Braised Pork Spareribs with Sugar and Vinegar (糖醋排骨)

Ingredients:

400 g pork spareribs, cut into bite size

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp Chinese black rice vinegar

1 stalk spring onion, segmented

2 cup water

9 tbsp Chinese black rice vinegar

6 tbsp light soy sauce

9 slices ginger

6 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp oil

Method:

Marinate ribs with salt, pepper, sugar and vinegar for at least 30 min; set aside.

In a sauce pan or wok, melt sugar with oil over low heat till golden brown and caramelized.

Add-in ginger and stir-fry over high heat until fragrant and golden brown.

Add-in ribs and stir-fry for 3-5 min or until shrink and golden.

Add-in soy sauce, vinegar and water (add enough water to cover ribs fully).

Leave simmer covered until gravy reduced to half.

Reduce heat and continue simmer to thicken the gravy and tender the ribs (Stir occasionally for even cooking.Note: to accelerate the cooking time, the marinated ribs can be pre-deep fried until golden brown before use).

Once sticky gravy form with lot of entrapped air bubbles, sprinkle-on spring onion and dish-up.

Best serve warm with steamed rice.

Chinese Meat Balls (貢丸)

Ingredients:

500 g pork + 5 tbsp water

100 g Chinese mushroom

Seasoning A

2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

2 tbsp fish sauce

1½ tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tbsp oil

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp cornflour (last)

Seasoning B

1/2 tsp white pepper

2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp ginger powder

1 whisked stiff egg white

Method:

With food processor/blender, process pork and mushroom with water to form paste.

Add-in all the seasoning A and stir well until sticky texture.

Leave in refrigerator for 30 min.

Add-in seasoning B and stir-generously.

Bring a pot of water to boil then remove from heat.

Pick desired amount of paste and form into ball with wet hands.

Drop them into the warm water.

Reheat the water that contain a layer of meat balls over low heat to just enough to simmer without boiling.

Once meat balls are floated, allow to simmer for another few more seconds before transfer them into ice-cold water.

Drain-well and store in fridge with air-tight container till next use.

Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)

 

Ingredients:

500 g soft tofu, cubed

250 g ground meat (pork or beef or mix)

3 tbsp chili bean paste

1½ tbsp fermented black bean - garlic sauce (or pure fermented black bean sauce)

1½ tsp sichuan peppercorn

3 slices fresh ginger

2 glove garlic

1½ tbsp light soy sauce

1½ tsp vinegar

1/2 tsp white pepper powder

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup water/stock

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp cornstarch in 2 tbsp water

Chopped spring onion for sprinkling 

Method:

In a wok or deep pan, heat oil over medium high heat.

Saute peppercorn till fragrant, remove the peppercorn and reserve the oil.

Add-in garlic and ginger, saute till fragrant and golden brown.

Add-in meat, chili paste and black bean sauce, stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or still meat is seared.

Add-in tofu and gently mix for short while or until the tofu is charred.

Pour-in water, bring to boil and seasoning with soy sauce, vinegar, pepper, sugar and salt.

Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the tofu is cooked thoroughly with occasional stirring.  

Add-in starch solution and gently stir to thicken the gravy (adjust taste accordingly)

Sprinkle-on green onion before dish-up.

Best serve hot immediately with steamed rice.

Curry Spring Roll

Ingredients:

100 g meat, coarsely chopped
1/2 big onion, thinly sliced
2 handful glass noodles
1 tbsp cornstarch in 1 tbsp water
1 handful coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp oil

Seasoning

2 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp ketcup
1/2 tsp sugar
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper powder

enough medium size spring roll wrappers (thawed)
1/4 whisked egg
oil for deep-frying

Method:

Soak noodle in cold water until soften (about 30 minutes) and drain well; set aside.

Heat oil in a wok, pot or non-stick deep pan, saute onion till fragrant and softened.

Add meat and seasoning, stir-fry until meat shrink and half cooked.

Add noodles and keep stirring until noodles are well distributed.

Adjust taste with sugar and salt, add more curry powder if strong taste is desired.

Pour-in cornstarch solution and stir to thicken.

Dish-up and stir-in coriander leaves; set aside to cool completely.

To assemble spring rolls:

Place a sheet of spring roll wrapper on a clean working surface.

Locate enough filling on one corner of the wrapper.

