attest to that. After all, sugar is what gives char siew its charred sticky outer appearance and sweet flavour.What sort of sugar? Raw sugar? Refined sugar? Honey? Maltose? I believe more complex-flavoured sugars would add depth of flavour to the marinade, therefore, honey, maltose, and brown sugars would be suitable. I have also tried infused honey; I made a garlic-infused honey which goes well in the marinade.

Home-made garlic-infused organic honey

As for the savoury component, I use only light soy sauce. Many recipes use a combination of light soy, dark soy, hoisin, or oyster sauces. For me, I would like the savoury component to be as unadulterated as possible; dark soy sauce contains molasses and / caramel, which could be omitted since the marinade already has a high sugar content. Hoisin and oyster sauces contain MSG, amongst other things, which my palate would gladly forgo.

What do I classify as the aromatic component? Wines. I have added drinking sake to the marinade, and more recently, a combination of sake with rose wine, too. Sake balances the rose wine, which can smell too sweet and artificial, in my opinion.

No five-spice powder for me, thank you very much. I believe good-quality pork and a simple, yet flavourful marinade should be the stars of the show. Five-spice powder taints the marinade, and I think masks the musky smell of poorly-treated pork meat.

The marinade is added to the pork, then refrigerated overnight.

Cooking of the pork has proven to be a challenge. How do I cook the char siew to get a slightly charred outside, tender meat, and melting fat? Charred exterior and tender interior do not seem to be too difficult; I have made char siew with those characteristics. Melting, wobbly fat? Oh, that has eluded me so far.

So far, I have only used the oven to cook the meat. First, covered, at a lower temperature (130 degrees Celcius fan-forced), then, uncovered, at a higher temperature (180 degrees Celcius fan-forced). I have a theory to steam the meat before grilling it under high heat. I think that steaming the meat could loosen the fat and gently cooking the meat, then grilling it would char the exterior. I have not tried this method yet, though.

X thinks that I have mastered the marinade and charring. All that remains is the melting fat.

As your eyes trail down to this line, you would have realised I did not provide a recipe, nor the exact cooking method. That is because I have one last piece of marinated pork belly in the fridge. I shall cook that tonight, and document the method, in detail. Perhaps tonight's piece of pork belly would turn out to be the perfect char siew. If not, it is, yet again, a learning process for me, and a meal for my family. :)

Pork My Way

Much Ado About Chickens Roaming Free

X came down with a sore throat on Thursday morning; she has since not fully recovered. 

I have been cooking congee almost every dinner since Thursday.

Twice I have cooked chicken congee, using different brands of free-range whole chicken.

Before I go any further, I would like to stress that I do not endorse any brand, I only state my opinion.  

On the first occasion, I used Red Lea free-range whole chicken to cook the congee. I did not add anything else to the congee other than a few cloves of garlic and salt.

Verdict: KT, X, and I found the chicken to be "sweet"-tasting.

On the second occasion,  I used Macro (Woolworth's brand) free-range whole chicken. I added Astragalus membranaceous (bei qi / huang qi) slices.

Verdict: the chicken tastes "sweet", but not as sweet as compared to that of Red Lea's.

Conclusion:

I found Red-Lea to be sweeter-tasting, but due to the fact I added different aromatics to each batch of congee, it may have altered the taste slightly. The take-home message is, free-range chickens taste better than non-free-range chickens. :) 

Much Ado About Chickens Roaming Free

Pizza for Dinner



Four cheese and sage pizza - Gruyère, Cheddar, Gorgonzola dolce latte, Mozzarella





Four cheese and sage pizza fresh from the oven - salami (sopressa) and mozzarella pizza in the making



Sunday night we had pizza. Sunday night we had pizza we made. We bought a 33cm pizza stone for the occasion. It was a successful first attempt; very, very satisfying to make as well as to eat. We used recipes from the Gourmet Traveller, with embellishments. :P 


The pizza dough was surprisingly easy to make, 1 quantity of pizza dough yields four 33cm pizzas (we like the crust to be thin and crisp) which was plenty for 4. 

