Slow Roast Belly Pork Slices and Vegetables

I've made this dish a couple of times now, so this article is to record how I've been modifying the original recipe, which is here. This also works if you replace the belly pork with chicken thighs and drumsticks.

Chiles en Vinaigre a.k.a Mexican Carrot Pickle

Mum used to make this one regularly when I was growing up. Unlike many of the other pickles and chutneys, this one was a big hit with us kids and a batch never lasted long.

The actual name of the recipe in the recipe book is Chiles en Vinaigre, but Mum went lighter on the chillies and bulked it out with the other vegetables, so we called it Mexican Carrot Pickle.

These days, I put in the original proportion of chillies - mild to medium big juicy ones like jalapenos, not scotch bonnets though!

This is the recipe for a single batch, but you could double up if you have a glut of peppers or carrots to use up.

Shepherd's or Cottage Pie

Another easy weekday recipe noted here for my daughter's benefit. This is my take on the traditional potato-topped mince dish.

The name reflects the choice of meat: Shepherd's Pie when made with minced lamb or mutton, and Cottage Pie when made with minced beef.

A vegetarian version using cooked beans/lentils or reconstituted TVP instead of the meat, and vegetarian gravy granules, also works.

I usually make one huge pie, and we eat half immediately, and the other half reheated then next day.

Sort-of Japanese style Soup Thing

Today, despite the weather, I fancied a light soup for dinner.
Possibly because I have a bit of a snuffly cold.

So I made this sort-of Japanese style soup out of a tub of homemade chicken stock from the freezer, various vegetables, leftovers and some random things I bought in Hoo Hing that have been sitting in the cupboard.

I say soup, but it ended up more as a big bowl full of lightly cooked vegetables and noodles with some soup underneath. It was light and delicious and just right.

My daughter especially enjoyed this soup, and wants it recorded here for posterity, so that she can make something similar herself one day.

Sweet and Sour Mussels

So I decided to try something different for tea tonight, and bought some pre-cooked pre-shelled mussel meat.

I adapted a recipe for Sweet and Sour White Fish from my copy of Wei Chuan Chinese Seafood to cook them.

This is a bit involved, so cook the rice in a rice cooker, or use pre-cooked rice to accompany it rather than try to juggle cooking rice in a pan as well.



First mix the following in a bowl and let marinate in the fridge whilst you prepare the other ingredients.

• 250g cooked shelled mussels
• 1 tbsp sherry
• 1/2 tsp salt

Measure rice and water into the rice cooker and switch on to cook.

Next, mix the following in another bowl to form the batter, and set on one side to rest.

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cornflour
• 1/4 cup water

Now, mix the following in a mug to form the sauce mixture.

• 5 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
• 5 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp cornflour

Prepare the vegetables.

• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 green pepper
• a few broccoli florets

Peel and coarsely chop onion.
Peel and slice carrot.
De-seed pepper and cut into pieces.
Blanch broccoli florets in boiling water and drain.
 
Drain the marinated mussels and mix into the batter.
Heat a deep fat fryer and deep fry the battered mussels until golden, then drain on absorbent paper.

Now to assemble the final dish.

Heat a couple of tbsp of oil in a wok and stir-fry the vegetables for a few minutes until lightly cooked.
Stir the mug of sauce mix and then pour it over the vegetables in the wok.
Continue to stir-fry it all as the sauce mixture boils and thickens.
Add the fried mussels and toss to coat evenly in the sauce.

Serve immediately with boiled rice.


My daughter said that the mussels weren't completely horrible but she didn't like them. Hohum.

Chicken Stock in the Pressure Cooker

After the Sunday roast chicken has been eaten, and the last of the meat has been pulled from the bones and lies boxed in the fridge, there is still one last meal to be squeezed from the carcass. It is time to make stock for soup.

Into the pressure cooker goes all that remains: skin, bones and cartilage. Add a quartered onion and a sliced carrot. A couple of stalks and seedy parts from green peppers. Four peppercorns, a good pinch of celery seed, a bay leaf or two.

Now pour in a couple of litres of water - enough to cover it all. Bring to the boil. Close the lid and bring up to high pressure. Let it hiss to itself over a low flame for an hour or so to leach the gelatinous proteins and minerals from the bones, to melt away the cartilaginous joint capsules into the water, to extract all the flavour possible from the last of the chicken.

When the hour is up, turn off the heat and let it stand and cool. When the pressure has released, strain through a sieve into a large bowl. Discard the solid remains, and put your stock into the fridge to chill. By the morning it will have jelled, ready to be made into soup.