Spread the filling lengthwise along the wrapper by using chopstick or fork (reserve some spaces at all edges for sealing).

Fold-up left and right sides of wrapper over filling.

Lift-up the filling side egde and roll upward to the other end.

Seal roll end by brushing-on some egg solution on all opening.

Deep fry spring rolls under hot oil till golden brown and crispy.

Remove from oil and drain well on absorbent papers.

Serve spring rolls warm with Thai sweet chili sauce or any favorite homemade dipping sauce (chopped fresh chili in 1/3 cup plum sauce and 3 tbsp light soy sauce).

Cantonese Sweet & Sour Ribs (京都骨)

Ingredients:

600 g pork spareribs, cut to bite sizes
enough oil for deep-frying

Marinate

1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp Chinese five spices powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground pepper powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tbsp cooking wine

Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
3 tbsp black rice vinegar
2 tbsp cooking wine
4 tbsp sugar
3 tsp light soy sauce
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1 cup sliced bell pepper
1 onion, wedged
2 clove garlic, chopped
1 knob ginger, sliced
1 tbsp oil


Method:

In a bowl, marinade ribs with all the marinate ingredient for at least 30 minutes or overnight covered in fridge.

In another bowl, combine all sauce ingredients; set aside.

In a wok, deep pan or pot, heat enough oil over medium high heat and deep fry marinated ribs for 15 minutes or till brown.

Remove from oil and set aside on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Remove excess oil from wok or pan.

Reheat 1-2 tbsp oil in the wok or pan, sautes garlic and ginger till fragrant.

Add-in onion and bell-pepper, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.

Pour sauce mixture into saucepan, bring to boil and let simmer for 10 minutes (add water if appear dried out).

Return the ribs and precooked garnish into saucepan, stir to mix and thicken.

Dish-out and best serve hot with steamed rice.

Steamed Pork Ribs Dim Sum

Ingredients:

250 g soft bone pork ribs, cut to bite size

1 tbsp black bean sauce
2 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp oyster sauce
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp shaoxing wine

1 tsp tapioca starch or cornstarch
1 tbsp sesame oil for sprinkling

Method:

Mix pork with the remaining ingredients except cornstarch and set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Add-in cornstarch and mix well to incorporate.

Steam with boiling water over high heat for 8 minutes.

Dish-up and sprinkle with sesame oil.

Steamed Minced Pork with Toy Choi (Chinese Preserved Vegetable)

Ingredients:

250 g minced pork (not lean)
1 tbsp tong choi (Chinese Preserved Vegetable)
1 tbsp shallot crisps
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1 ½ tbsp water
1 tsp cornflour
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Method:

Combine minced pork with tong choi and all the remaining ingredients, set aside for at least 15 minutes.

Transfer mixture into a lightly greased heat-proof bowl.

Steam over high heat for 15 minutes and cooked thoroughly.

Dish up and best serve with steamed rice.

Glass Vermicelli with Minced Pork (蚂蚁上树)

Ingredients:

100 g glass vermicelli
100-150 g minced pork

3 tbsp oil
2 slices ginger, cut into silvers
2 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 chinese dried mushroom, soaked, thinly sliced and reserved the soaking water
1 tbsp preserved soy bean paste
1 fresh red chili, removed seeds and thinly sliced (optional)
1 tsp chili sauce
1/4 cup water/stock/reserved soaking water
1/2 cup bean sprouts (optional)
1 stalk spring onion, sliced long

Marinade for pork:

1 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch of cornstarch

Method:

Combine minced pork first with the liquid marinade ingredients and last with cornstarch; set aside for at least 15 minutes.

Soak noodles till soften and drain well; set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok over medium high heat, stir-fry pork till browned and cooked thoroughly.

Remove pork from wok and set aside.

Add another tbsp of oil to the wok, saute ginger, garlic and fresh chili till fragrant.

Add-in mushrooms, stir-fry briefly.

Add-in soy bean paste and chili sauce, stir for short while.

Add-in noodles, stir for another short while and pour-in water.

Return the cooked pork into wok and add-in bean sprouts, stir briefly till blended.

Add spring onions and stir till most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Garnish with some fresh spring onion and serve.