The ingredients for each recipe were for 1 quantity of pizza dough, but we made half-quantity for each recipe, and pretty much overloaded the base with topping. :) 

The oven was set at 230°C fan-forced. The pizza stone should be pre-heated so that the crust is crisp. 

Pizza dough
(Adapted from the Gourmet Traveller)


Ingredients:
15g yeast
400g strong plain flour / '00' flour
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


Method:
1. To activate the yeast, combine yeast with 100mL of lukewarm water in a small heat-proof bowl. 
    Stir to get an even mixture, then stir in 2 tablespoons of flour. Cover and stand in a warm place 
    for 30 minutes or until mixture is foamy.
2. Place remaining flour into a large bowl, create a well in the centre, add in yeast mixture, olive oil, 
    a pinch of sea salt, and 140mL of water. Mix until combined. Knead until dough is smooth and 
    elastic (about 5 minutes). Divide dough into four, and place onto an oiled oven tray.  
    Brush dough with olive oil, cover and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (45 minutes - 1 
    hour).

For the four-cheese pizza, we used Gruyère (coarsely grated), Cheddar (coarsely grated), Gorgonzola dolce latte (crumbled), and Mozzarella (thinly sliced). Roll out on a lightly floured surface one portion of the pizza dough. Scatter the cheeses evenly onto the base, making sure to leave a little margin. Top with sage leaves. Bake on the pizza stone for 10 minutes or until golden. Drizzle with garlic-infused olive oil and serve immediately. 

For the salami and mozzarella pizza, we used sopressa (roughly torn) and Mozzarella (thinly sliced). The sauce was made by frying up some chopped up garlic and onion, adding in passata and blended red peppers, season slightly with sea salt (not too much, as the salami can be quite salty), then simmer until it becomes thick (10-12 minutes), stir constantly. Remove from heat and let cool. Roll out on a lightly floured surface one portion of the pizza dough. Spread tomato mixture evenly onto the base, making sure to leave a little margin. Top with cherry tomato slices, sopressa, and mozzarella. Bake on the pizza stone for 6-8 minutes or until golden. Drizzle with garlic and oregano oil and serve immediately. 

For garlic and oregano oil, cook oil and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat until garlic is golden (3-4 minutes), add oregano, remove from heat, season to taste and set aside.

Pizza for Dinner

Indian Feast

X came up with this "vegetarian once a week" idea not too long ago, claiming that it could help to reduce carbon emission. Third week running, already we have had a few hiccups with what and when to cook.

I referred to some of the recipes featured on Food Safari, and decided we would go vegetarian the Indian way. Toor dal tadka, palak paneer, and gujarati potatoes sounded like a true vegetarian feast to me.

I have most of the spices required, which was convenient. I couldn't get asoefatida, dessicated coconut, fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), and paneer, but decided to forge on anyway.

The recipes did not state the number of serves; therefore, I did a bit of guess-work to serve dinner for five.

The toor dal tadka turned out nicely, although I did adjust the recipe to make it saltier and hotter. I wonder how it would have turned out had I have asoefatida powder on hand (according to the SBS glossary, asoefatida / asoefatid is dried resin from a foot plant of the fennel family, with a flavour similar to garlic and onion, and used as a digestive aid to reduce flatulence brought on by a diet high in fibre and legumes).

The palak paneer, as expected, fell short, due to the lack of the key ingredient, the paneer (I ended up substituting it with cream cheese). However, the pseudo-palak paneer fulfilled the vegetarian theme, so everyone was happy. KT also commented that he didn't like the onions in the palak paneer, I probably could have diced it a bit finer, or used less of it.

The gujarati potatoes were so easy to make - I couldn't get pontiac potatoes, I made do with brushed potatoes, which turned out well. I also sprinkled more sesame seeds to the potatoes after coating them with the seasoned oil; I love sesame seeds, and also to make up for the dessicated coconut.

