Pork Kimchi

A few posts ago I wrote about Misono Wok in Super 88 and one of my favorite dishes there is Pork stir fried with kimchi. It's definitely been one of the tastier dishes I've had, and it's a very home-style type dish (especially because it's quick too!). So after asking around for some tips, I decided to give it a shot and make it myself!

I bought kimchi from John's Market in Allston to use with the pork belly from super 88. Now, making the pork kimchi was already adventurous enough for me so there was no way I was going to try to make kimchi as well :P Maybe next time! But anyway, John's makes fresh kimchi and packages it with a date so that you know the freshness. They also sell all sorts of other goodies for Korean cooking and even will provide thinly sliced meat and such, perfect for Korean BBQ or hot pot!

So, with some pork belly, kimchi, an onion, and gochujang, I set off to my task! The verdict? It was good, but I think I used too much kimchi and next time, I'm going to use pork shoulder instead of pork belly. Now I love pork belly...but it's pretty fatty and didn't really fit the dish I don't think.

Pork Kimchi

Serves 4-6
Time:20-30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 lb pork (shoulder or belly), sliced thin
- 1 tbsp rice wine
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp Gochujang
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- dash sesame oil

- Kimchi – close to a pound
- 1 medium onion
- 2 stalks green onions, chopped

Method:
1. Marinate the pork in the rice wine and black pepper. Set aside for 20-30 minutes
2. Mix together the Gochujang through the sesame oil into a paste. Mix the paste with the pork.
3. Heat a wok with some oil. Add pork and stir fry, shouldn’t take too long because the pork needs to be sliced thin.
4. Add onions, and green onions. Stir fry quickly for a couple minutes
5. Add kimchi and rice cakes. Stir to mix well. Add ¼ cup water and steam for a few minutes. Add some more chili sauce or gochujang if you want it spicier.
6. Serve over rice

Chili - For cold weather and football!

There's nothing like a hearty bowl of chili on a cold day on Football Sunday. And it's definitely good on a day where I was just doing chores around the house and cleaning! Throw everything in and simmer for a few hours. But the only problem was that I'd never cooked chili before, though from everything I've heard, chili isn't exactly the hardest thing to cook :P

After searching far and wide (there seem to be hundreds of recipes!), a buddy of mine offered up this nugget. With a few adjustments (more meat) and an extra dose of spices, I think I've stumbled onto something! So, after a morning and afternoon of chores, I was able to finally dig into the chili that was on the stove all day :)

Meaty, hearty chili

Serves : 6-8 people
Time : 20 minutes prep, 3-4 hours cook time

Ingredients:
- 1 – 1.5 lbs ground chuck
- 1 lb pork, diced
- 1 lb beef chuck, diced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1-2 Jalapeno peppers, chopped
- 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto/kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 3 (8-ounce) cans diced tomatoes (or tomato sauce)
- 1 12-oz bottle dark beer
- 1 (14 ½oz) can beef broth
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1-2 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp hot sauce (or more, depending on your spicy tolerance)
- Optional : 1/4 tsp cocoa

Method:
1. Cook garlic with some oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat for 30 seconds until sizzling.
2. Add meat, cook through, add onion, cook another minute or so
3. Combine meat mixture, beans, and the rest of the ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours

Vietnamese Style grilled pork

One of my fixations at any of the local Vietnamese restaurants (besides Pho) is the marinated grilled pork over rice. I don't know what's in the marinade (well, I sort of do now) but it just was that tasty with rice and a small salad! So one day, I was able to convince a friend of mine to show me the way her mother cooks the pork chops, homestyle! And wow, the food did not disappoint!!!

As with a lot of Southeastern Asian cuisine, fish sauce is a staple. The pork is marinated along with some sugar and honey to diffuse the saltiness. Add that to some stir-fried scallions and some other veggies and you've got a nice meal (plus leftovers!)

This dish is also meant to be grilled but a frying pan would have to work this time.

