THE PICKY EATER!
It has always been difficult to get kids to eat healthy and nutritious food. That’s a given. Somehow, children naturally gravitate towards chocolates, burgers, fries, and other delicious treats we otherwise call ‘comfort’ food. And once they’re defined what they like, they usually stick to them. They become picky eaters. And while meat tops their list of favourite food, they’re not exactly huge fans of vegetables, fruits and fish. Feed them what they don’t like, and the most you can make them do is take a bite or two. And this is when they take meals at home, under the watchful eye of Mom. But have you ever wondered what kinds of food they eat when you’re not around to observe them? For instance, what do they buy in canteen during recess time in school? What do they love to eat there? When you can’t see them, you can’t be in control, can you? Uh-oh…...
BUILDING HEALTHY EATING HABITS
Luckily for parents, information particularly on health and nutrition, are readily available these days through internet. Hit the ‘search’ key and you can find out all the nutritional information that you need on a certain type of food. You can even find out the cholesterol, carbohydrate and fat content of the dish that you’re planning to prepare.
With all the nutritional information at your fingertips, yes, you can feed your kids - even the pickiest and choosiest of them all,properly.
* Start them early.
If you want your kids to eat healthy food, start building healthy their eating habits early in life. If you want your kids to eat healthy, you should start feeding them healthy food, right at the beginning, introduce vegetables to their palate early - lettuce in sandwiches, tomatoes in pasta sauce, etc; so that when they get older, it won’t be difficult to make them eat vegetables.
* Be consistent.
It’s not enough that you introduce vegetables to your kids early in life. It is important to follow through and consistently serve vegetable dishes in their growing up years. Make each meal a balanced meal with rice, meat or seafood, and vegetables. On weekends, when there’s more time for the family to bond and enjoy your dining experience together, why not make start your meal with a salad or soup, then serve the viands with rice, and end your meal with a light and fruity dessert?
* Practice what you preach.
Be a good example to your kids. If you want them to be eating vegetables and fish on a regular basis, you’ve to enjoy eating them too. You cant convince them with mere words. They have to see you eating healthily so they can follow the example you set.
HEALTH IN A LUNCH BOX!
That, however, goes only as far as home-cooked meals are concerned. But what about the school meals that your kids have to take during school days? What can you do to make sure they’re eating real, healthy food and not just indulging in junk food readily available to them?
* Send them to school with healthy tapau everyday.
It’s important that you set aside time every morning to personally prepare your kids’ tapau. Draw up a weekly menu guide on what tapau you can send your kids to school. Take into consideration what they like and what you think will balance out the health factor and taste profile of such dishes. Make sure too, that you personally prepare their tapau, knowing that you prepared the tapau will motivate them more to eat it than if the maid prepared it.
* Try to incorporate healthy ingredients into their tapau.
If they like ham sandwich, for example, you can probably line the bread with lettuce and slices of tomatoes. If your kids like fried chicken, either bake it of fry it in healthy oil. If they like burgers, incorporate chopped tomatoes into them. For the bread, how about introducing whole meal bread instead of usual white bread.
* Make their tapau attractive.
Feed their eyes as well as their tummies. For them to truly enjoy their tapau, it has to be a feast for the senses. If your kids like burger, why not have them in star-shape? Package their tapau nicely, for example, you can wrap it nicely in greaseproof paper with design on the outer side, much like what fast-food restaurants use for their burgers.
* Add juices to their tapau.
Add a pack of fruit juice, too, to discourage them from buying soft-drinks from the canteen.
* Give words of encouragement or praise when your kids finish their tapau.
If they come home with an empty lunch box, encouraging words such as ‘I see you’ve finished your food. Very good. You’ve made me very happy’.
Sometimes, all it takes to make kids eat healthy and real food is a little encouragement. Make it available to them, put some personal touch into it, make it look attractive and encourage your kids to enjoy eating it and - VOILA! Whoever says it’s difficult to get picky eaters to eat healthy must be a bit wrong.
HOW TO CLEAN PIG'S TRIPE
1. Invert tripe (inside out) and rinse under running tap. Rub 3 spoons of tapioca flour all over, both inside and outside, rinse.
2. Rub 2 spoons salt all over on the inside and outside, rinse. Trim off fatty linings at the edge, rinse.
3. Heat tripe over low frame in oil-less wok until dry.
HEALTH TIPS
Diet & Digestive Problems
At some time in life, a lot of people suffers from digestive problems or duodenal ulcers. Fortunately, treatment can be effective. If you always have attacks of gastric, it is important to cut down the amount of acid in your stomach and eat frequent small meals rather than having one big meal. This way, the stomach is not allowed to become empty. In Eastern medical theory, sensible eating for digestive problems is strongly recommended. One should eat food that heal digestive problems instead of those which irritate them.
The person with a ‘cold stomach’ have symptoms like pain in the pit of the stomach or signs of diarrhea. Sufferers should consume warm food like spring onions, ginger, chives, garlic, pepper. For a person with ‘weak stomach’, eating red dates, ‘huai shan’, fox nuts, lotus seeds can help. But a person with ‘warm stomach’ should take cooling food such as pears, lotus root, sugar cane or honey. If there is a fullness sensation in the chest, take radish or tangerines or drinks brewed with tangerines’ skin. They can regulate the stagnation feeling. Not eating well may be the direct cause of many health problems as poor nutrition weakens the body’s ability to resist illness. Continued care is necessary to prevent the digestive problems from returning as eating right helps the sick get well.
