Braised Pork Belly With Rice - 卤肉饭

Both Pork Belly and Pork Trotter are my favourite parts of meat which I love to use them for either Braised Pork Belly In Soy Sauce (卤肉) or Ginger Vinegar Trotter (猪脚醋). To be frank, I love the soft and jelly like "fats and skin" on them which makes it a good source of collagen in some sinful ways.

There are many ways to braised pork belly depending on what other ingredients you prefer to add on to it like; hard boiled eggs, firm tofu, mushrooms or beancurd sticks. And also in order to braised a good pot of pork belly in soy sauce, you have to take note on the amount of water added plus amount of the seasonings and spices used.

BRAISED PORK BELLY IN SOY SAUCE

(Serves: 4  | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 60 minutes)

Ingredients:
500g Pork Belly (三层肉), cut into thick strips
4 Hardboiled Egg, shelled
2 Pieces of Firm Beancurd (豆干), cut into quarters
6 Shiitake Mushrooms, soak till soften
Some Dried Beancurd Stick (腐竹), optional
500ml Hot Water
2 Star Anise (八角)
3 Cloves (丁香)
1 Cinnamon Stick (肉桂棒)
5 Cloves Garlic, crashed
3 Shallot
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 Tablespoon Cooking Wine
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar

Method:-
1. Marinate the pork belly with 1/2 Tablespoon each of oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of cooking wine and 1 teaspoon grated ginger for at least an hour.

2. Preheat frying pan with some oil and fry the firm beancurd till slightly golden brown on all sides. Remove and set aside.

3. Using the same frying pan, add in another tablespoon of oil. Saute garlic and shallots till fragrant, add star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick and marinated meat (without the sauce) and fry till slightly golden brown in colour on both side.

4. Add in mushrooms and continue to fry for another 30 seconds. Next stir in oyster sauce, light and dark soya sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil and sugar and give it a quick stir till well mixed.

5. Pour in hot water, bring it to boil and let it simmer for about 30 minutes or more till the meat is tender, add in hard boiled eggs, beancurd and soaked beancurd stick. Continue to simmer for another 15 minutes till all ingredients are flavoured by the soy sauce. 

6. Remove from heat and serve with steamed white rice.

Tip:
~ Soak the dried beancurd in warm water till soften, rinse a few time and drained well, set aside.

~ Fresh Shiitake mushrooms can be used to replaced the dry ones too.

~ If Cooking Spices like Star Anise, Cinnamon Stick and etc are not available in your area, replace it with 1 teaspoon or more of five spice powder for taste.

~ For extra flavour, add in 2 - 3 dried chilli in step 3, and remove it on step 5 before adding hard boiled eggs and etc.

{Braising Spices} Five Spice Powder (五香粉) and Cooking Spices

Above are my two cents worth on Braised Pork Belly In Soy Sauce which I hope you would have a rough idea on how to make your very own braised pork. For a start you could just try the pork belly with hard boiled egg combines perhaps with a few shiitake mushrooms too. Alternatively, you could also modify the recipe above with some Chicken Mid-joints instead of pork belly.

Huiji Mui Fan

Mui Fan (烩饭) is one of my favourite childhood dish and even until now I still love this dish despite of whether homecook or store bought from the Cze Char stall(煮炒摊). You can easily create your own style of Mui Fan with different ingredients such as seafood, meat or vegetables. In this post, I would share with you a new version of my "herbal flavour" mui fan using Huiji Waist Tonic and Red Wine Lees.

HUIJI MUI FAN

With a twist and inspiration from my usual mui fan, I decided to come out with something herbal and nourishing for the family. Also mui fan can be consider as a quick one dish meal which consists of cooked rice, meat, vegetables, egg(optional) and gravy in a plate. I love this type of comfort dish which is so easy to prepare and with less washing up to do too.

