What is Kong Bak? I suppose you can generally call it Pork Belly Slices in Dark Sauce. What sets it apart is that it is wedged between a bun called Ho Hup Pau (Pau meaning Bun) and eaten just like a kebab. Simcooks has been pestering (reminding, ahem!) me for this recipe. She has a good looking pork belly recipe but my family method of cooking is different. There are actually 3 steps to cooking this dish.

The first step involves “blanching” the pork belly in boiling water for approximately 30 seconds. This will make the meat slightly cooked on the outer side and makes it firm. Otherwise, it is rather wobbly. I think it also removes a bit of unpleasant “porky” smell or taste.

The next step is to prick the pork belly skin with the pointed end of a knife. A fork won’t do unless you’ve got a really sharp fork. Prick it just like how you would prick the skin of a potato. After pricking the skin, fry the whole piece of pork belly for about 20 seconds on each side (skin side and meat side). Then slice the pork belly before marinating it and followed by steaming.

It all sounds like an awful lot of work to do but trust me, it is actually VERY SIMPLE. And you will absolutely love it to bits as long as you don’t mind the smooth as silk fat and meat melting in your mouth as your chomp on the sweet-tasting bun. I am not kidding, the fat can actually melt in the mouth! We had this for Chinese New Year’s Eve and breakfast the next day. Superlicious! Oh by the way, you can get the buns from the cold storage section of bigger supermarkets.

This is my family recipe for Kong Bak with Ho Hup Pau

Ingredients

• 1 kg of pork belly (approximately 1 feet long x 3 inches wide) - cut into 2 pieces for ease of blanching and frying
• 20 pieces of chinese dried mushrooms (pre-soaked till soft, remove stalk)
• Water for blanching
• Oil for frying (semi-deep frying)

Marinade

• 5 tablespoons dark soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
• 2 teaspoons white pepper powder
• 2 teaspoons five spice powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chinese cooking wine
• 3 to 5 cinnamon sticks
• 5 to 8 pieces of star anise
• 2 whole bulbs of garlic

Method

Bring water to boil in wok or pot and blanch the pork belly for approximately 30 seconds. You will notice that the meat is slightly cooked and the skin is slightly toughened. Remove from water and drain. Prick the skin with the sharp end of a knife or sharp fork.

Next, heat up oil in wok and fry the pork belly 20 seconds on each side (skin side and meat side). Remove and place on a rack for to cool and to let excess oil drip. You will notice that the meat and skin is now slightly browned and the whole piece of pork belly is slightly firm.

Cut the pork belly into 1 to 1.5cm-width slices. Place the pork belly slices together with mushrooms in a suitable container and marinade them with the marinate above for at least 2 hours or longer.

After marinating, arrange the pork belly slices on a tray (suitable for steaming) and pour all the marinade over it. Steam it for at least 1 1/2 hours.

To serve, steam to heat up the buns. Prise open the bun just like a kebab bun and place a slice of the kong bak (belly slices) and mushroom into the bun. Savour the most delicious pork belly slice you’ll ever find! I’m drooling just writing about this!

Technorati Tags: pork, bun, recipe, chinese, belly

This is a dish cooked in a slow cooker without adding water. I mustered courage to cook this dish after Babe_KL did her version. The first version I read about was from Food Haven. The marinade used by both of them are different from mine as I was keen on experimenting with something new.

Cooking pork ribs in a slow cooker appears easier than it sounds. There is no fear of the slow cooker (also known as Crockpot) cracking even though no water is added to the cooker prior to or during cooking. The meat and vegetables will provide the necessary juices to make the dish moist. Since no water is added, you can bet that the gravy will turn out really flavourful! And the meat is so tender that it just slips off the bone. Yummy!

This is my recipe for Pork Ribs in Plum Sauce

Ingredients

• 300 to 400 grammes of pork ribs (cut to desired size)
• 1 to 2 large onions (quartered)
• 1 large carrot (cut into chunks)

Marinade

• 4 teaspoons of plum sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce
• a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 heaped teaspoon of corn flour

Method

Marinate the pork ribs for at least 1 hour. The longer the better.

Lay onions and carrots on bottom of slow cooker. Then, lay pork ribs on top of the onions and carrots. Turn on slow cooker to high for 3 hours. If you have left over marinade, baste the ribs halfway through cooking.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Food, Malaysia, Chinese, Pork

Corn Soup cooked at home differs from family to family. Some use corn from cans. Here, I use fresh corn bought from the wet market. It imparts a natural sweetness to the soup, which I think is much better than those from tin cans. My elder daughter loves this soup very much and also enjoys having her fingers dirty eating the corn

This recipe is pretty simple and does not take much effort. It is best if cooked over a charcoal stove. I am very partial towards food cooked using a charcoal stove as the taste is usually better than those cooked using gas or electrice stove. Moreover, the slow cooking process using charcoal makes the meat tender and brings out all the natural flavours from the ingredients.

This is my recipe for Corn Soup

Ingredients

• 2 fresh corn (washed and cut into smaller pieces)
• 200 grammes of pork ribs or pork suitable for cooking soup
• 1 large carrot (cut to smaller pieces)
• a handful of red dates
• 2 1/2 soup bowls of water (approximately 800 ml)

Seasoning

• Salt to taste

Method

Bring water to boil in pot. Add pork ribs and bring back to boil. Remove scum that appears on surface of water as it reboils.

After 3 minutes of reboiling, add the rest of the ingredients, bring back to boil and allow to boil for 2 minutes before reducing heat to medium low and simmer for at least 1 hour.

Add salt to taste prior to serving.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Soup, Corn, Malaysia

Baked Beans is not Asian. I don’t think it is. But I’ve seen some of the rice shops here in Kuala Lumpur which serve baked beans cooked with other ingredients. This is just one of the many variants and it adds a bit of difference to the usual baked beans.

You can eat this with white rice or even fried rice. I suppose you can actually eat it on its own but you may have to adjust the taste (especially the tomato) so that the taste is not too overpowering

This is my recipe for Baked Beans with Minced Pork and Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 tin of baked beans
• 50 grammes pork mince
• 1 medium sized potato (diced)
• 1 medium sized onion (chopped)
• 1/2 tin of water (use baked beans tin to measure)
• 2 tablespoons Cooking oil (palm oil)

Seasoning

• 2 teaspoons tomato ketchup
• a pinch of salt

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry potatoes till golden brown. Remove fried potatoes and set aside. Remove oil and leave just about 1 teaspoon of oil in the wok.

Fry the onions till aromatic. Add minced pork and stir fry till cooked. Add baked beans and return the fried potatoes into the wok. Stir well.

Add water and seasoning and bring to boil prior to serving.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Pork, Baked Beans, Malaysia