Getting closer to you!!!
Our Butchers @
- Premier 101 (016-8707993)
- Tabuan-Stutong (016-8737188)
Our Partners @
- Boulevard Hypermarket
- Everrise Supermarket @ BDC
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Apple and Sage Pork Chops
Makes 6 servings.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons Sage, Rubbed
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 teaspoon Thyme Leaves
1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
6 pieces Butcher's Deli pork chop / sirloin
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 Gala apples, cut into thin wedges
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup apple juice
DIRECTIONS
1. Mix flour, sage, seasoned salt, thyme and nutmeg in small bowl until well blended. Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture.
2. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add pork chops; brown on both sides. Remove from skillet. Add apples, onion, remaining seasoned flour and juice to skillet; stir until well mixed. Return pork chops to skillet.
3. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until pork chops are desired doneness. Remove pork chops to serving platter; keep warm. Simmer sauce 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve sauce over pork chops.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Pork Rib-Prawn Noodle (虾面)
It's not easy to get a good bowl of prawn noodle in Kuching. I love the one at 'Auntie's Corner' at Bormill Estate.
Serves 4 bowls
Ingredients
• 20 large prawns (more prawns, the merrier!)
• 400 g pork ribs (Butcher’s Deli Prime Ribs)
• 1 liter water
• 400g egg noodles (may substitute/mix with vermicelli)
• 6 shallots
• 2 garlic cloves
• 75g dried anchovies
• 100g bean sprouts
• 100g kangkung
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dark soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
Directions
• De-shell prawns and keep the shells and prawn heads.
• Clean peeled prawns.
• Using 2 tablespoons of olive oil, fry prawn shells and heads in a soup pot.
• Add dried anchovies to the prawn shells/heads mixture and fry for about 2-3 mins.
• Add water to cooled mixture and bring to the boil.
• Add pork ribs and bring to the boil.
• Crush garlic (with skin intact) and add to broth.
• Lower the flame and let the broth simmer for 30 minutes.
• Dish out and discard the prawn shells/heads and anchovies.
• Add dark soya sauce, salt and pepper to the broth.
• Deep fry sliced shallots in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until golden brown.
• After the broth is ready, cook yellow noodles, bean sprouts and kangkung in a separate pot by blanching in boiling water.
• Cook peeled prawns by boiling them in a separate pot.
• Place cooked noodles, vegetables and prawns in a bowl.
• Pour the prawn broth over the noodles and prawns.
• Top with fried shallots and serve.
For fast and easy cooking, grab a pack of ready-to-cook prawn noodle sauce, save your time in making the broth then.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Babi Ponteh
After watching Singapore's drama series of 'The Little Nyonya'(小娘惹), I miss Babi Ponteh (stew pork)so much that I still vividly remember Aunty Shirley, a Peranakan Celebrity Chef whom I met while working at Swissotel Merchant Court. She made good 'Durian Pengat' (durian cream) that I never got the chance to learn from her back then. Knowing that I love to eat pork so much, she once sneaked in 'Babi Ponteh' with steamed bun, man tou (馒头) to our then halal staff cafeteria. I fell in love with the dish, and asked for the recipe. Now, I am sharing this recipe with you.
Ingredients:
1 pig's trotter or 300 g pork belly
2 10cm cinnamon
3 onions, peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled
300 g yam bean (bengkwang), peeled (I replaced it with turnip)
4 potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon preserved soy beans (taucheo)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
720 ml water
Method:
* Cut trotter into pieces.
* Blanch in hot water and rinse in cold running tap water to remove scum. Drained.
* Wash cinnamon stick. Grind onions and garlic until fine.
* Wash and cut yam bean into wedges. Wash and cut potatoes into 4 and soak in water.
* Heat oil in a pot and fry cinnamon, ground onions and garlic until light brown and aromatic.
* Add preserved soy bean and fry for 1 minute.
* Add pork pieces and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
* Add dark soy sauce, sugar, salt and water. When meat is half-cooked, add yam bean. Cook, covered for 15 minutes.
* Add potatoes and cook until meat is tender, yam bean is soft and potatoes are cooked and stew thickens.
Ingredients:
1 pig's trotter or 300 g pork belly
2 10cm cinnamon
3 onions, peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled
300 g yam bean (bengkwang), peeled (I replaced it with turnip)
4 potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon preserved soy beans (taucheo)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
720 ml water
Method:
* Cut trotter into pieces.
* Blanch in hot water and rinse in cold running tap water to remove scum. Drained.
* Wash cinnamon stick. Grind onions and garlic until fine.
* Wash and cut yam bean into wedges. Wash and cut potatoes into 4 and soak in water.
* Heat oil in a pot and fry cinnamon, ground onions and garlic until light brown and aromatic.
* Add preserved soy bean and fry for 1 minute.
* Add pork pieces and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
* Add dark soy sauce, sugar, salt and water. When meat is half-cooked, add yam bean. Cook, covered for 15 minutes.
* Add potatoes and cook until meat is tender, yam bean is soft and potatoes are cooked and stew thickens.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Jiăozi (饺子) & Xiǎolóngbāo (小笼包)
Jiăozi (饺子), or pot sticker is a Chinese dumpling, widely popular in China. Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together or by crimping. Jiaozi should not be confused with wonton: jiaozi have a thicker, chewier skin and a flatter, more oblate, double-saucer like shape (similar in shape to ravioli), and are usually eaten with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce (and/or hot chili sauce); while wontons have thinner skin, are sphere-shaped, and are usually served in broth. The dough for the jiaozi and wonton wrapper also consist of different ingredients.