(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 5 minutes)

Ingredients:
150g Pork Fillet, thinly sliced
60ml Huiji Waist Tonic
2 Serving Of Cooked Brown Rice
4 Slices Ginger, shredded
1 Stalk Spring Onion, cut into sections
2 Tablespoons of Hong Zao (red wine lees), optional
2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
1 - 2 Eggs

Method:-
1. Preheat frying pan with 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, sauté ginger and spring onion till fragrant.

2. Stir in pork slices and cook 10 seconds, add in the red wine lees if using and continue to fry till meat is cooked.

3. Pour in 60ml Huiji Waist Tonic, crack in egg(s) and gently give the mixtures a few stirs. Simmer the mixture for 10 seconds.

4. Off the heat, season mixture with salt and pepper before spooning it on top of the cooked rice.

5. Garnish with some chopped spring onion, cut chilli and serve immediately.

As for this dish, try to use either pork or chicken fillet so that the meat can be easily cooked and remains tender when bite. And also for those who like pork liver, you can add in some together with the pork fillet to create a better flavour and texture for this dish.

Quick Recipes On 3 Dishes 1 Soup

Last Friday I shared a post on "4 Quick Recipes On Soup And Dishes" and some of the readers are delighted to pick up new ideas on their weekend cooking. So this Friday, I am sharing another post with consists of "3 Dishes 1 Soup" which I hope it would be useful for busy mum or parents who wish to cook something nourishes for their family and yet easy to start with.

STEAMED PORK FILLET WITH SHA CHA SAUCE
(沙茶酱蒸腰梅肉)

Pork Fillet also known as "tenderloin" or "腰梅肉 / 里肌肉” in Chinese is the eye fillet that comes from within the loin. It is lean and very tender which is popular among elderly who always bought it for cooking porridge for kiddy as well as using them in cooking during confinement. Here we are using pork fillet together with Sha Cha Sauce (沙茶酱) which is one of the condiment used in Taiwan cuisines. Sha Cha Sauce is made from soybean oil, garlic, shallots, chilis, brill fish, and dried shrimp which has a savory and slightly spicy taste.

Recipe adapted from 小小米桶的零油烟厨房 recipe book.

(Serves: 4  | Preparation: 5 minutes + 30 minutes (marinate) | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
200g Pork Fillet (腰梅肉), cut into thin slices
50g Fresh Black Fungus (黑木耳)
2 Slices Ginger, shredded
2 Garlic Cloves, finely minced

Seasoning:
1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Glutinous Rice Wine
1 Teaspoon Cornflour
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
1.5 Tablespoon Sha Cha Jiang (沙茶酱)

Method:-
1. Rinse the fresh black fungus, cut into bite size and blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove, drained and set aside.

2. Marinate pork fillet with shredded ginger, minced garlic and seasoning for 30 minutes before adding the Sha Cha Sauce and give it a quick stir till combined.

3. Arrange blanched black fungus in deep steaming plate, scatter the marinated pork fillet on top.

4. When the water in the steamer boils, place the plate on the steaming rack. Steam it over medium high heat for about 10 minutes or until the meat is cooked.

5. Turn off the heat. Remove pork fillet, garnish it with some chopped spring onion and extra Sha Cha Sauce(optional) and serve immediately. (we love to give the dish a quick toss before eating so that all ingredients would be evenly coated with the gravy)

STEAMED GARLIC PRAWNS

Steaming seafood with minimum ingredients helps to retain it's freshness as well as sweetness. Here is another steamed prawns dish which used minced garlic and ginger. The amount of minced garlic used could be adjusted according to individual preference. And for extra flavour, you could also add in some cut chilli for spiciness. If you like steamed prawns, do check up my Steamed Drunken Prawns recipe.

(Serves: 2 - 3   | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 5 minutes)

Ingredients:
9 Big Prawns
1 Teaspoon Minced Ginger
5 Cloves of Garlic, finely minced
Some Chopped Spring Onion
1 Tablespoon Cooking / Rice Wine
1 Stall of Spring Onion (extra), cut into sections
2 Slices Of Ginger, shredded

Method:-
1. Mix 1 tablespoon of soy sauce with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and pinch of sugar together and set aside.