The recipe can be halved to make slightly less

Vietnamese Style Grilled Pork

Serves 6-7 with rice and vegetables
Ingredients
2 lbs pork chops (12-14 thin sliced pork chops)
6-7 stalks scallions, chopped (whites separated, green for garnish)

Marinade
Sprinkle of kosher salt
2 tbsp black pepper
5 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1-2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 shallots, minced
1/2 cup water (or stock)
white parts of the scallions
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Method
1. Marinate the pork for at least 20 minutes
2. Heat the frying pan over medium heat. Add a little oil, cook some of the pork with some of the juice.
3. When pork is close to finished, bring the heat to high to evaporate the juice and caramelize the shallots. Rub the pork in the reduced sauce to get a singed look to the pork.
4. Repeat 2-3 for as many batches as necessary.
5. In a small frying pan, heat some oil and saute the green parts of the scallions for a minute to garnish the pork.

Cantonese Stuffed Tofu

Hope I'm not tiring out the palette with all of these Chinese recipes, but I've got another one today. I also made this a little while ago but just hadn't had a chance to post it yet. I never tried making this type of tofu dish before, I usually just stir fry cubes of tofu with some other ingredients, so this was a new experiment!

The hardest part was turning the tofu in the wok without breaking the triangles. Other than that, the prep is pretty straightforward (and a lot of fun!).

The recipe comes from Grace Young's Breath of a Wok. This cookbook focuses more on the specialty dishes of many different chefs/cooks and has a great variety of different Chinese dishes, each with a very thorough description of preparation and instruction.

Cantonese Stuffed Tofu

Serves 4 as part of a multicourse meal
Ingredients
1 tbsp dried shrimp (haw mai)
4 squares firm tofu (14 ounces) rinsed
3/4 tsp salt
4-8 ounces ground pork
2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup minced scallions
2 tbsp canola oil
1 minced garlic clove
3/4 cup Chicken Broth
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce (I used the thick ketjap manis)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
cilantro for garnish

Method
1. In a small saucepan, boil 1/2 cup water. Add the shrimp and simmer for a minute. Drain and reserve the water. Mince the shrimp and set aside.
2. Place the tofu on some paper towels, sprinkle 1/2 tsp of the salt evenly over the tofu and set aside.
3. Combine the pork, 1 tsp cornstarch, sugar, pepper, 1/4 tsp salt, and the minced shrimp. Stir in 1/2 tsp sesame oil, the scallions, and a couple tablespoons of the reserved shrimp liquid.
4. Cut each tofu square diagonally into 2 triangles. With a paring knife, cut a shallow pocket along the long side of each triangle, removing some bean curd and discarding the excess. Stuff each triangle with the filling.
5. Bring your wok under high heat until a bead of water vaporizes in a split second. Swirl in the canola oil and add the tofu triangles, pork side down (may need to do multiple batches if your wok is smaller). Pan fry for 2 minutes over medium heat and then scatter the garlic in the pan. Cook for another minute.
6. Add the broth and 1/4 cup cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to med-low and simmer for about 3 minutes.
7. Using a spatula, loosen each triangle and turn on its side. Add the soy sauce, cover and summer for another 4 minutes. Add the rest of the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil.
8. With the remaining 1 tsp cornstarch, mix it with a tablespoon of cold water. Increase the heat to high, add the cornstarch slurry and cook for 30 more seconds. Garnish with cilantro

Ma Po Tofu

As promised, this is one of the dishes cooked last night.

I'd been on a kick to find some homestyle Chinese recipes and the roommate obliged with a few links. I saw this initially on eGullet and modified it to my tastes (a little spicier and saltier). That with the steamed fish made for a great meal :)

I use the Lee Kum Kee branded Ma Po Sauce. It should be available in any asian grocery.

Ma Po Tofu

Main Ingredients:
3/4 - 1 lb ground pork (coarse)
2 Stalks Green Onion
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
3 Thai bird chillies (chopped)
1-2 tbsp grated ginger
32-36 oz soft/silken tofu (usually sold in packs of 16-18oz)

Marinade:
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp corn starch
2 tsp light (low sodium) soy sauce
1 tsp ShaoHsing rice wine

Side Sauce:
3 tsp spicy bean (ma po) sauce
5 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp ShaoHsing cooking wine
1 tsp white vinegar