Chinese dumplings (jiaozi) may be divided into various types depending on how they are cooked:
• Boiled dumplings; (shuǐjiǎo-水餃) - "water dumplings"
• Steamed dumplings; (zhēngjiǎo-蒸餃) - "steam-dumpling"
• Shallow fried dumplings (guōtiē - 鍋貼) - "pan stick", "potstickers", "dry-fried dumplings" (jiānjiǎo - 煎餃).
Dumplings, one of the major foods eaten during the Chinese New Year, and year round in the northern provinces. Traditionally, families get together to make jiaozi for the Chinese New Year. In rural areas, the choicest livestock is slaughtered, the meat ground and wrapped into dumplings, and frozen outside with the help of the freezing weather. Then they are boiled and served for the Chinese New Year feast. Dumplings with sweet, rather than savoury fillings are also popular as a Chinese New Year treat.
Cantonese style Chinese dumplings (gaau) are standard fare in dim sum. The immediate noted difference to jiǎozi is that they are smaller and wrapped in a thinner translucent skin, and usually steamed. In other words, these are steamed dumplings.
Jiaozi were so named because they were horn shaped. The Chinese for "horn" is jiǎo (角), and jiaozi was originally written with the Chinese character for "horn", but later it was replaced by a specific character 餃, which has the food radical on the left and the phonetic component jiāo on the right.
Guotie (锅贴; literally "pot stick") is pan-fried jiaozi, also known as potstickers in North America. They are a Northern Chinese style dumpling popular as a street food, appetizer, or side order in Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean cuisines. This dish is sometimes served on a dim sum menu, but may be offered independently. The filling for this dish usually contains pork, cabbage, scallions (spring or green onions), ginger, Chinese rice wine or cooking wine, and sesame seed oil.
Xiǎolóngbāo (小笼包), also known as soup dumpling, is a type of baozi (包子) from eastern China. It is traditionally steamed in small bamboo baskets, known as xiao long, hence the name.
Traditionally, the Xiaolongbao is a dianxin (点心) or snack item. The buns are served hot in the bamboo baskets in which they were steamed, and may be dipped in rice vinegar with ginger slivers.
Xiaolongbao have also become popular as a main dish, it is also commonly served as a yum cha item.
Check out our latest frozen home-made products at our Delis:
a) Jiăozi with corn(饺子 - 猪肉玉米)
b) Jiăozi with garlic chives(饺子 - 猪肉韮菜)
c) Jiăozi with cabbage(饺子 - 猪肉包菜)
d) Xiǎolóngbāo (小笼汤包)
Chinese dumplings (jiaozi) may be divided into various types depending on how they are cooked:
• Boiled dumplings; (shuǐjiǎo-水餃) - "water dumplings"
• Steamed dumplings; (zhēngjiǎo-蒸餃) - "steam-dumpling"
• Shallow fried dumplings (guōtiē - 鍋貼) - "pan stick", "potstickers", "dry-fried dumplings" (jiānjiǎo - 煎餃).
Dumplings, one of the major foods eaten during the Chinese New Year, and year round in the northern provinces. Traditionally, families get together to make jiaozi for the Chinese New Year. In rural areas, the choicest livestock is slaughtered, the meat ground and wrapped into dumplings, and frozen outside with the help of the freezing weather. Then they are boiled and served for the Chinese New Year feast. Dumplings with sweet, rather than savoury fillings are also popular as a Chinese New Year treat.
Cantonese style Chinese dumplings (gaau) are standard fare in dim sum. The immediate noted difference to jiǎozi is that they are smaller and wrapped in a thinner translucent skin, and usually steamed. In other words, these are steamed dumplings.
Jiaozi were so named because they were horn shaped. The Chinese for "horn" is jiǎo (角), and jiaozi was originally written with the Chinese character for "horn", but later it was replaced by a specific character 餃, which has the food radical on the left and the phonetic component jiāo on the right.
Guotie (锅贴; literally "pot stick") is pan-fried jiaozi, also known as potstickers in North America. They are a Northern Chinese style dumpling popular as a street food, appetizer, or side order in Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean cuisines. This dish is sometimes served on a dim sum menu, but may be offered independently. The filling for this dish usually contains pork, cabbage, scallions (spring or green onions), ginger, Chinese rice wine or cooking wine, and sesame seed oil.
Xiǎolóngbāo (小笼包), also known as soup dumpling, is a type of baozi (包子) from eastern China. It is traditionally steamed in small bamboo baskets, known as xiao long, hence the name.
Traditionally, the Xiaolongbao is a dianxin (点心) or snack item. The buns are served hot in the bamboo baskets in which they were steamed, and may be dipped in rice vinegar with ginger slivers.
Xiaolongbao have also become popular as a main dish, it is also commonly served as a yum cha item.
Check out our latest frozen home-made products at our Delis:
a) Jiăozi with corn(饺子 - 猪肉玉米)
b) Jiăozi with garlic chives(饺子 - 猪肉韮菜)
c) Jiăozi with cabbage(饺子 - 猪肉包菜)
d) Xiǎolóngbāo (小笼汤包)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Hamburger, Anyone??
You have tried Big Mac, Ramly's Burger, or even Colonel's Burger!
Where do you get the BEST Pork Burger in Kuching?
From your KITCHEN!
Grab your home-made quarter-pounder patties from Butcher's Deli. It's only RM10.80 per pack of 4 patties.