2. Trim the feelers off from the prawns, using either a sharp knife or kitchen scissors butterfly the prawns with a deeper cut to make a cavity for the garlic stuffing.

3. Line steaming plate with spring onion and ginger, arrange prepared prawns on top of the spring onion and drizzle some cooking/rice wine over it.

4. Generously filled the cavity of the prawns with minced garlic. Scatter some chopping spring onion and mined ginger.

5. When the water in the steamer boils, place the plate on the steaming rack. Steam it over medium high heat for about 5 minutes or until the prawns are cooked.

6. Turn off the heat, remove prawns, drizzle the prepared soy sauce mixture and serve immediately.

TEOCHEW STYLE STEAMED RED GROUPER

Growing up in a Teochew family, we simply love steamed fish especial White/Sliver Pomfret (白鲳), Threadfin (午鱼), White Spotted Rabbitfish (白肚鱼) and Mackerel (鲭鱼). Usually for Teochew style, our fish is steamed with tomatoes, salted plums / salted vegetables, cut chilli, ginger and spring onions. Sometime shiitake mushrooms are also added for flavour too.

(Serves: 2-3  | Preparation: 10 minutes   | Cooking: 10 - 12 minutes)

Ingredients:
400g Red Grouper Fillet, halved
2 Salted Plum (咸水梅)
1 Tomato, quarters
4 Slices Ginger, shredded
1 Stalk of Spring Onion, cut into sections

Method:-
1. Rinse and pat dry the fillet with kitchen paper towel. Lightly marinate it with some cooking / rice wine together with 1 teaspoon of cornflour.

2. Arrange the spring onion and some shredded ginger on a steaming plate. Place the fish fillet on top and scatter salted plum, tomato wedges and the remaining ginger on it.

3. When the water in the steamer boils, place the prepared fish on the steaming rack and steam it over medium heat for about 10 - 12 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fillet) or until fish is cooked through.

4. Turn off the heat, remove the plate. Drizzle some sesame oil/shallot oil over the fish , garnish with extra cut chilli and serve immediately.

LIU WEI TANG OR LOK MEI TONG
(六味汤)

The ingredients of Liu Wei Tang (六味汤) are quite similar to Si Shen Tang (四神汤) where it consists of Xiang Lian (湘莲), Qian Shi (芡实), Huai Shan (淮山), Yu Zhu (玉竹), Bai He (百合), Dried Longan (龙眼肉). Drinking this soup helps in improving digestion, appetite and also nourish the lungs.

You could used either pork ribs or chicken to cook with the herbs above for savoury version or leave it meatless and sweeten it with rock sugar as dessert.

(Serves: 4  | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 1 Hour)

Ingredients:
2 - 3 Chicken Drumstick, skin removed
4 Pieces Pork Ribs, optional
5 Pieces Dry Huai Shan (淮山
15 Pieces Yu Zhu (玉竹)
15g Bai He (百合)
20g Xiang Lian (湘莲)
20g Qian Shi (芡实)
15g Dried Longan (龙眼肉)
1.5 Litres of Water

Method:-
1. Blanch chicken and pork ribs in boiling water for a about 1 minute, remove, rinse and set aside.

2. Bring 1.5 Litres of water to boil, add in all the herbs (rinse them with water before using) together with the blanched meat.

3. When the mixture comes to boil again, lower the heat and simmer for about 1.5 hours. Turn off the heat and season with salt(optional) and serve warm.

4. ALTERNATIVELY transfer the mixture to slow-cooker and cook it on AUTO mode for about 3 hours.

Tip:
~ You could use half portion of chicken for this recipe instead of both chicken and pork ribs.

~ Prepacked Liu Wei Tang herbs could be easily found in major supermarkets or Chinese Medical Hall.