Side Sauce 2:
3/4 cup chicken broth (half a can)
2 tsp sugar

Other:
Sriracha Chili sauce to taste
white pepper

Method:
1. Mix all three sauces (marinade and 2 sauces) separately. Mix the pork and marinade and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Drain and wash tofu, cube and set aside.
3. Heat wok under high heat, add 3 tbsp cooking oil. Brown the pork (3-5 minutes). Remove pork and drain.
4. Add 3 tbsp oil. As soon as it sizzles, toss in the chillies, garlic and ginger.
5. After they start sizzling nicely, add the first side sauce (ma po sauce + hoisin, etc)
6. Give the sauce a couple quick stirs and add some chili sauce if you like.
7. Add the chicken broth and sugar. (Additionally, you can add some corn starch mixed with water if you want to thicken the sauce any).
8. Add the tofu and bring to a boil.
9. Add the pork and scallions, mix well, and add some more white pepper to taste.

Pork Katsu-don

One of my favorite dishes to get for lunch at the Porter Exchange (most notably, Cafe Mami) is Pork cutlet-don. They have the meat pre-marinated and then fried up to order, mixed with some onions and an egg, and served steamy and hot! Quick, cheap, and very tasty!

The pork katsu-don always seemed like something that I could try my hand at making but my previous attempts weren't so great (read : failures). I never could get the sauce right, either it ended up too salty or just plain flavorless.

But then my roommate cooked it up once using a couple recipes and it tasted great, so I had to try one more time. I grabbed the recipes he used and then compared them to a couple other I found online and came up with the version I'm posting today. (This is the version I closely modeled : mmm-yoso)

Anyway, on to the food!

Pork Katsu-don

Ingredients
4 Pork cutlets (boneless pork chops - about 3/4 a pound)
1 medium onion, sliced
4 eggs, lightly beaten (can use more if you like)

Sauce
3 tbsp sake (or other rice wine or sherry)
3 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp mirin
5 tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup water
1/3 tsp Dashi

For Dredging
Flour
Panko Breadcrumbs
More eggs, beaten

Method
1. Use a meat tenderizer to flatten out the cutlets.
2. Dredge the cutlets first in the flour, egg, then breadcrumbs.
3. Pan fry until almost cooked through, set aside.
4. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil and then add the sake, sugar, mirin, and soy sauce. Return to a boil, add the dashi and simmer.
5. Pour 1/4 of the sauce into a small frying pan and bring the sauce to a simmer under medium heat. Add 1/4 of the onion.
6. Slice a cutlet along the width (try to maintain the shape of the cutlet) and place in the pan on top of the onions. Then pour 1/4 of the eggs on either sie of the cutlet. Cover and simmer for about a minute or so.
7. Remove cover and serve over rice.
8. Repeat 4-7 for the rest of the cutlets.
9. Top with some chopped scallions

NOTE: If you really like sauce, you can add 50% more to the recipe or even double it.

Making tasty bags of Money!

Wow, what a laaazy weekend...as Jason noted, this is probably the first time he's ever called and woken me up. And I had gone to sleep around 11pm or so...and Jason called at Noon!!! Insane.

So my friends experienced first hand last week the mass of recipes I have to go through and it is...so to say...a mass. I have about 100 recipes plus several cookbooks I've been going through about 2-3 different recipes a week. And I have yet to get to Grace Young's cookbook! I'll get there eventually.

Honestly, I cook at least 4-6 servings whenever I get my act together because as we all know, leftovers are a professional worker's best friend! But then again, one tends to get tired of the same food day after day you know? So then I'll cook twice during the week and alternate the leftovers...but then there's too many leftovers! But too much is the lesser of the two evils anyway :)

I actually made this a couple weeks ago for a friend's pot luck and they got gobbled up pretty quickly. But I was amazed at how LONG it took me to wrap these little guys. Well, I'll let you see for yourself :)

Now, I get my ground pork from the Asian market mainly because the pork is ground a lot coarser than in a regular supermarket and especially because it's not prepackaged. I can actually watch them put the pork through the grinder which makes me a little warmer on the inside. It's just a personal preference so I don't think it's necessarily a big deal.