And you can enjoy the pork burger like me. :)
(ingredients: bun, cucumber, sliced tomato, lettuce, mayonnaise, and of course, Butcher's Deli QuarterPounder)
Where do you get the BEST Pork Burger in Kuching?
From your KITCHEN!
Grab your home-made quarter-pounder patties from Butcher's Deli. It's only RM10.80 per pack of 4 patties.
And you can enjoy the pork burger like me. :)
(ingredients: bun, cucumber, sliced tomato, lettuce, mayonnaise, and of course, Butcher's Deli QuarterPounder)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Asparagus with Bacon
If you happen to have a kid that seldom take vegetables, try this way to attract your kid to eat more vegetables. Children always like fanciful, colourful and unique food.
Ingredients
• 8 asparagus
• 4 pieces of Butcher's Deli streaky bacon
• Cornflour
• Tomato Sauce
Cooking Instructions
• Cut the ends of the asparagus stems and skin the asparagus.
• Cut the bacon into half and wind the bacon around the asparagus.
• Use a toothpick to hold the bacon.
• Dust with cornflour.
• Pan-fry on a non-stick pan till the bacon is cook or brown.
• Serve with some tomato sauce.
Note:
If you’re not using a non-stick pan, use a teaspoon of oil. There will be enough oil from the bacon later.
Ingredients
• 8 asparagus
• 4 pieces of Butcher's Deli streaky bacon
• Cornflour
• Tomato Sauce
Cooking Instructions
• Cut the ends of the asparagus stems and skin the asparagus.
• Cut the bacon into half and wind the bacon around the asparagus.
• Use a toothpick to hold the bacon.
• Dust with cornflour.
• Pan-fry on a non-stick pan till the bacon is cook or brown.
• Serve with some tomato sauce.
Note:
If you’re not using a non-stick pan, use a teaspoon of oil. There will be enough oil from the bacon later.
Roast Chicken With Bacon
Servings 2
Cooking Time 60-75 minutes
Ingredients:
• 2 Large Chicken Drumstick
• 4 slices Butcher's Deli Streaky Bacon
• 3 glove Garlic, crashed with skin on
• 2 slices Lemon
Cooking Instruction:
• Place a slice of lemon on the chicken.
• Wrap a slice of streaky bacon slightly tight starting from the joint part with the fatty part of the bacon should be 'outside'
• Overlap the bacon a little so you don't see the chicken.
• Place the chicken in a oven proof dish with the loose end bacon placed down.
• Scatter the garlic around.
• Roast the chicken in a preheated oven at 220C for 15 minutes.
• Reduce the temperature to 170C and continuing roasting for another 40 minutes or till thoroughly cooked.
• Serve.
Plum and Soy Butcher’s Deli Pork Boneless Loin
Servings 4
Cook time 4-5 minutes
Alternate Cuts
Pork Boneless Shoulder
Ingredients
• 4 Butcher’s Deli Pork Boneless Loin
• 1 cup plum sauce
• ½ cup soy sauce
Cooking instructions
• Preheat frying pan, BBQ, grill or griddle pan on a medium to high heat.
• Combine the plum sauce and soy sauce together in a small bowl and mix well.
• Brush the sauce on both sides of each of the Pork Boneless Loin.
• Place the steaks onto the BBQ or pan or under the preheat grill.
• Cook for 4 minutes, turning only once during cooking.
• Serve with vegetables and drizzled with a little warm plum and soy sauce.
Hainanese Pork Chop
Servings 4
Cook time 15 minutes
Alternate cuts
Shoulder Collar
Boneless Loin
Ingredients
• 4 Butcher’s Deli Pork Chop (400g)
• ½ cup oil for deep frying
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 50g golden bread crumbs
• 1 can garden peas
• 2 large potatoes
• 2 large onions, sliced
Cooking instructions
• Pound Butcher’s Deli Pork Chops with a mallet to tenderise meat.
• Season with salt and pepper. Leave aside for a few minutes.
• Dip in beaten egg and roll in bread crumbs.
• Deep fry for 3 minutes each and drain on absorbent paper.
• Peel and slice potatoes into 1 cm thick rounds.
• Slice onions. Fry potatoes in oil until brown.
• Pour off all but 3 tbsp of oil and fry onions until soft but not brown.
• Mix gravy ingredients and add to pan.
• Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add potatoes and simmer for 1 minute.
• To serve, pour gravy over Butcher’s Deli Pork Chops.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sumibi Kushiyaki
This is our recommendation for beer drinkers. It certainly goes well with your favourite beer, be it Heineken, Tiger, Carlsberg, Asahi, Kilkenny, Guiness Stout or even TsingTao.
Ingredients
• 500g Butcher's Deli's thinly sliced pork belly
• 20 green asparagus shoots, finely peeled and with the hard end of the stem cut off
• 20 bamboo skewers (6 inch length)
• Salt
Instructions:
1. Wrap the trimmed and peeled asparagus with a piece of thinly sliced pork belly.
2. Cut wrapped stems into 2 inch piece and thread the pieces onto the bamboo skewer about halfway along their length. One stem makes one skewer.
3. Sprinkle some salt over each side of the skewers.
4. Barbecue for about 5 minutes on a low to medium heat wood charcoal flame, turning every minute until crispy. Serve piping hot while enjoying an ice-cold Japanese draught beer.