Sweet and Sour Chicken/Meat/Fish

Ingredients:

Breading for Chicken/Meat/Fish:

1 kg Chicken, Meat or Fish, cut Chicken/Meat into bite size
2/3 tsp salt or 1 tbsp soy sauce to taste
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg

Oil for deep-frying

Garnish Ingredients:

1 large green bell pepper, cut to bite size
1 onion, sliced
1 tomato, wedged
1/2 can (580 g with 5 rings) pineapple chunks, cut to bite size
2 tbsp oil

Sauce:

1/2cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 salt
1/4 cup orange juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup reserved syrup of canned pineapple
1/4 cup ketchup

2 tbsp cornstarch + 1/8 cup reserved syrup of canned pineapple syrup

Method:

Marinate chicken/meat/fish with salt, sugar and pepper for 30 minutes or more.

In two separated bowls, one filled with flours and the other one filled with lightly whisked egg.

Toss marinated chicken/meat/fish first in flours mixture, then in egg wet mixture and again in flours dry mixture; set aside.

Deep-fry the marinated chicken/meat/fish into hot oil till crispy and golden brown; set aside on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

In a bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients; set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp in a saucepan or wok, stir-fry bell pepper and onion for 2-3 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.

Pour sauce mixture into saucepan, bring to boil and let simmer for 10 minutes (add water if appear dried out).

Pour-in cornstarch solution and stir to thicken.

Add-in tomato and pineapple chunks, stir to cook thoroughly.

Return the chicken/meat and/or precooked garnish into saucepan and stir to mix (for fish, pour the garnish-sauce over the deep fried fish on serving plate).

Dish-out and best serve hot with steamed rice.

Grilled Pork Steak

Ingredients:

400 g pork chops

Marinade:

1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1.2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

Sauce:

1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp ketchup
1/4 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/4 tbsp light soy sauce
1 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp water

Method:

In a container, combine all the marinade ingredients, add-in meat, mix well and set aside to marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight covered in fridge.

Remove meat from fridge and bring to room temperature.

Preheat grill or broiler and grill all sides of meat for 6 minutes or until browned and cooked through.

Remove meat from heat and transfer onto a serving plate.

In a saucepan or wok, bring all sauce ingredients to simmer.

Scatter the sauce over the cooked steak and best serve hot.

Braised Red Pork Trotters (红烧猪蹄)

Ingredients:

1 (600 g) Pork trotter, quartered
3 cup water
3 tbsp black vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil or vegetable oil
1 tbsp (2 clove) chopped garlic
1 tbsp dried shrimp, soaked and drained

4 cup water
2 stalk spring onion, chopped
2 dried chili, soaked and drained
2 dried chinese mushroom, soaked and drained
6 slices (1 knob) fresh ginger
2 star anises
1/2 tsp pepper corn
4 tbsp light soy sauce
10 chunks rock sugar
2 tbsp Shen Yuan Hua Diao wine or any rice wine
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 ½ tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp cornstarch

Method:

Clean pork trotter by plucking-off hair and scraping the surface of rind to remove dirt; set-aside.

In a pot, boil 3 cups of water with 3 tbsp vinegar, blanch pork trotter thoroughly for few minutes, drain and set aside.

In a small pan, heat oil over medium high heat.

Add-in garlic, saute till fragrant and start to golden.

Add-in shrimp, saute for another 2 minutes or till aroma; dish out and set aside.

In a pot, bring 4 cup of water to boil.

Add-in the blanched trotter and the remaining ingredients, reduce heat and let simmer covered for at least 2 hours or till trotter is tender (stir occasionally for even cooking).

Stir-in the fragrant garlic-shrimp mixture and continue to simmer till the sauce is thicken (adjust taste accordingly with salt).

Dish out and sprinkle with some chopped spring onion.

Best serve hot with rice or noodles.

Bah Kut Teh (Chinese Meat Herbal Soup)

Ingredients:

1 liter water
1 package (50 g) bah kut teh mixed herbs and spices (any brand of your choice)
200 g pork spareribs/chicken/beef, cut to bite size
Some lean meat
5 dried chinese mushroom, soaked and drained
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled
1 bulb garlic, peeled and crushed

2 slices dong kwai
1 tbsp chinese wolfberry fruits

2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar or to taste
1 ½ tsp salt or to taste

Optional Garnish:

needle mushroom
pork internal organ
chinese lettuce leaf (place on the surface of hot soup just right before serving)
chinese cabbage (place on the surface of hot soup just right before serving)
deep fried bean curd (add into hot soup just right before serving)
deep fried tofu (add into hot soup just right before serving)
chinese cruller (add into hot soup just right before serving)

Method:

In a pot, bring water to boil over high heat.