Pork and Shrimp Wontons

Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Pork
1/4 - 1/2 lb raw Shrimp
Scallions
2 tsp corn starch
2-3 TBsp soy sauce

1 box/tray of wonton wrappers
Some water OR egg white

Optional:
Fish Sauce
Sesame Oil

Prep Method:
1. Mix together the corn starch and soy sauce as well as the optional ingredients, if any. Set aside.
2. Rinse, de-shell and de-vein the shrimp. Dice finely.
3. Mix Pork, Shrimp and Scallions together.
4. Pour the Sauce over the filling mixture and mix again.

Now onto actually rolling the wontons...I've got pictures here for help :)

Rolling the wontons:
1. Fill a small dish with water (or the egg white) and have plenty of paper towels available.

2. Now we're ready to begin. Start with a single wonton wrapper and a small spoonful of the meat mixture. It's important not to overfill the wonton (underfilling is ok) because it'll be difficult to wrap it otherwise.

3. Next, we roll the wonton diagonally as shown. Start at one corner, fold it in towards the middle, and then roll towards the other corner. Dab a drop of water on the opposite corner to get the wonton "cannoli" to hold together.

4. Once you have the "cannoli" look going, take one of the ends and bend it upwards against the meat, almost like folding a sheet of paper.

5. With your thumb and forefinger, twist the folded end upwards. You'll be twisting from the "corner" of where you initially made the first fold...be careful not to tear the wonton wrapper. Put a dab of water where the parts of the wonton wrapper touch near the meat.

6. Repeat for the other corner:

7. Repeat for the next hour or so:


I ended up using just about the whole package of wontons so I'm guessing somewhere between 75 and 100 wontons. You can fry these little money-bags, steam, or even boil. They're a great extra snack with some Egg/Wonton noodles for a quick meal.

One more thing to note: When placing the finished wontons in a dish, make sure the wontons do not touch each other. They'll stick...which isn't good!!!

For freezing the wontons, freeze them on a plastic plate or something first (so they'd be separated), then you can throw them in a bag.

Enjoy!!!

Mini Potluck Weekend Cooking

I don't think I've had a lazier weekend yet this year. Spent roughly 14 hours of both days sleeping but I feel great because of it. Must've needed it.

Anyway, ended up going to Super 88 (no pics, boo!) with Linh to grab lunch and groceries and she put forth an idea that we could do a mini-potluck and invite a couple other friends. So Jason and Zac ended up over for dinner and some hearty Rock Band.

I've never noticed this in the Asian grocery stores but the meats are soooooo much cheaper than in the regular grocery stores. I mean, the quality (Not too sure on that word anyway based on some of the news that's been coming out of the meat industry) doesn't seem all that different and you get better cuts, not to mention all the special bits you'd never find at a Stop & Shop :)

And Super 88 has such awesome lunch selections. Stuffed myself with some Crispy Basil Chicken from Wisteria and a Japche Tukboki from Misono Wok. Forgot to pick up a Vietnamese Sandwich but I doubt I needed it at that point.

So I've actually got two recipes today, one courtesy of Linh. Pictures are at the end.

Thit Kho (Vietnamese Pork Stew)

Ingredients
1 lb Pork (Sliced, any type you want)
1/4 Medium Yellow Onion
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Crushed Black Pepper
2 tbsp Caramelized sugar
2-3 tbsp Fish Sauce

Method
1. Throw all of the ingredients into a stew pot, mix together well
2. Add water to the same level as the pork
3. Cook on high heat and bring to a boil.
4. Simmer on medium for 20 minutes
5. Taste frequently (add more seasoning if needed), should be a salty sauce with sweet pork.

Thai Chicken with Basil - Kao Pad Krapao

Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Thai chili peppers (Bird chillies)
8 - 16 oz Chicken Breasts/Thighs
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp chopped shallots
1/3 cup thai basil
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Optional:
1 small red bell pepper
1 small yellow onion
Cold cooked rice (for a fried rice-like meal)

Method
1. In a wok or large frying pan, add oil and stir-fry the garlic under medium-high heat.
2. When the garlic sizzles and turns golden, add chillies and chicken.
3. When the chicken is lightly browned, add the vegetables (probably after about a minute)
4. Mix in the sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and rice (optional).
5. Add shallots, basil leaves and cilantro. Cook about another minute or so, then serve.