Ingredients
• 500g Butcher's Deli's thinly sliced pork belly
• 20 green asparagus shoots, finely peeled and with the hard end of the stem cut off
• 20 bamboo skewers (6 inch length)
• Salt
Instructions:
1. Wrap the trimmed and peeled asparagus with a piece of thinly sliced pork belly.
2. Cut wrapped stems into 2 inch piece and thread the pieces onto the bamboo skewer about halfway along their length. One stem makes one skewer.
3. Sprinkle some salt over each side of the skewers.
4. Barbecue for about 5 minutes on a low to medium heat wood charcoal flame, turning every minute until crispy. Serve piping hot while enjoying an ice-cold Japanese draught beer.
Stir Fried Pork with Lotus Roots and Vegetables
Ingredients:
• 60g pork fillet, sliced
• 8 shitake mushroom, cut into quarters
• 10 asparagus, half
• 8 slice lotus root, skinned
• 2 tablespoon oil
Marinade:
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine
• 1 teaspoon corn flour
Seasoning:
• 300ml bone or chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• Salt to taste
Instruction:
1. Marinate pork and set aside for half an hour.
2. Heat wok with oil.
3. Add pork and stir fry till half cooked.
4. Remove and set aside.
5. Using the same wok, add mushroom and stir fry for a minute.
6. Add some more oil if oil has been absorbed by mushroom.
7. Add in the lotus roots and asparagus.
8. Stir fry briefly. Return pork into wok.
9. Add seasonings and bring to a boil.
10. Reduce heat and let it simmer til sauce has been absorbed.
11. Dish and serve.
Sweet and Sour Pork
Ingredients:
• 300g pork, cubed
• Corn flour
• Oil for frying
• Corn flour mixture, thickener
Marinade:
• ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2/3 tablespoon corn flour
• Additional corn flour for dusting
Sauce:
• 5 tablespoon mirin
• 2 tablespoon water
• 1/3 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
Instructions:
1. Marinate pork for at least 30 minutes
2. Heat enough oil for frying
3. Dust marinated pork with additional corn flour and fry till light brown.
4. Dish and drain.
5. Heat ½ tablespoon of oil used from frying pork in the work.
6. Stir fry vegetables if using, for 30 seconds to 1 minute if you prefer it less raw.
7. Remove the vegetable and set aside.
8. Pour in the sauce. Heat sauce till it bubbles.
9. Stir gradually in the corn flour mixture.
10. Return vegetable and pork to the sauce.
11. Stir to coat well. Dish and serve.
Deep Fried Pork Ribs with Prawn Paste
Deep Fried Pork Ribs with Prawn Paste
Ingredients:
• 700g Pork Ribs
• 2 tablespoon prawn paste (belachan)
• 4 piece Red Fermented bean curd
• 4 tablespoon cornflour
• 3 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoon sauce from red fermented bean curd
• 2 tablespoon garlic powder or garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 egg
• Oil for frying
Instructions:
1. Add all ingredients except oil, together and mix well
2. Marinade for at least an hour, best if over night
3. Heat oil and deep fry till golden brown
4. Drain and serve
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Pork Cashew Stir-Fry
Serving 4
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
* 2 Tbsp (25 mL) vegetable oil
* 1 lb (500 g) tenderloin, cut into thin strips
* 2 Tbsp (25 mL) soy sauce
* 2 medium carrots, sliced
* 1 medium green pepper, diced
* 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsalted roasted cashews
* 2 Tbsp (25 mL) brown sugar
* 1 Tbsp (15 mL) cornstarch
* 3 tbsp (50 mL) water
* Salt to taste
Instructions:
1. Heat vegetable oil in a wok or heavy skillet over high heat.
2. Add Pork and stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned.
3. Add soya sauce; stir-fry one minute.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add carrots. Cover and cook 3 minutes.
5. Add green pepper, cashews and pepper flakes (if desired); stir-fry 3 to 4 mins.
6. Sprinkle with brown sugar and stir until dissolved, about 1 minute.
7. Dissolve cornstarch in water. Add to wok or skillet.
8. Stir and cook until sauce thickens and clears. Season with salt.
9. Serve immediately with rice.
Note: sorry no picture to show here, as I cant wait to finish my it. :p
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
* 2 Tbsp (25 mL) vegetable oil
* 1 lb (500 g) tenderloin, cut into thin strips
* 2 Tbsp (25 mL) soy sauce
* 2 medium carrots, sliced
* 1 medium green pepper, diced
* 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsalted roasted cashews
* 2 Tbsp (25 mL) brown sugar
* 1 Tbsp (15 mL) cornstarch
* 3 tbsp (50 mL) water
* Salt to taste
Instructions:
1. Heat vegetable oil in a wok or heavy skillet over high heat.
2. Add Pork and stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned.
3. Add soya sauce; stir-fry one minute.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add carrots. Cover and cook 3 minutes.
5. Add green pepper, cashews and pepper flakes (if desired); stir-fry 3 to 4 mins.
6. Sprinkle with brown sugar and stir until dissolved, about 1 minute.
7. Dissolve cornstarch in water. Add to wok or skillet.
8. Stir and cook until sauce thickens and clears. Season with salt.
9. Serve immediately with rice.
Note: sorry no picture to show here, as I cant wait to finish my it. :p
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Red Wine Marinade
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) dry red wine
1/4 cup (50 mL) red wine vinegar
1/2 cup (125 mL) olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp (5 mL) black peppercorns, crushed
Instructions
Combine all ingredients; whisk briskly before use.
