March 27, 2012

KY cooks – Braised Pork Belly with Yam recipe (芋头扣肉)

After cooking regularly for a better part of a year now, I thought it’s about time we try dishes that is a little bit more challenging, and since Haze has a thing for braised pork belly with yam (芋头扣肉), we decided to give it a go.

The following recipe is perhaps the simplest formulation for a good braised pork belly with yam, but that being said, it still requires at least 3-4 hours of cooking time to complete. The result though, if done properly, is a serving of yummy succulent pork with buttery soft yam good enough for 4 person.

braised pork belly slices with yam

The ingredients:

• pork belly – 600 gram
• one small/medium size yam
• 2 tablespoon dark soya sauce
• 6-8 shallots
• half a bulb of garlic
• 2 cubes of namyu (fermented bean curd)
• cooking oil
• 2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon soya sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon five spice
• pepper to taste

a big slab of pork and yam, enough to feed 4 pax

Cooking method can be divided into 4 major steps, pork preparation, yam preparation, frying, and steaming. Divide and conquer make things easier now isn’t it?

step 1 – yam preparation:

• cut yam into thick slices (same thickness as pork)
• heat up frying pan with 2 tablespoon of oil, then fry yam for 3-4 minutes

dark soya sauce is used in the second stage of pork preparation

step 2 – pork preparation step:

• boil the whole slab of pork for 10-15 minutes
• remove pork from water, pat dry, then cover the whole slab with dark soya sauce
• heat up frying pan, then fry pork till brown
• remove pork from frying pan and cut in thick slices

shallots, garlic, and namyu to bring out the flavor

step 3 – frying:

• heat up a couple tablespoon of oil
• fry chopped garlic and onion till fragrant
• add pork, yam, and namyu
• add oyster sauce, soya sauce, five spice powder, and sesame oil
• stir fry till even (try not to break the yam, or meat)

finally, arrange pork/yam and steam for 3-4 hours

step 4 – steaming:

• arrange the pork and yam alternately in a bowl (or in this case, a metal plate)
• steam for a minimum of 2-3 hours

And you are done! Do always keep an eye to ensure that your steamer don’t run out of water in the process. If a pressure cooker is used, the steaming process can be cut short considerably (20-30 minutes, I will try this method next time).

Do check out more recipes on this site, and happy cooking!

July 31, 2011

KY cooks – Beef Stew Recipe with Pressure Cooker

I’ve always love beef stew, a hearty dish with super tender beef in thick and flavorful broth, and with the various vegetable in it, a full and balanced meal all by itself.

ingredients for beef stew

I always thought making a pot of mean beef stew is an exercise in patience, but after doing a bit of research, I found out you can actually make a perfect bowl of beef stew in less than 30 minutes, including time for preparation – with the help of a pressure cooker.

pan fry the beef till brown, then add water and rosemary

The ingredients (this is good for 4 bowls)

• 4-500 gram beef (lower quality is fine, I love those with some tendon and fat attached)
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 4-5 sticks of celery
• 2 onions
• 3 carrots
• 2 potato
• 1 table spoon rosemary (dried is fine)
• 1.5 table spoon salt
• 1 tea spoon black pepper
• 2 table spoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 table spoon cooking oil
• 1 table spoon flour

chopped up vegetables and put in pressure cooker for another 8 minutes

Here’s the instructions, pressure cooker is used twice to ensure the beef gets to it’s super tender consistency while keeping the vegetable not overly cooked

• heat up some oil in the pressure cooker, then add garlic, and fry beef till all sides are brown
• add Worcestershire sauce, 3 cups of water, pepper, and rosemary
• bring to boil, cover the pressure cooker and cook for 15 minutes in high pressure
• in the mean time, chop up all vegetable and potato to bite size chunks
• release pressure (by running cold water over the pressure cooker in the sink), then add vegetable to the pot
• bring to boil and cook for another 8 minutes in high pressure
• add salt
• slowly add up to a table spoon of flour while stirring to make the broth thicker
• serve while hot

 

a bowl of hearty stew with super tender beef

The result is a pot of beef stew that is prepared in less than 30 minutes but with beef so tender it almost melt in your mouth. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you’ll have to boil the stew for at least 3-4 hours to get the same result. Alternatively, use a slow cooker.