Add-in meat, 1 sachet of bah kut teh mixed herbs and spices, mushroom, eggs and garlic; bring to boil covered for at least 1 hour (if boil for longger period, may need additional water).

Remove meat and add-in dong kwai, chinese wolfberry fruits and another small sachet of mixed herbs and spices (if applicable).

Seasoning with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and salt.

Cook covered for another 10 minutes.

Return meat into the pot and cook for another shortwhile.

Dish-up and serve hot with rice or as it alone.

(Note: best serve on the next day by keeping it warm covered in slow cooker)

Crispy Spareribs with Thai Hot/Spicy Sauce

Ingredients:

400 g spareribs, cut into bite sizes
1 bowl cornstarch for coating
oil for deep-frying

Marinade:

1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp red curry powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1 egg white, beaten
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cornstarch

Sauce:

2 tbsp Thai chili sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp red curry powder
3 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp water
1 bird's eye chili, chopped

Method:

In a container, combine all the marinade ingredients, add-in spareribs, mix well and set aside to marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight covered in fridge.

Coat marinated spareribs well with cornstarch, deep-fry into hot oil till crispy and golden brown.

Remove from oil and drain well on paper towels; set aside.

In a saucepan or wok, bring all sauce ingredients to simmer.

Add-in spareribs and stir to coat well.

Dish-out and best serve hot with rice.

Char Siew (Chinese BBQ Pork)

Ingredients:

300 - 500 g skinless pork belly or marbled pork, cut into about 1 ½ inches wide strips.

Marinade:

2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 ½ tsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Shen Yuan Hua Diao wine or any cooking wine
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
1/4 tsp salt

Glaze:

1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp oil

Method:

In a bowl, mix together all the marinade ingredients.

Marinate pork for at least 2 hours or overnight in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 220 °C.

Wrap pork together with marinade gravy with aluminium foil, transfer onto a baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes.

Remove pork from oven, uncover the pork and broil pork till gravy thicken (turn pork from time to time for even coating).

Alternately, pan-fry pork over medium heat by continuous stirring till gravy thicken and well-coated (pan-fry approach is easier!).

In a bowl, mix together glaze ingredients.

Pour glaze mixture onto pork and return pork to oven or continue pan-frying for short while till just well polished with glaze.

Penang Lor Bak (Crispy Skin Pork Sausages)

Ingredients:

600 g fatty pork, coarsely chopped
1 ½ tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 large onion/2 shallot, finely chopped (yield about 2 ½ tbsp)
1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp soy bean paste, minced
2 tsp five spice powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp chestnut flour
1 ½ tsp salt or to taste
2 tsp pepper powder or to taste (I used black pepper)

2 large bean-curd sheets
1 egg, lightly beaten for sealing (I used leftover egg yolks from dark soy dipping sauce)
16 pieces toothpick
oil for deep-frying

Dark Soy Dipping Sauce:

1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/8 tsp five spice powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt or to taste
4 tbsp water
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 egg white, beaten

Sweet-Chili Dipping sauce:

3 tbsp chili paste
2 tbsp pounded roasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp hoisin or plum sauce
3 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Method:

In a bowl, mix pork, garlic, onion, sugar, soy bean paste, five spice powder, egg, chestnut flour, salt and pepper to make the filling; set aside to marinade for 30 minutes (adjust the taste by pan-fry a bit of the filling mixture).

Rub bean-curd with wet kitchen towel to solften, cut each sheet to four pieces; set aside covered and wet kitchen towel (if bean curd tends to harden quickly, just soften it by soaking into cold water for about 3 minutes and pat dry gently with kitchen towel).

Divide filling into 8 portions.

Spread a portion of filling length-wise on bottom of sheet (spare about 1 inch on all sides for folding and sealing).

Brush-on whisked egg on all sides.

Gently, fold up bottom edge and roll upward till end to form sausage roll, seal both sausage terminals with toothpick.

Alternately, fold-in sides bean-curd while rolling to enclosed.