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) dry red wine
1/4 cup (50 mL) red wine vinegar
1/2 cup (125 mL) olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp (5 mL) black peppercorns, crushed
Instructions
Combine all ingredients; whisk briskly before use.
All-Spice Barbecue Rub
Here's what I call dump-all-spice-together recipe.
Simple and easy - just grab the McCommick's spices and start to rub onto your pork ribs for your up-coming barbecue session.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (125 mL) brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) seasoned salt
1/4 cup (50 mL) onion salt
1/4 cup (50 mL) garlic salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) paprika
2 tbsp (30 mL) ground black pepper
2 tbsp (30 mL) chili powder
2 tsp (10 mL) mustard powder
1 tsp (5 mL) poultry seasoning
1 tsp (5 mL) ground ginger
1/2 tsp (2 mL) cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp (2 mL) allspice
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in an airtight container. Store in cool, dark place.
Simple and easy - just grab the McCommick's spices and start to rub onto your pork ribs for your up-coming barbecue session.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (125 mL) brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) seasoned salt
1/4 cup (50 mL) onion salt
1/4 cup (50 mL) garlic salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) paprika
2 tbsp (30 mL) ground black pepper
2 tbsp (30 mL) chili powder
2 tsp (10 mL) mustard powder
1 tsp (5 mL) poultry seasoning
1 tsp (5 mL) ground ginger
1/2 tsp (2 mL) cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp (2 mL) allspice
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in an airtight container. Store in cool, dark place.
Marinade & Rub
Marinades
What Is A Marinade?
• A marinade is a liquid that has been seasoned and is used to flavour (and usually to tenderize) meat, fish, and vegetables.
• The liquid may be wine, fruit juice, vinegar, or any combination of these, along with spices, herbs, or other flavouring agents. Oil, such as olive oil, is often included as well.
• Marinades usually have a low pH, which means that they are acidic. It is the acidity that helps to tenderize the meat.
• Ingredients that are suitable for supplying acidity to marinades: wine, vinegar, soy sauce, citrus juice, buttermilk, or yoghurt.
How Do Marinades Work?
• All the elements in a marinade: the liquid base, the herbs and spices, and the oil, help to flavour the food, with the exception of a totally neutral vegetable oil.
• The acids in a marinade permeate tissue and break down tough fibres, thus tenderizing meat.
• The oil in marinades adds succulence to food and gives it flavour.
• Some marinades work in an entirely different way. Some fruits, notably papaya, grapefruit, and pineapple, have natural enzymes that will degrade tough connective tissue by a process called 'enzymatic reaction'. Meat left too long in one of these marinades will be tenderized to the point of being mushy.
Which Cuts Need To Be Marinated?
Cuts that:
• Are tough
• Have a low fat content, or
• Have little natural flavour
When to Use Marinades
• When the meat in question is too tough to be cooked in its natural state. For example, a pork shoulder butt chop or a beef flank steak have excellent natural flavours, but are too tough for most consumers unless they have been tenderized.
• Some low-fat cuts, pork tenderloin for example, tend to dry out and become tasteless when over-cooked. Adding oil to a marinade will counteract this.
• Other cuts are both relatively tough and low-fat, pork leg cuts for example. These require both an acid and an oil.
How to Choose a Marinade
• A less tender cut of pork that has plenty of fat requires more acid and little or no oil.
• A tender, but low-flavour cut needs a marinade with plenty of flavour and some oil.
• A cut that is less tender and is also low in fat needs acid, flavouring agents, and oil.
• Most commercial vinaigrettes and salad dressings, as they are mixtures of oil and vinegar, can make excellent marinades. Do not use mayonnaise-based dressings.
Selecting Containers and Materials
• Do not use containers that may react with the acid in a marinade: Bowls and rectangular baking dishes made of glass, enamel, porcelain, or treated aluminum, are ideal for marinades. Do not use aluminum foil.
• Select pans in which the meat sits snugly and lies flat. The marinade should come up around the edges of the meat, but need not cover it.
• Meat and marinade can be put into a sealable plastic bag ¬ a zip-loc is ideal. Squeeze out most of the air, seal tightly, and place in a bowl. Turn bag from time to time to distribute marinade. This is the perfect method for larger cuts.
How to Use Marinades
• If you are planning to marinate for only a short time, mix the marinade an hour in advance to allow the flavours to infuse and mellow.
• Always refrigerate food that you are marinating.
• Either completely cover meat with marinade, or turn meat over occasionally to ensure complete and even marination.
• Do not add salt to a marinade, as it draws out the moisture essential to keeping meat juicy and tender. Salt food only after it is cooked.
• Any marinade can be used to baste foods during cooking to add moisture and flavour.
• Do not use marinades for basting or as a sauce in which meat has been marinating (it can harbour unsafe bacteria) unless the marinade is brought to a boil and simmered for at least 10 minutes. If you want to use the same marinade to baste the meat while cooking, reserve a cup or so of marinade for that purpose.
• Do not leave meat in marinade too long; the meat may lose texture through a too lengthy exposure to acidic components, and the natural flavour of the meat may be overwhelmed.
Rubs
What is a 'Rub'
• A Rub is a spice and/or herb mixture applied to meats to flavour and, less often, to cure them before grilling. It is difficult to decide where 'seasoning' ends and 'rubs' begin. In general, rubs are a mixture of several flavouring ingredients that are blended to a paste, rubbed onto meat which is then roasted or grilled, usually over a low heat.
• Rubs sometimes have a great many ingredients or as few as three.