I might be sharing some "1 Dish Meal" recipes next week as I received some emails regarding on this topic. Till then have a great weekend ahead, hope you would like the above recipes.

4 Quick Recipes On Soup And Dishes

Weekend is approaching and I am sure most full-time working mothers are looking forward to prepare some quick and easy nutritious dishes for the family during weekend lunch or dinner. In this post, I would be sharing 4 quick recipes (2 soup, 2 main dish) to inspire your weekend cooking for the family.

Since working mum has a lot of household chores to take care during weekend, I specially pick up dishes that required minimum preparation time and use "steaming" instead of "stir-fry" to avoid oily kitchen stove. So I am sure these 4 simple soup and steamed dishes would come in handy for your weekend meal ideas.

Coke Pork Ribs ~ New Version!

This is one of the few dishes I have learnt through a parenting forum (Mum4Mum) when I first started blogging in 2005. At that time this Coke Pork Ribs and Coke Chicken Wings are one of the famous dishes among the forum members and related food bloggers. And if you have follow most of my posts from that time you might have tried this Coke Pork Ribs recipe which used "Char Siew Sauce" as one of the ingredients.

Recently, Derrick from sgfoodonfoot has cooked the Coke Chicken Wings using Happy Call Pan (HCP) and it definitely brings back my memories and inspired me to cook this Coke Pork Ribs again which shown in this post.

COKE PORK RIBS

(using Happy Call Pan)

This is a very quick and easy finger liking dish where you can use either spare ribs or chicken wings as one of the main ingredients. But for us, we prefer spare ribs compared to chicken because of it's texture and taste which is similar to Pai Gu Wang(排骨王). And if you prefer a darker brown colour spare ribs, you can add an additional 1/2 tablespoon of dark soy sauce while simmering with the coke and its sugars content would give a deep glossy coating and caramelized flavor to the end products.

(Serves: 2-3 | Preparation: 30 minutes | Cooking: 30 minutes)

Ingredients:
500g - 600g Prime Pork Ribs, cut smaller pieces
1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Tablespoon Honey
1/2 Tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Cooking Wine
1/2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1/2 Tablespoon Cornflour
1/2 Can Of Coke(Coca-Cola)

Method:-

1. Rinse and pat dry spare ribs. Add in all the above ingredients except Coke and marinate it for at least 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge.

2. Arrange marinated spare ribs on HCP, cover and cook for about 2 minutes on each side before adding in half can of Coke.

3. When the mixture comes to boil, cover and lock the pan. Simmer the spare ribs on the lowest heat for about 30 minutes or till sauce thicken and meat is tender.

4. Half way through the cooking time, you could add extra 1/2 tablespoon of dark soy sauce to darken the colour of the spare ribs. (remember to flip the HCP a few times during cooking in order to give the spare ribs an evenly colour coating)

5. When done, remove spare ribs from pan and garnish it with some chopped spring onion and sesame seeds. Serve hot with steamed rice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE:-

~ You can also use any Non-stick Pan for this recipe instead of Happy call Pan.

Till then have a great weekend everyone! Catch up again with more NEW recipes next week. Cheers!

Sweet and Sour Pork plus Cookbook Giveaway by Rasa Malaysia

 

Today I am so happy to share with you one of our family's favourite recipe from Bee's new cookbook, Easy Chinese Recipes (recipe and photos credited to Rasa Malaysia). If you still remember I did mentioned in facebook(HERE) sometime back regarding the launch of her new cookbook in Singapore. And here my friend Bee kindly offer to share with us this recipe (origin from Easy Chinese Recipes) as well as a complimentary copy of her new cookbook to one of the lucky SINGAPORE readers from this blog.

Sweet-and-Sour Pork, the ubiquitous and arguably one of the most well known Chinese pork dishes, is Cantonese in origin. The secret of an authentic Sweet-and-Sour Pork dish is in the perfect balance of the sweet versus sour flavor of the sauce. Now you can master this flavorsome dish with Bee's (Rasa Malaysia) tested recipe below and more tips on her cookbook.