Heat oil in wok or pot on over high heat, deep-fry sausage rolls till golden brown, cooked through and crispy skin (about 9 minutes).

Remove from oil, drain on paper towels and set aside to cool to handle-able temperature.

Right before serving, cut sausages into 1 inch pieces and serve along with dipping sauces as appetizer or with rice (best serve along with fresh cucumbers slices).

To prepare the dark soy dipping sauce:

In a small pot, mix-in dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, five spice powder, sugar, salt, water and cornstarch; simmer over low heat for about 2 minutes or till yields smooth sauce (stir occasionally); whisk-in egg white to form fine white streaks; remove from heat and apply warm or at room temperature.

To prepare the sweet-chili dipping sauce:

In a small pot, bring vinegar to boil, mix-in chili paste, plum sauce, sugar and salt; simmer over low heat for about 1 minutes (stir occasionally); remove from heat; stir-in sesame seeds and apply warm or at room temperature (We use to drop chili dipping sauce into the middle of dark soy dipping sauce and gradually incorporated while dipping-in sausage pieces, like wasabi in soy sauce for sushi eating).

Teochew Braised Pork Knuckle (Pak Lou/Pak Lo)

Ingredients:

500 g pork knuckle (note: this recipe is best cook with duck meat)
3 cups water
3 tbsp black rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tbsp 5 spice powder

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 clove garlic, pounded
1 (3 inch ) galangal, crushed
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
4 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp sugar or to taste
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
6 cups hot boiling water

Dipping Sauce:

1 clove garlic, pounded
2 tsp sugar or to taste
2 tbsp white rice vinegar

Method:

Clean pork knuckles by plucking-off hair and scraping the surface of rind to remove dirt; set-aside.

In a pot, boil 3 cups of water with 3 tbsp vinegar, blanch pork knuckle thoroughly for few minutes, drain and set aside.

In a bowl, mix together 1/2 tsp salt and five spice powder, rub the mixture all over the pork knuckle and allow to marinade for at least few hours.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok or non-stick deep pan over medium high heat, saute garlic till fragrant.

Add-in galangal and saute till aroma.

Add-in dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and sugar, continue stirring till fully incorporated.

Add-in pork knuckle, turn to evenly coat with gravy and shrunk slightly.

Add-in hot water, allow to simmer for 3 hours or till pork knuckle is tender and cook thoroughly and the gravy is thicken (turn the pork knuckle occasionally).

Add-in salt and adjust the taste accordingly.

Dish-up, best serve with dipping sauce and accompany with rice.

To prepare the dipping sauce, mix all ingredients together, bring to boil and it is now ready to apply.

Schweinshaxe (German Crispy Skin Pork Knuckle/Hock/Shank)

Ingredients:

1 (600 g) pork knuckle
3 cups water

1 onion, quartered
1 carrot, roughly cut
2 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp black peppercorn, cracked
5 cups water
1 tbsp salt
enough oil for deep-frying

Method:

Clean pork knuckle by plucking-off hair and scraping the surface of rind to remove dirt.

In a pot, bring 3 cups of water to boil.

Add-in pork knuckle to scald for 1o minutes.

Drain well and again, clean the pork knuckles by plucking-off any leftover hair and scrape the rind; set-aside.

In a pot, add-in pork knuckle, onion, carrot, black peppercorns, garlic and water, cooked covered for 2 hours or till the pork knuckle is soften and tender.

Remove the pork knuckle from the pot (reserves the stock) and drain well with the help of running fan for about 30 minutes or till dried.

In another pot, heat oil over high heat.

Deep-fry the pork knuckle till golden brown and crispy (about 20 minutes).

Remove from oil and drain well on paper napkins.

Transfer the pork knuckle onto a serving plate.

Add-in enough the reserved stock and serve warm with cooked vegetables salad, vegetable balls or mashed potatoes.

Zhu Jiao Chu (Black Vinegar Pork Knuckle)

Ingredients:

1 or 2 (500-1000 g) pork knuckles
3 cups water
3 tbsp black rice vinegar

4 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 bulb garlic, crushed or chopped
350 g (3 x 3 inches thumbs) fresh ginger, crushed or sliced to thin strips
2 dried chili
5 - 6 cups water (it will be evaporated for simmering the pork knuckles till tender)
2 cups black rice vinegar
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 hard boiled eggs, gently broke the shell (shell-on for extra calcium; add more if desired)
2 dried chinese mushroom, soaked
1/2 - 1 cup sugar (brown sugar/rock sugar/sugar) or to taste
1 tsp salt or to taste

Method:

Clean pork knuckles by plucking-off hair and scraping the surface of rind to remove dirt.