• Once made, dry rubs can be stored in a sealed container for up to 6 months before they start to lose their flavour.
• Rubs to not tenderize meats to any significant extent.
How do Rubs Work?
• Rubs combine with the juices drawn from the meat and work like a dry marinade.
• Rubs do not penetrate as deeply as marinades, but they have a more concentrated flavour.
Which Cuts are Suitable for Rubbing?
• Any cut that is being cooked with dry heat (roasting or grilling especially) that would benefit from additional topical flavour.
How to Choose a Rub
• The number of possible rub recipes can be overwhelming. Have a careful look at the main ingredients, which will give you an approximate idea of what flavour will result.
• If a rub recipe is called 'Mexican' or 'Madras' rub, this is quite a clear indication of both flavour characteristics and spiciness.
• A delicate or mild cut, like pork tenderloin, will require a less assertive rub than a stronger-flavoured cut, like ribs for example.
• Rub formulas can be bought ready-made, made from an existing recipe, or made from scratch according to individual taste and inventiveness.
How to Build Your Own Rub
• Unless brimming with confidence, don't try to reinvent the wheel. Start with an existing rub formula and then adjust gradually ingredients and proportions as you acquire experience and confidence.
• For best results use whole spices like coriander, cumin, anise, mustard, caraway, etc. Toast the spices for a few minutes in the oven, and then grind them in an electric coffee mill.
• All rubs require at least a small amount of salt.
• Rubs with sugar, or a sweet component, will not only sweeten the meat, they will also caramelize when cooked, giving a pleasant colour and distinctive flavour.
• Store rubs in an airtight container, away from heat and light.
How to Use Rubs
• Rubs can be applied to meats just before cooking, or left on for up to 24 hours. If the rub is in contact with meat for any longer the salt will begin to dehydrate the meat.
• Curing meat with a rub takes considerably longer, at least 48 hours. The curing process is more an industrial than a domestic endeavour and is not described here.
• Always refrigerate meat if not cooking immediately.
• Apply only as much rub as will adhere to the meat.
• If meat is too dry to allow the rub to adhere, lightly coat with oil beforehand.
What Is A Marinade?
• A marinade is a liquid that has been seasoned and is used to flavour (and usually to tenderize) meat, fish, and vegetables.
• The liquid may be wine, fruit juice, vinegar, or any combination of these, along with spices, herbs, or other flavouring agents. Oil, such as olive oil, is often included as well.
• Marinades usually have a low pH, which means that they are acidic. It is the acidity that helps to tenderize the meat.
• Ingredients that are suitable for supplying acidity to marinades: wine, vinegar, soy sauce, citrus juice, buttermilk, or yoghurt.
How Do Marinades Work?
• All the elements in a marinade: the liquid base, the herbs and spices, and the oil, help to flavour the food, with the exception of a totally neutral vegetable oil.
• The acids in a marinade permeate tissue and break down tough fibres, thus tenderizing meat.
• The oil in marinades adds succulence to food and gives it flavour.
• Some marinades work in an entirely different way. Some fruits, notably papaya, grapefruit, and pineapple, have natural enzymes that will degrade tough connective tissue by a process called 'enzymatic reaction'. Meat left too long in one of these marinades will be tenderized to the point of being mushy.
Which Cuts Need To Be Marinated?
Cuts that:
• Are tough
• Have a low fat content, or
• Have little natural flavour
When to Use Marinades
• When the meat in question is too tough to be cooked in its natural state. For example, a pork shoulder butt chop or a beef flank steak have excellent natural flavours, but are too tough for most consumers unless they have been tenderized.
• Some low-fat cuts, pork tenderloin for example, tend to dry out and become tasteless when over-cooked. Adding oil to a marinade will counteract this.
• Other cuts are both relatively tough and low-fat, pork leg cuts for example. These require both an acid and an oil.
How to Choose a Marinade
• A less tender cut of pork that has plenty of fat requires more acid and little or no oil.
• A tender, but low-flavour cut needs a marinade with plenty of flavour and some oil.
• A cut that is less tender and is also low in fat needs acid, flavouring agents, and oil.
• Most commercial vinaigrettes and salad dressings, as they are mixtures of oil and vinegar, can make excellent marinades. Do not use mayonnaise-based dressings.
Selecting Containers and Materials
• Do not use containers that may react with the acid in a marinade: Bowls and rectangular baking dishes made of glass, enamel, porcelain, or treated aluminum, are ideal for marinades. Do not use aluminum foil.
• Select pans in which the meat sits snugly and lies flat. The marinade should come up around the edges of the meat, but need not cover it.
• Meat and marinade can be put into a sealable plastic bag ¬ a zip-loc is ideal. Squeeze out most of the air, seal tightly, and place in a bowl. Turn bag from time to time to distribute marinade. This is the perfect method for larger cuts.
How to Use Marinades
• If you are planning to marinate for only a short time, mix the marinade an hour in advance to allow the flavours to infuse and mellow.
• Always refrigerate food that you are marinating.
• Either completely cover meat with marinade, or turn meat over occasionally to ensure complete and even marination.
• Do not add salt to a marinade, as it draws out the moisture essential to keeping meat juicy and tender. Salt food only after it is cooked.
• Any marinade can be used to baste foods during cooking to add moisture and flavour.
• Do not use marinades for basting or as a sauce in which meat has been marinating (it can harbour unsafe bacteria) unless the marinade is brought to a boil and simmered for at least 10 minutes. If you want to use the same marinade to baste the meat while cooking, reserve a cup or so of marinade for that purpose.