Serves 4 as part of a multicourse meal 
Ingredients:
8 oz (250 g) pork tenderloin, pork butt, or pork neck
Oil, for deep-frying
2 tablespoons oil, for stir-frying
1 clove garlic, minced
½ small red bell pepper, deseeded and cut into pieces
½ small green bell pepper, deseeded and cut into pieces
½ small onion, quartered
1 slice canned pineapple ring, cut into pieces
2 green onions (scallions), white parts only, cut into 2 in (5 cm) lengths
½ cup (125 ml) Sweet-and-Sour Sauce (page 30)

Marinade:
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon Chinese rice wine or sherry

Frying Batter:
½ cup (65 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
¼ cup (35 g) cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 egg white
¹/³ cup (80 ml) water
1 tablespoon oil Pinch of salt

Method:- 
1. Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces and marinate with the Marinade ingredients for 15 minutes.

2. Mix all the ingredients in the Frying Batter until well combined. Add the marinated pork into the Frying Batter, stir to evenly coat with the batter.

3. Heat 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm) of the oil in a wok or stockpot to 350°F (175°C) for deep-frying.

4. Gently drop the pork into the oil and loosen them up immediately with the spatula to prevent the pork from clumping together.

5. Deep-fry them to a light golden brown or until the batter becomes crispy.

6. Dish out with a strainer or slotted spoon, draining the excess oil by laying the pork on a dish lined with paper towels. Discard or reserve the oil for use in another recipe.

7. To stir-fry, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wok or skillet over high heat.

8. Add the garlic and stir-fry to a light brown before adding the peppers, onion, pineapple, and green onion.

9. Stir the ingredients a few times and then add the Sweet-and-Sour Sauce. As soon as the Sweet-and-Sour Sauce thickens, add the fried pork into the wok or skillet.

10. Stir continuously until all the ingredients are well coated with the sauce. Dish out and serve immediately with steamed rice.

Cook’s Note:
If you feel that the frying batter is too thick, add a little more water to it. To make the pork extra crispy, increase the temperature of the oil and deep-fry a second time. If you like more sauce, double the portion of the Sweet-and-Sour Sauce.

As mentioned I am so happy that Bee from Rasa Malaysia agreed to offer 1 Lucky reader from SINGAPORE a "Complimentary Copy" of her NEW cookbook Easy Chinese Recipes published by Tuttle Publishing at a retail price of S$32.00 (before GST). If you are keen in learning more about these easy Chinese Recipes, do grab a copy of this cookbook at any of the major bookstores in Singapore or order online HERE.

To enter the draw, leave a comment on why you would like to win this cookbook together with a valid email address on the comment form and the lucky winner will be randomly chosen. And in order to increase your extra chances on winning you can also choose either 1 or ALL of the bonus below:-

~ Like Rasa Malaysia on Facebook. Leave 1 extra comment for this.

~ Share this post on Tweeter. Leave 1 extra comment for this.

~ Share this post on your Facebook. Leave 1 extra comment for this.

~ Like Cuisine Paradise on Facebook. Leave 1 extra comment for this.


Closing Date for the above Giveaway will be on Sunday, 18 September 2011(2359 Hours). Result will be announce on 19 September 2011, Noon. Good luck everyone!!!! Have fun!