The above were served with rice; everyone went back for seconds (in KT's case, even thirds). That night, though, both X and I had bad stomach cramps, diarrhoea, and flatulence. Probably because I didn't have the asoefatida in the dal, eh? :|

Indian Feast

Taro / Yam Paste

I used the base recipe obtained from Corner Cafe then made a few changes. I wanted a smooth paste for a ping pei mooncake filling.

Ingredients:
1 medium-sized taro, about 750g
125g unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
Pinch of sea salt

Method:


1. Peel skin off taro and cut into fairly even small cubes.

2. Place taro cubes into a metal plate, making sure the cubes are evenly
distributed on the plate. Sprinkle some water over the cubes. Avoid stacking
cubes on top of each other. If necessary, steam taro in batches, over high heat
for about 30 minutes, or until soft.

3. While still hot, mash taro with a potato masher until there are no lumps. Pass
mash through a fine sieve to get a smooth mash.

4. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add taro mash, sea salt, and half the
sugar. Add a little water (about 50mL) if mash is dry. When sugar dissolves, add
the remaining sugar, or to taste. Stir continuously until paste thickens. Adjust
taste. It should taste buttery and fragrant from the combination of taro and
butter, and sweet. Remove from heat.

5. Allow paste to cool at room temperature before storing in an airtight container
in the refrigerator.

Taro / Yam Paste

Mooncakes, mooncakes, mooncakes!!!

Mid-autumn festival is around the corner!!!

Time to improve on my mooncake-making. :)

I bought a taro to make taro paste.

Going to make ping pei and ordinary mooncakes.

Watch this space. :)

Mooncakes, mooncakes, mooncakes!!!

Scotch Eggs

X saw Adam Liaw's recipe for Scotch Eggs at Coles'. She took the recipe home, C got excited about it, and we made them yesterday for dinner. The sambal was my mother's recipe, and we made the sambal much much spicier. We even used century eggs in two of the Scotch Eggs, which C thought was much better.




Verdict? We were not too sure what the hype of Adam Liaw's Scotch Egg was about. It was certainly inventive, perhaps Scotch Eggs were not our thing.

Scotch Eggs

Stillwater Restaurant and River Cafe 19th April, 2010

Stillwater at one end of the Cataract Gorge.

This jewel of a place is situated at Ritchie's Mill, a historic site dating back to the late 19th century. The original granary is now the wine cellar of the restaurant. It overlooks the Tamar River, which could probably be stunning in the daytime. Have a look at Stillwater's website for the detailed history about Ritchie's Mill. I read about Stillwater in the Australian Traveller magazine, and since we would be staying at Launceston, I made bookings the week before for my birthday dinner.

We arrived slightly earlier than 8pm, and were seated in no time at all close to the entrance. The lighting was dim, with a small oil lamp on each table, soft music in the background, and a small, pleasant crowd. Out attending waitstaff soon came with our menus.

Outside of Stillwater

Cosy interior.

We declined to have the degustation course, and the À la carte menu seemed more appealing. So far, we have not had oysters, and as KT said, coming to Tasmania and not have Tasmanian oysters would be a great shame. Therefore, I opted for the oyster shooters as entrée, whereas KT decided on the sashimi-style whitefish.

For our mains, KT chose the eye fillet of Tasmanian grass-fed beef, and I chose the roasted duck.

We also decided to share a dessert, so we chose a vanilla and butter-roasted peach.

Whilst waiting, we were served with crispy wonton strips with a sweet and sour chilli dip. How creative! I now know what to do with leftover wonton wrappers! Happily munching on the wonton strips, I jotted down the menu in my notebook.

Then came the entrées, KT's looking like a creation inspired by the autumn forest floor, and my oysters bobbing in a citrusy liqueour, waiting to be slushed into my mouth.

Sashimi-style whitefish with Asian black sesame dressing, lemongrass, ginger, coconut mousseline, and shiso - both a mouthful in name and taste!

Thai Style 'Lease 65, Moulting Bay' oyster shooters with nam jin dressing and dashi froth - this is one shooter which I can't have too many of!