• Do not leave meat in marinade too long; the meat may lose texture through a too lengthy exposure to acidic components, and the natural flavour of the meat may be overwhelmed.
Rubs
What is a 'Rub'
• A Rub is a spice and/or herb mixture applied to meats to flavour and, less often, to cure them before grilling. It is difficult to decide where 'seasoning' ends and 'rubs' begin. In general, rubs are a mixture of several flavouring ingredients that are blended to a paste, rubbed onto meat which is then roasted or grilled, usually over a low heat.
• Rubs sometimes have a great many ingredients or as few as three.
• Once made, dry rubs can be stored in a sealed container for up to 6 months before they start to lose their flavour.
• Rubs to not tenderize meats to any significant extent.
How do Rubs Work?
• Rubs combine with the juices drawn from the meat and work like a dry marinade.
• Rubs do not penetrate as deeply as marinades, but they have a more concentrated flavour.
Which Cuts are Suitable for Rubbing?
• Any cut that is being cooked with dry heat (roasting or grilling especially) that would benefit from additional topical flavour.
How to Choose a Rub
• The number of possible rub recipes can be overwhelming. Have a careful look at the main ingredients, which will give you an approximate idea of what flavour will result.
• If a rub recipe is called 'Mexican' or 'Madras' rub, this is quite a clear indication of both flavour characteristics and spiciness.
• A delicate or mild cut, like pork tenderloin, will require a less assertive rub than a stronger-flavoured cut, like ribs for example.
• Rub formulas can be bought ready-made, made from an existing recipe, or made from scratch according to individual taste and inventiveness.
How to Build Your Own Rub
• Unless brimming with confidence, don't try to reinvent the wheel. Start with an existing rub formula and then adjust gradually ingredients and proportions as you acquire experience and confidence.
• For best results use whole spices like coriander, cumin, anise, mustard, caraway, etc. Toast the spices for a few minutes in the oven, and then grind them in an electric coffee mill.
• All rubs require at least a small amount of salt.
• Rubs with sugar, or a sweet component, will not only sweeten the meat, they will also caramelize when cooked, giving a pleasant colour and distinctive flavour.
• Store rubs in an airtight container, away from heat and light.
How to Use Rubs
• Rubs can be applied to meats just before cooking, or left on for up to 24 hours. If the rub is in contact with meat for any longer the salt will begin to dehydrate the meat.
• Curing meat with a rub takes considerably longer, at least 48 hours. The curing process is more an industrial than a domestic endeavour and is not described here.
• Always refrigerate meat if not cooking immediately.
• Apply only as much rub as will adhere to the meat.
• If meat is too dry to allow the rub to adhere, lightly coat with oil beforehand.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Alfredo - Butcher's Deli Style
Ingredients:
* 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
* pinch salt
* 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* Slices of Ham
* Fettuccine pasta
Directions:
* Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat.
* Add the garlic, cream, pepper and salt, and bring mixture to a simmer.
* Turn the heat down if the mixture reaches a rapid boil or it could boil over.
Just simmer.
* Add the cheese, and continue to simmer sauce for 8 minutes or until thick.
* Add the ham and continue to simmer for another 2 minutes.
* While sauce cooks, bring 5 to 6 quarts of water to a boil and add the pasta.
Cook pasta for about 12 minutes or until done, then drain it.
* Place pasta onto serving plates, top with Alfredo sauce.
Carbonara Pasta
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb pasta (spaghetti / angel’s hair)
- 4 slices bacon, chopped in big pieces
- 2 slices pepper ham (optional)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 dash red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup grated parmigiano / parmesan cheese
- fresh ground black pepper
Directions:
- Boil the pasta in salted boiling water.
- Use at least ½ a gallon of water.
- Cook the bacon pieces over medium low heat until most of the fat is rendered out, and bacon is slightly crispy. Do NOT drain.
- Add olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes (optional), and sauté until garlic is barely browned.
- Beat the eggs, black pepper, and the cheese together in a bowl.
- Toss the cooked pasta in the pan with the oil, bacon, and garlic mixture, add the egg mixture and either turn off the heat, or cook over very low heat while stirring constantly – you want the eggs to get creamy, not scrambled.
- Serve with the grated parmigiano/ parmesan cheese
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Basic Pan-Fried Pork Chop
Basic Pan-Fried Pork Chops recipe
Ingredients:
* 1 ½ lb of wafer-thin boneless pork chops
* ½ cup of all-purpose flour
* ¼ cup of vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon of salt
* 1 teaspoon of seasoned pepper
Preparation Instructions:
* In a shallow dish, combine the flour, salt and pepper.
* Dredge pork chops in the flour mixture.
* Fry in hot vegetable oil in a suitably sized starsol skillet over medium-high heat for 60 seconds on each side or until browned. Depending on how big a skillet you have, you may need to do this in 2 or 3 batches.
* Drain on paper towels and serve
Ingredients:
* 1 ½ lb of wafer-thin boneless pork chops
* ½ cup of all-purpose flour
* ¼ cup of vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon of salt
* 1 teaspoon of seasoned pepper
Preparation Instructions:
* In a shallow dish, combine the flour, salt and pepper.
* Dredge pork chops in the flour mixture.
* Fry in hot vegetable oil in a suitably sized starsol skillet over medium-high heat for 60 seconds on each side or until browned. Depending on how big a skillet you have, you may need to do this in 2 or 3 batches.
* Drain on paper towels and serve
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