Note:- 

For OVERSEAS readers, you can join a similar giveaway of this cookbook at Rasa Malaysia and My Cooking Hut website respectively.

~~~~~~~~~
{Updated on 19th September 2011}

GIVEAWAY RESULT!!!!!

Giveaway Result Updated!!!

Baked Spare Ribs with Red Wine Lees

Apart from Hong Zao Ji(红槽鸡) which is one of the common confinement dishes that most confinement nanny would prepared. This Baked Spare Ribs with Red Wine Lees (烤红糟排骨) is also another simple Foochow(Xinghua - 兴化人) homecook dishes where red wine lees is used to marinate and bake together with the spare ribs.

Thanks to one of my cooking pal, Alice whom share her recipe and tips on baking this Foochow style spare ribs dish. This is indeed a keeper recipe and it is best to use spare ribs instead of the usual pork ribs for its tender texture and nice presentation. The adding of extra ginger juice here is to remove some of that pork odor as well as act as natural tenderiser to the spare ribs.

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
600g Spare Ribs(排骨), about 10 pieces
2 Heap Tablespoons of Red Wine Lees(红糟)
1 Teaspoon of White Sesame Seeds(白芝麻), optional

Seasonings:
1 Tablespoon of Cooking/Rice Wine
1/2 Tablespoon of Light Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon of Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon of Sesame Oil
1 Teaspoon Fresh Ginger Juice
1 Teaspoon of Cornflour
Dash of Pepper

Method:-

1. Trim, rinse and blanched the spare ribs in boiling water for about 3 minutes. Rinse well and set aside. (this step is to allow the meat to absorb the marinate but it is optional)

2. Marinate prepared spare ribs with Red Wine Lees and seasonings till well combined.

3. Transfer mixture into a zip-lock bag and keep in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to an hour. (try not to marinate more than ah hour or else the meat will be tough)

4. Arrange marinated spare ribs on baking tray that is line with baking paper and drizzle some extra sesame oil on it before baking in preheated 180 degree oven for about 25 - 30 minutes  or till meat is cooked through (turning at least twice to get an even colour coating).

5. Remove the cooked spare ribs, arrange on serving plate and sprinkle some lightly toasted sesame seeds on it for that extra fragrant.


If you have NEW ways of using these Red Wine Lees(红槽) for cooking/baking do share with us your ideas or recipes so that we can keep these traditional ingredient and dishes going on.

Thanks for all your "BUZZ(s)" and support friends. Baked Spare Ribs With Red Wine Lees post has make it to FoodBuzz Today's Top 9, 21st May 2011.(Here)

Featured On: FoodBuzz Today's Top 9, 21st May 2011.(Here)

[April $20 Budget Meal] Luo Han Guo and Watercress Soup plus Hainanese Pork Chop Rice and Pork Katsudon

For the month of April we are having an "Easter April" them for our $20 Budget Meal event by using "EGG" as one of the main ingredient in either one of the two dishes or soup prepared. In this post I have prepared 3 different set meal using "Deep-fried Pork Chop" as the key ingredient. As you can see from the photo, they are:- Deep-fried Pork Chop with Hard-boiled Egg, Pork Katsudon (omelette in it) and Hainanese Pork Chop served with Sunny Side Up Eggs which fulfill this month Egg theme.

Before we start off with the recipes, let's congrats Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore) for getting the most readers vote on her "Shark's Fins Melon Soup 《鱼翅瓜排骨汤》, Stir-Fried Beef with Celery 《西芹炒牛肉》, Fried Fish with Crispy Garlic 《蒜香鱼片》" with a total spending of S$19.50; Serves 6 on our "March - $20 Budget Meal Round-up". The related recipes can be found HERE.

"Luo Han Guo - 罗汉果" is a dried fruits that are ellipse or round with a yellow-brownish or green-brownish colour that is covered by fine hairs. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for colds, coughs, sore throats, gastrointestinal disorder, as well as a blood purifier. And in Asian country, this fruit is usually used to boil herbal tea or soup.


LUO HAN GUO AND WATERCRESS SOUP

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