In a pot, boil 3 cups of water with 3 tbsp vinegar.

Add-in pork knuckle to scald for 1o minutes.

Drain well and again, clean the pork knuckles by plucking-off any leftover hair and scrape the rind; cut to 4 pieces; set-aside.

Heat oil in a deep wok or pot, fry ginger and garlic till fragrant and start to golden brown (about 2 minutes).

Add-in the remaining ingredients and lastly pork knuckle, bring to boil covered/uncovered for 30 minutes

Reduce heat and let to simmer covered/uncovered for at least 2 hours or till the pork knuckle is soften and tender (stir occasionally).

Finally, adjust taste accordingly with sugar and salt .

Remove from heat and serve hot with rice.

Chinese Fragrant Spareribs

Ingredients:

600 g pork spareribs
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1/4 cup plum sauce
2 1/4 tbsp water
2 tbsp Shen Yuan Hua Diao wine
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
1/2 tsp black pepper

Method:

In a saucepan, stir to incorporate soy sauces, plum jelly, water, wine, garlic powder, five-spice powder till jelly dissolves.

Let the mixture to cool to room temperature.

Pour mixture into a zip-lock bag, add-in spareribs, seal bag and shake to coat spareribs with sauce.

Keep in refrigerator to marinate overnight.

Place marinated spareribs on an aluminum foil baking tray, cover with foil (reserves the marinade).

Bake spareribs in preheated oven at 230 °C for 30 minutes.

Remove spareribs from oven, drain liquid from baking tray.

Return spareribs to oven and bake uncovered at 180 °C for another 15 - 30 minutes or till cooked thoroughly (turn and bast spareribs several times with the reserved marinade).

Remove spareribs from oven and serve hot with rice.

Siew Pau (Crispy Pork Buns)

Ingredients:

Char Siew Filling:

500 g pork belly, diced
4 chinese dried mushroom, soaked, drained and diced
1 large onion or shallot, finely chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Pork Marinade
2 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp light soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp shao xing wine
1/2 tsp chinese five spice powder
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/4 tsp salt

Seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp shao xing wine
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp water

Pastry:

1 cups all purpose flour
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup iced water
100 g butter

Egg Glaze:

1 egg yolk
1 tsp water

Method:

Char Siew Filling:

In a bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients.

Marinate pork for at least 2 hours or overnight in refrigerator.

In a pan or wok, heat oil over moderate heat, stir-fry onion still fragrant and begin to be golden yellow.

Add mushroom, stir-fry for another 2 minutes.

Add pork, stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes.

Add-in all the seasoning ingredients, stir till pork is cooked-thorough, homogeneously incorporated with thickened gravy and almost dry up.

Dish up and set aside to cool completely.

Pastry:

In a large bowl, combine flour, egg and salt.

Slowly, pour-in water and knead till resulted to smooth dough, cover with kitchen towel and leave to rest at cool corner for 30 minutes.

Wet fingers with water, knead butter till obtaining consistence texture, form into rectangular block.

On a well-floured working surface, roll out dough into big rectangular and place the butter block onto the upper-middle of dough.

Fold another half of dough onto butter, roll slightly on dough with rolling pin to spread out the internal butter and incorporated with dough, leave to rest for 5 minutes.

Well-flour hands, rolling pin and working surface, roll out dough into 1 cm thickness rectangular, fold-in two ends of dough into middle forming 3 layers and roll out again, repeat rolling and folding for 3 times, place on glass plate, leave in refrigerator to rest for 15 minutes (repeat the whole rolling, folding and resting process for another 2 times).

Assembly:

Roll out dough into about 3 mm thick rectangular, cut into individual 6 x 6 cm rectangles.

Place enough filling onto middle of each rectangle, fold-up four edges toward center, twist to seal completely.

Place char siew sou on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Brush each char siew sou surface with egg glaze and bake in preheated oven at 190 °C for 30 minutes or until pastry puff-up and became golden brown.