The entrées were visually appetising, but in our mouths, the flavours and textures were amazing, I was very impressed with the oyster shooters, the nam jin dressing was the correct balance of sweet, sour, and spicy, and rounded off by the sea-flavour of the dashi froth. KT raved about his entrée; the only time he was over-the-moon about fine dining was when he had the melt-in-your-mouth pork belly at Aria. I could understand why: the way that everything was arranged, the flavours and textures created, hinted at the skills of the creator.

I was in such state of euphoria that I dared not take a sip of water for fear that I would lose the wonderful taste still lingering in my mouth. The entrées won us over, made us buzz with anticipation of the mains.

KT reading the Stillwater review in the Australian Traveller

The mains arrived as pieces of art - roasted duck breast splayed atop of the butternut pumpkin semolina "gnocchi" (it was more of a mash than a gnocchi?), duck leg perched on top of a round of foie gras, sugar snap peas seemingly thrown carelessly over a pool of duck essence - the duck breast and leg was so, so tender and flavoursome, the duck essence divine.

Roasted duck with baked butternut pumpkin semolina gnocchi, foie gras, sugar snap peas, and duck essence

KT's main - I loved how the Asian-inspired theme was carried through seamlessly from entrée to main. While the beef was beautifully succulent and tender, and the ponzu sauce a wonderful complement, I couldn't get much of the sweet beetroot glaze - it was too sticky and most of it was stuck onto the plate!

Eye fillet of Tasmanian grass-fed beef, with yuzu, green olive, potato/parsnip and dashi gallette, ponzu sauce, sticky beetroot and dashi foam

We also had a side of roasted honeybrown mushrooms with soy butter - the mushrooms soaked up the soy butter wonderfully - I have since tried to replicate the soy butter, and used it as a stir-fry sauce for sugar snap peas and mushrooms - so versatile and yummy!

Roasted honeybrown mushrooms with soy butter

After the mains, we were pleasantly full, and were in no hurry for dessert. When it did arrive, all eyes were agog. It looked too pretty to be eaten! When I sunk my spoon into the peach, it gave way without resistance, and was warm and buttery. I followed that with a spoonful of cold parfait - decadent! The dessert was made to share, which I was glad to do so with KT.

Vanilla and butter-roasted peach with parfait of Lindt chocolate honeycomb/pistachio semifreddo and white chocolate sauce

I wasn't sure if I wanted to eat it or admire it

Peppermint tea, the bill with petit fours of mini macarons and something coffee-ish

I finished off with a peppermint tea. Close to 9pm, we were one of two tables left, so KT asked for the bill, whilst I sipped on tea. The bill was presented with petit fours of mini macarons and a coffee, chocolate biscuit-thing.

Before leaving, I asked KT if he could get the chef to autograph the Australian Traveller magazine, which the chef happily did so. :)

KT reckons that Stillwater could give Aria a run for its money, and I agreed. Every dish was well-thought of and well-executed, nothing pretentious, and delicious. It's a must-go for anyone seeking a quality dining experience.

Stillwater River Cafe, Restaurant, Wine Bar
Situated in Ritchies Mill at the bottom of Paterson Street across from the Penny Royal Hotel
03 6331 4153

Stillwater Restaurant and River Cafe 19th April, 2010

Daniel Alps at Strathlynn 19th of April, 2010

It was an affair to remember....

A lunch affair, that is...

At Daniel Alps at Strathlynn.

Daniel Alps at Strathlynn is situated in the Ninth Island Vineyard at Rosevears, overlooking the Tamar River. Rosevears is about 20 minutes away from Launceston.

We arrived slightly earlier than 1pm, and were seated promptly. Three-quarters of the restaurant walls had windows, so regardless of where we were seated, it was guaranteed with a view. The scenery from the inside of the restaurant was magnificent.

I read the review in the Australian Traveller Magazine that the menu at Daniel Alps' changes daily, in keeping with the local produce. I wondered what treat was in store for us.