Here's the picture. The Thit Kho is on the left, and the Basil Chicken on the bottom right. Linh made some string beans as well to add a little healthiness to the whole meal. I ended up using too much chili peppers and Jason wasn't able to handle it too well. But it still was tasty! :)

Spur of the Moment Cooking

This recipe is one I've commonly seen on the Asian blogs I've read, varying slightly from blog to blog. Adapted my own version for tonight's dinner.

It actually ended up kind of a spur of the moment thing for me. I had all of the ingredients already and didn't feel like eating leftovers from Monday. Speaking of Monday, I forgot to take pictures of the Pad See Ew I made (bummer!) but I'll make sure to remember next time!

Anyway, sister's birthday is tomorrow so Happy Birthday Rachael! Maybe I should make her special cookies to commemorate it ;)

Stir Fry with Pork, Peppers, and Onions

Main:
1 lb pork (I used pork chops - can also use less than a pound if you like more veggies)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced (I used a green pepper)

Marinade for the pork:
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Sugar
2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Dark or Sweet Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Corn Flour
1 tsp Fish Sauce
1 tbsp Water

Sauce:
1/2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1/2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Crushed Black Pepper
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1/2 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tbsp Corn Flour
3 tbsp Water

Method:
1. Slice the pork thinly (bout 1/4 inch slices)
2. Mix the marinade and marinate pork for 30 minutes
3. Add a tablespoon of oil to the wok and turn on high heat
4. Stir fry the pork briefly until lightly browned
5. Stir in peppers and onions and toss to get a good mix. It's ok to sear the onion/peppers a little, it tastes awesome!
6. Add the sauce, toss well to get everything coated.
7. Serve over rice when the sauce thickens

Grand Opening and a recipe!

Wow, so it took me all of a day to get enough excitement together to get rid of all the inertia and create a blog.

Apparently, I talk soo much about food that a bunch of buddies decided that they'd had enough and requested, politely I might add, that I talk about food on a blog (and desist from ranting and raving to them every waking moment). So I love food. And I love eating food. And I do enjoy cooking, even though I currently stink at it (No really, I call myself a noob for a reason!)

Anyway, here it is, The Seasoned Noob, and I've got a recipe to kick start this whole thing.

This is one of the easiest dishes that I cook. Most of the time is spent chopping the vegetables into itty bitty pieces and then you pretty much toss everything in and you're done.

I cook this on average twice a month (gets boring real fast when you make enough to eat for 4 other meals - not that it's not good or anything, just that I like to eat tons of different things!)

Ground pork and tofu with chopped vegetables

Serves 4-6

Main:
1 lb ground pork (meatloaf mix works too, used beef once, liked pork the best)
1 large cake FIRM tofu (I like using the pressed five-spice tofu from the local Asian supermarket the best)
4 Scallions (roots removed)
2-4 cloves garlic
1 bell pepper (yellow or red are the best)
1 medium yellow onion
Half a box of frozen peas
1.5 tbsp vegetable oil

Sauce:
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 tbsp Sherry or Shaoshing Rice Cooking Wine
1/2 tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 can (~14 oz) Chicken stock or water
1 tbsp Corn Starch

To taste:
Five Spice Powder
Black pepper

To begin, dice the pepper, onion, and scallions and then set them aside. Mince the garlic (Please don't use the pre-minced garlic, it doesn't taste the same).

Heat the oil (medium heat) in a medium to large size sautè pan and toss in the minced garlic. Let sizzle and brown before adding the ground pork. Season with black pepper if you like.

While the meat is browning, mix together all of the ingredients for the sauce. The salt can be omitted if using chicken stock and soy sauce. Slice the tofu into small pieces (think small sugar cubes or bouillon cubes) and set aside.

Once the meat is browned, add the chopped vegetables into the sautè and mix lightly. After about 5 minutes on medium heat, add the sauce and stir in the tofu and frozen peas. Season with some five spice powder if you like, but remember, it's pretty strong.

Keep on medium heat for another 10-15 minutes (stir frequently to get a nice healthy mix of the goodies) and then serve hot over steamed rice.

Here's a picture of it on the burner...sorry I don't have anything better:



It may not look like a whole lot, but it's quick, easy, and tastes great!