300g Pork Ribs
1 Large Luo Han Guo (罗汉果)
1 Bunch of Watercress ((西洋菜)
10g Bitter Sweet Almond (南北杏)
1/2 Tablespoon Wolfberries (枸杞)
1.5 Litres of Hot Water

This is one of the great cooling soup that benefits the health of the whole family especially during hot summer weather or Durian season where the body system tends to be heated up. The taste of this soup is rather dry with a bit of bitterness rather than sweet. So if you are going to serve this to younger kids perhaps you can add in 2 - 3 candied dates (蜜枣) to tone down the dry taste.

Method:

1. Blanched pork ribs in boiling water for a few minutes, removed and rinse well.

2. Break Luo Han Guo into big pieces, rinse and set aside.

3. Cut the stalk away from the leaves portion of the watercress, soak the leaves in water with at least 2 change of water to get ride of sand and dirt. Rinse the stalk and tighten it with the attached string and set aside.

4. Next bring 1.5 litres of water to boil, add in pork ribs, luo han guo and bitter sweet almond (I put them into stock bag).

5. When the mixture comes to boil again, cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes.

6. Add in drained watercress leaves and wolfberries and continue to cook for another 5 - 10 minutes.

7. Serve either before or during meal.


Total cost for this dish is about S$4.00 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ Pork Ribs = S$2.50
~ 1 Bunch Watercress = S$0.70
~ 1 Luo Han Guo = $1.00
~  Wolfberries and Bitter Sweet Almond = S$.30

My boy loves this type of crispy deep-fried pork chop that you can purchase from any of those Hainanese Scissor Cut Mixed Vegetables Rice Stalls. These type of pork chop cost around S$1.00 - S$2.00 each depending on it's size. Here I use a quick method by marinating pork chop with egg and cornflour together with other seasonings, coat with instant bread crumbs and deep-fried till golden brown.


DEEP-FRIED PORK CHOP

Ingredients: (make 8 slices)
8 Pieces of Pork Loin (猪里脊肉)
1 Cup of Instant Bread Crumbs (面包屑)
Oil For Deep-frying

Seasoning:
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
1 Teaspoon Cooking Wine
1/2 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Pepper
1 Teaspoon Cornflour
1 Medium Egg

Method:-

1. To tenderise the pork, flatten or lightly pat it with a meat mallet or the back of the knife for easy cooking and quick marinate.

2. Marinate prepared pork chop with seasoning for at least 15 minutes or an hour in the refrigerate.

3. Remove marinated pork chop 5 minutes before cooking. Coat each pieces of pork chop evenly with bread crumbs (refer to the step-by-step photo above).

4. Deep-fry pork in hot oil in medium heat till golden brown, remove and drain well. (it takes about less than 5 minutes, do not over fried or the crumbs will be burnt)

5. Cut the pork chop into 1" wide slices and serve with steamed rice or you can make a choice with the next two recipes on either Hainanese Pork Chop or Pork Katsudon.


Total cost for this dish is about S$5.50 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ 8 Pieces of Pork Loin = S$4.00 (included for the 2 dishes below)
~ 1 Egg = S$0.50
~ 1 Cup Instant Bread Bread = S$1.00

There are many ways of making this Traditional Hainanese Pork Chop where the ingredients will various depend on the cook and stalls. I remember vividly my favourite version of Hainanese Pork Chop do consist of Deep-fried Pork Chop, Onion, Green Peas, and Potato in a thick tomato gravy. And I always volunteer to pound cream crackers for my dad to use for coating the pork chops before deep-frying. (Nowadays the biscuit crumbs can be replaced using Instant Bread crumbs)

HAINANESE PORK CHOP

Ingredients: (serve 1)

2 Pieces of Fried Pork Chop, cut into 1" slices
1/2 Teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce
1 Medium Onion, cut into thin slices
2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 Tomato, cut into wedges
80g Frozen Green Peas
Some Fresh Pineapple Cubes, optional

Sauce:
150ml Instant Chicken Stock
1 Teaspoon Cornflour
1 Tablespoon Tomato Sauce
1 Teaspoon Caster Sugar

Method:-