No sooner were we offered the menu, I started jotting down dishes I thought were inspiring / interesting. KT ordered the Springfield venison with du puy lentils, beetroots, and red onion (entree size), whereas I took a fancy for penne with meat ragu, sage, and truffle oil. We also ordered a side of herb potatoes, and for dessert, the soft-centred Callebaut chocolate pudding.

The maitre'd spotted me taking notes from the menu, and signalled for the attending waitress to give me a copy of the menu. She then told me that the menu changes daily. How very attentive of them!

It didn't seem too long before the dishes arrived; I was so absorbed with the beautiful surroundings. The dishes we ordered were equally as captivating, KT's venison was succulent and moist. The lentils were flavoursome and smoky, a beautiful accompaniment to the venison. The beetroots - one of KT's least favourite vegetable - were sweet, so much so that KT made no fuss over finishing those beetroots, even after I told him what they were.

When I took the first forkful of penne, I was in love. The ragu was rich and silky, the flavours lingered in my mouth. It was not starchy or heavy at all. Never had I enjoyed pasta so much. Even now, I would recollect the flavours of the penne, and my mouth would water.

Springfield venison with du puy lentils, beetroots, and red onion

Penne with meat ragu, sage, and truffle oil


Herb potatoes

More than happy with our mains, I then ordered a peppermint tea, while we waited for the dessert.

Refreshing peppermint tea

Soft-centred Callebaut chocolate pudding with raspberry sorbet and Chantilly cream

The pudding was served with a raspberry sorbet and Chantilly cream. In a nutshell, the dessert was heavenly, perfect for that sunny Autumn day. The pudding, soft and creamy in the middle, was balanced by the tartness of the sorbet, and rounded by the Chantilly cream.

"Strathlynn is the type of place around which you organise the rest of your touring itinerary so that you arrive right on lunch time..." as quoted on a review website.

I could not agree more, as that was precisely what we did.

If you're travelling to Launceston, definitely make Daniel Alps at Strathlynn a must.

Daniel Alps at Strathlynn

G95 Rosevears Drive, Rosevears, Tasmania.

03 6330 2388

Daniel Alps at Strathlynn 19th of April, 2010

Taste of Sydney 14th March 2010

The Taste of Sydney - I went two days in a row, once with C and her boyfriend, and the second time with X. We tried more dishes on the first day, a few hits and misses, and when I went with X, we zeroed in on the hit dishes, and scratched our heads deciding on a few others I had not tried the day before.

My tastebuds probably have more choice words in relation to the food, I shall let the photos and the captions tell the story for now...

Our first must-try dish of the day - Beef Ribs Smoked in Watermelon with a Watermelon and Avocado Salad - Danks Street Depot

The smoked, slightly sweet flavour of the ribs balanced by the refreshing watermelon salad. This was a crowd favourite, I heard so many people talking about this.

Chilled Vichysoisse, Salmon Caviar, Hawkesbury River Oyster Beignet - Berowra Waters Inn

Loved the vichysoisse and the salmon caviar, not so much the oyster

Wagyu Beef Daube with Paris Mash - Guillaume at Bennelong

The famous Paris mash - smooth and creamy, the beef was flavoursome, although I found it a bit dry

Romeo Baudouin of Victor Churchill, Charcutier preparing a terrine of pig's head - the poor pig's head was smiling away at the corner


Bailey's with a hint coffee on ice-cream - intoxicating


We saved this for the very last - Vanilla Panna Cotta with Lavender Honey and Fresh Pomegranate - Jonah's at Whale Beach

The quivering work of art deserves another take - not too sweet, yet indulgent - oh-so-very indulgent

Barramundi in a Bag alla Taste of Sydney - with cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, and fennel

I even managed to take notes on how to cook barramundi in a paper bag (shown by Richard Ptacnik of Otto), which I tried the following night. It was incredibly easy to cook, and my first attempt managed to produce a delicious, edible dish!

I'm not a fan of fennel, but this recipe sold me the idea to give fennel another go, and I was pleasantly surprised.

All in all, we had a lovely time at the Taste of Sydney, and until now, my tastebuds still tingle at the thought of some of the dishes I had tried there.

Taste of Sydney 14th March 2010