Pork

Char Siu

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Char Siu

The ubiquitous char siu aka caramelized pork parts has been with us Singaporeans for many years now. How many years exactly, I don’t really know. I guess some folks must have brought it from Hong Kong maybe?

I think it must have come from Hong Kong. When I went visiting there were a lot of people selling char siu over there. Anyway whether it is from there or it was from here and eventually got everywhere. I just want to know if I can make it in my kitchen.

So my friend Sandy made Char Siu the other day and it looked yummy. So I followed the link to the recipe and realised that it must be the simplest recipe in the world. It was so simple that the author spent much of the entire blog post filling it up with words and small talk.

Anyway, I decided to make it. And it is really that easy. Just some things to take note and you are good to go.

Recipe

Ingredients

1 whole Yo Lai pork (if you are not sure what yo lai is.. Just ask your butcher. He will probably tell you to yo lai and point to you the part with the sharp edge of his cleaver.)

Marinate

1 tsp Salt
1 tsp 5 Spice Powder
1 tsp White Pepper
1 tsp Dark Soya Sauce
1 tsp Sesame Seed Oil
2 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp HoiSin sauce (I got the Lee Kum Kee one just because it was convenient)
1 tbsp Hua Tiao Jiu (aka chinese cooking wine)
2 tbsp Honey (I used Manuka honey because I like only the best, but any old honey will be suffice.. Don’t be too eager to mix the honey in the marinate.. The honey go last when the char siu is almost done.. )
1 bowl of Warm Water

Method

1. Dry the yo lai pork. Cut into two parts. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a metal wok (cook this only in a metal wok/pan and not a non-stick wok/pan). Once oil is heated, place the yo lai into the pan and sear the meat. The pork is likely to get stuck on the pan, but that’s the price you pay for being a purist.

2. Fry the yo lai pork for about 5 minutes or less. You really only want to brown the meat. Once that is done add all the ingredients into the pan.

3. Mixing the marinate couldn’t have been easier. It is not rocket science. Just mix everything in a bowl. Add water to mix it up. Reserve the honey for later.

4. Pour the marinate into the pan with the yo lai. Cover the pan for 20 minutes. Then lower the fire and just stir fry the pork until the marinate dries up. There is hardly any liquid left in the pan once the full 40 minutes is completed.

5. The Char Siu by now should be nicely braised. The sauce would have thickened to almost nothing. After you take the meat out, plate it and glazed it with the honey.

6. Serve with coriander or whatever herb that you like.

Bon Appetit!

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Char Siu before slicing

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Braising the pork

Braised Pork Trotters

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Braised Pork Trotters

My favourite pork trotters in soya sauce. Finally found a recipe that I think works, but decided to cook it the way that I like to. Sorry the photo doesn’t do the dish justice. But I wanted to show that I took a short cut when preparing this dish.

In a nutshell, everything was thrown into the pot without marination. Reason is because this is a braised dish. Braising means you got to cook it for a reasonably amount of time and that means load everything essential into the pot and let the heat melt the gelatinous fat and bond everyone together.

In the end, it was a very nicely cooked pork trotters. Done the Ho Sim Lang way. It’s so easily done, anyone can do it also.

Recipe

Ingredients

1 whole foreleg of Pork (i’m sure you know I meant Pig)
5-6 tbsp Dark Soya Sauce (more if you like)
2 tbsp of Light Soya Sauce
2 tbsp of Oyster Sauce
5cm length of Cinnamon Stick
2 pcs Star Anise
5 pcs Cloves
2 tbsp Castor Sugar
2 tbsp Corn Flour
5 pcs of Dried Shitake Mushrooms
Half a bowl of Hakka Rice Wine
Water (enough to cover the meats)

Method

1. Place the foreleg into the pot. Drop the cinnamon stick, star anise and cloves in. Add the dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, oyster sauce and rice wine in. Add in hot boiling water and make sure the water cover the meats. Boil until water is bubbling. Do a taste test for saltiness. Meanwhile soak the Shitake mushrooms in hot water. Once soaked, cut off the stems and slice and continue soaking.

2. This is the part that is tricky. You want to taste the correct taste before you let the heat take over. If it is not salty enough, add more dark soya sauce. If it is not sweet enough add more castor sugar. The reason why this is crucial is because you are allowing the saltiness of the broth to braise the meats. So it has to be reasonably salty but not too salty. After your taste test is done, mix in the corn flour (mix with some water first) mixture. Add the soaked mushrooms.

3. Cover the lid. Turn the heat to low and go read a book. After about one hour and thirty minutes. It should be nicely done.

Bon Appetit!

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Braised Pork Trotters