1. Saute the sliced onion and garlic with 1/2 tablespoon of oil till brown, add in green peas and half of the tomato wedges and continue to cook for another 30 seconds.

2. Gradually stir in the sauce mixture (mixed all the sauce ingredients) when it comes to boil drizzle dark soy sauce and give it a quick stir.

3. Next add in remaining tomato wedges and pineapple cubes and simmer for another 10 seconds.

4. Remove from heat, pour sauce over prepared pork chop and serve immediately with steamed rice.


Total cost for this dish is about S$1.30 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
* ~ Deep-fried Pork Chop = S$1.00
~ 1 Ring of Pineapple = S$0.50
~ Tomato and Frozen Peas = $0.40
~ Onion = $0.20
~ Egg = S$0.20

Katsudon (カツ丼) is a popular Japanese food where a bowl of rice is topped with deep-fried pork cutlet, egg, and condiments. Here since I have made extra pieces of deep-fried pork chop, I decided to make a simple version of this Katsudon using only Egg, Onion and Chicken Stock.


PORK KATSUDON

Ingredients: (serve 1)

1 - 2 Pieces of Fried Pork Chop, cut into 1" slices
80ml Instant Chicken Stock
1/2 Teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Caster Sugar
1/2 Medium Onion, thinly sliced
1 Medium Egg, light beaten
1 Stalk of Spring Onion, cut into 3" sections

Method:-

1. In a small bowl stir chicken stock, dark soy sauce and sugar together till combined.

2. Preheat a small frying pan, add sliced onion and stock mixture then bring it to boil and simmer over low heat for about 2 minutes till onion soften.

3. Arrange the deep-fried pork chop slices on top of the onion.

4. Slowly swirl in the beaten egg from around the pork chops, top with spring onion, cover and simmer for another 10 - 15 seconds.

5. Remove the frying pan from heat and carefully arrange the pork mixture on top of a bowl of steamed white rice. Serve immediately.


Total cost for this dish is about S$0.70 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
* ~ Deep-fried Pork Chop = S$1.00
~ Egg = S$0.20
~ Instant Chicken Stock + Spring Onion = $0.50

Pork Katsudon

With just a little twist, I managed to in-cooperate 3 different menu to cater for each individual preference. Although you might need a bit more time in preparing but I am sure all these efforts are worth for a delicious spread of homecook meal. With these I spent a total of S$11.50 to cook the soup and 3 different set meals each using "Egg" as one of the specific "Easter April - $20 Budget Meal" theme.

EASTER APRIL
Using "EGG" to make one of the dish

For April [$20 Budget Meal] event let's have a little cooking challenge by using the specific ingredient "EGG(s)" for one of the dish in your menu (eg: steam egg, fried omelette, scrambled egg and etc). And for those who wish to join us please refer to the submission details shown below. Look forward to receive your sharing of April Budget Meal menu soon.


~ Either "2 Dishes plus 1 Soup" or "1 Pot Dish" using a Maximum budget of $20.00 for 2 - 4 servings. If you are from overseas, you can also participate by converting to the appropriate currency value, (ie. US$15.00, RM$50.00, Rp $138,000 and etc)

~ If you do not have a blog, just send in the photos and recipe of your dishes and I will publish on your behalf in my blog, credited to you. (photos can be taken in any form using digital camera or hand phone)

~ All submission entries must be published in the month of April from 01 April  - 25th April 2011.

~ Please do mention in your blog that you are sharing this post to “Easter April - $20 Budget Meal” event and link it to this page HERE so as to encourage more readers to contribute.

SUBMISSION:

~ E-mail your "blog link" or "photos with recipe" to ellenaguan@hotmail.com with a subject "Easter April $20 Budget Meal" in the following format:

Your Name:
URL of your post:
Name of your dishes + soup:
Estimate amount spent for each dish:
Attachment of your photo in your email (each photo, preferably 500kb or less).

CLOSING DATE:

~ Monday, 25 April 2011, 2359 hours  and all entries will be compiled and posted on 30th April 2011.