Home-cured Bacon

This recipe is from Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie. I just wanted to try making bacon. I tweaked the spices a bit so it's not too salty, and I used dried herbs, even the garlic. This process takes a lot of patience: 7 days for curing, and 1 and a half hours of oven time.

Rub the spices onto the slab of pork brisket.

Leave in the fridge for 7 days. Peek once in a while to make sure it's not coming to life with molds. After the curing time, wash well and put in the oven at 90˚C for an hour and a half. Then let cool and store in the ref.

Slice thinly, put in a pan on low heat until the fat melts and it fries on its own oil. Done!

Beer Pork Roast

Brown the sides of a chunk of pork in oil.

Sauté garlic, onion, add carrots, then dark beer, bay leaf, cloves and a little pepper and salt or sugar. Simmer for a bit.

Lay pork in a baking tray, pour sauce and bake in the oven at 180˚C for an hour or more, covered. Then about 10 more minutes without cover.

Drink leftover beer while waiting. Open another bottle if you want more.

  Collect liquid, pureé, and pour on top of pork. Done!

Twists 2011 Part 3

Beef and Pork Burger
Mix some finely chopped onions, ground black pepper and salt into the ground beef with some ground pork. Fry on a griddle or grill. Serve in toasted Pan De Sal or any small bun together with lettuce, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, pickle chip, mustard and ketchup.
Have the burger with Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions, Bacon and Mushrooms in Ranch Dressing

Twists 2011 Part 2

Most pics are from 2011, but I'm only uploading them now. Some of the titles pretty much explain what's in the recipe. :-)


Mussels in Beer (in this case, Chinese Rice Wine)

Sauté chopped garlic, ginger, chili and coriander stalks with crushed, washed and drained black beans. Add a cup of rice wine (or beer!) and let the alcohol dissipate a little bit, then start putting the mussels by batches. Take out once they open. Throw away those that don't. When all the mussels have been cooked, add the remaining coriander leaves and a squeeze of lemon and a bit of dried marjoram in the remaining sauce. Cook for a few seconds then pour back into the mussels and serve.


Fried Rice with Vegetables

Like making plain fried rice with garlic, just add chopped onions, cabbage, carrots, green beans, Chinese Sausage, Five Spices, salt, a dash of sesame oil until everything smells good.

Have the rice with Baked Asparagus Wrapped in Bacon with Teriyake and Sesame Oil Baste

Twists 2011 Part 1

Yes I've been taking pictures, so now I'm uploading them all. I'm too lazy to write down the recipe but I guess the title will give you a hint.

Pork Strips and Water Spinach Stir-Fried in Butter, Garlic and Oyster Sauce

Spaghetti with Tuna, Oven-Dried Tomatoes, Olives and Shiitake Mushrooms

Crisp Pork Sauteed in Shrimp Paste with Water Spinach and Eggplant

Fried Chicken Wings in Pizza Sauce

Sathan's Ribs Redux

Cream Dory in Teriyake Sauce with Bacon & Sesame Seeds

Simple: Get some ready-mix Teriyake Baste Sauce, pour about half a cup in a bowl, mix in about a teaspoon of Sesame Oil and a bit of ground black pepper. Brush onto some fish fillet (cream dory's very good), top with sliced bacon and sesame seeds. Pop it into a hot oven ('bout 220˚C) and let it broil for maybe 15 minutes or until you see that the bacon's a little browned. When done, just top it again with chopped spring onions. That's it!

Been a long time.

I miss this. I haven't stopped cooking, but I keep forgetting to take pictures. Sometimes, I forget to write down what I cook. Bad, bad. That's the problem with not having a recipe. I usually just open the ref and look what's there. I pick up 2 things and smell them together to get some ideas. For me, cooking is another creative outlet. Only, it's hotter and smellier. But the reward is tasty. :-) See you soon Weekend At Nathan's.

Baked Marble Potatoes with Paprika, Basil and Cheese

Crispy and hot.

Wash and slice marble potatoes in half. Put in a large bowl, pour in some olive oil, mix well. Then add some paprika, a little turmeric, white pepper, lots of garlic powder, and salt. Mix well so each piece of potato gets coated. Transfer to a baking dish and bake at 180˚C for an hour or until the potatoes are cooked and browned and crisp on the outside. Sprinkle some chopped basil leaves and shredded cheese on top and bake again for around 10 minutes. Done.

June 19, 2010

Sautéed Pork and Mushroom and Vegetable Mix

Another simple prep. Just bought some ready vegetable mix in the grocery, a can of shiitake mushrooms, slice of pork, and a pouch of Pork&Mushroom soup mix. Sauté the pork in onions, garlic and lots of Chinese celery (kinchay), add the mushrooms, stir for a few seconds, add the vegetable mix, stir for a few seconds, and then add the soup mix (already mixed in a cup or two of water). Stir again until the starch thickens. Sprinkle with a bit of sesame oil. Done!
June 18, 2010

Crispy Pork on Tomatoes and Onions, Topped with Pickled Papaya

Lazy, but hey, it's really good. Boiled some pork cubes until very tender, added salt, then dried them a little and deep fried. Done! Just slice up some tomatoes and onions and have a bottle of pickled papaya (achara) ready and arrange like in the photo! Hehe.

June 6, 2010

Random Photos

Crisp bread, garlic basil meatball, purple plastic flowers, colored glasses, a dirty angel...

Chopsuey Snow Peas, Baby Corn & Asparagus with Quail Eggs

This is really simple sautéed vegetables in sesame oil. Not much new, except that I used mostly snow peas and asparagus, just to make it more special. I would have added some shiitake mushroom if had some then.

Sesame Rolls

Yup, I'm finally learning to make bread. I find it really hard to do, and I still rely on a recipe sheet. And sometimes, I still fail. But one day, I tried doing it by feel. I even twisted the basic bread recipe by using some sesame oil and adding sesame seeds into the dough mix. Turned out fine.

Hey!

Ok, got my new camera! And it's more than ok! I like its size, design, the price, the features, the picture quality, almost everything. But I especially like its size. I can easily carry it everywhere in the kitchen when I'm busy cooking. Sometimes I can even use just one hand to take pics! Been practicing with it and been taking pictures of some of the new recipes I've discovered and tweaked and twisted. I'm just trying to remember the steps and the fire intensity requirements I used, so bear with me. I'll post them soon. Meanwhile, here are random pictures...