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Roast Pork Puffs
Roast Pork Puffs
These roast pork puffs are very reminiscent of Chinese steamed pork bao, except the dough is made out of puff pastry. They are baked instead of steamed, resulting in a buttery flaky exterior.
Equipment
- rolling pin
- muffin pan with liners
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup white onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1/3 cup chicken stock
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup char siu roast pork finely diced
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions for 4 minutes.
- Pour in the soy sauces, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and sugar. Simmer for a minute.
- Whisk in the chicken stock and cornstarch. Reduce the heat to medium low and allow to thicken for a couple of minutes.
- Add in the char siu. Allow the filling to completely cool.
- Roll out the puff pastry sheet on a floured surface.
- Cut into 16 squares.
- Scoop a tbsp of the filling into the center of the pastry square.
- Place another sheet over the top. Crimp the edges with a fork.
- Put each pork puff into a greased muffin liner in a muffin pan. Brush the tops with the egg wash.
- Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds.
- Bake the pork puffs in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes until golden brown.
Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
If I was put on death row and asked what the last thing on Earth that I'd like to eat, my final meal, char siu would be on the top of the list. I have loved this bbq pork ever since I was a little kid. My family would order everything with bbq pork in it from the Chinese restaurant that we got take out from. I love this pork so much, I snuck some of the pork in the picture into the movie theatre in a ziplock bag.Char siu is typically made out of pork shoulder. It can be made out of pork sirloin, pork loin, or tenderloin; but they tend to be less juicy than pork shoulder. Fat is a good thing here. You will want a 3lbs. piece of boneless pork shoulder. I purchased a whole bone in shoulder and processed out the coppa roast and the flat iron, If the coppa roast was a beef cut, you'd know it as a chuck eye roast. You don't have to go to this extreme. You can use any part of the shoulder. I just happen to know how to cut these muscles out of the shoulder and use them. Cut the pork shoulder into 2" in diameter chunks with the grain. The char siu gets its color from the red bean curd. If you've ever seen this pork really red, the color will be coming from red food coloring. But I want to avoid food coloring as much as possible. The red color in the bean curd comes from a natural fungus. This pork needs to marinate for at least 3 days.When ready to cook the pork, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Yes, 400 degrees. Normally when you think of cooking pork shoulder, you cook it low and slow. Not here. It will be tender. Trust me. I was skeptical the first time I tried making this. Roast this for 15 minutes. Pull it out of the oven and brush on the glaze. Roast for 7 minutes. You want to do this for 3 times total. The honey will caramelize the outside while the bean curd juice will give it a nice red color. Once done roasting, let sit for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless pork shoulder
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 3 red bean curd cubes + 2 tbsp liquid
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese 5 spice powder
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 3/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
Pork Glaze
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp red bean curd liquid
- 1 tbsp cooked marinade
Instructions
- Take a 3lb. piece of pork shoulder and cut it into a few long chunks with the grain. Each piece should be around 2″ in diameter. In this picture, I cut out the coppa roast and the flat iron. The coppa roast is the center muscle of the shoulder. If this was beef, you’d know it as a chuck eye roast.
- Mix together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, red bean curd cubes and liquid, 5 spice powder, honey, cooking, wine, white pepper, sesame, oil, and garlic cloves. Mash the bean curds into a paste. Mix everything thoroughly.
- Add the pork shoulder pieces and the marinade to a gallon sized ziplock bag. Marinate for 72 hours. Turn the bag over every 12 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lay the pork shoulder pieces on a rack onto of a foil covered baking sheet. Add a couple cups of water to the baking sheet to prevent smoking. Roast the pork for 15 minutes.
- While the pork is roasting, mix together honey, red bean curd liquid, and some of the marinade. Make sure to cook the marinade in the microwave for a few seconds before mixing in. Now you have your pork glaze.
- After the first 15 minutes of roasting, take the pork out of the oven and brush on the pork glaze. Don’t worry about getting the bottom. Put the pork back in the oven and roast for 7 minutes. Repeat this step 2 more times, for a total of 3 glazes.
- After the final glazing and roasting, let the pork rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Cuban-Style Pork Chops
Cuban-Style Pork Chops
Cuban-style pork chops are marinated in sour orange juice, white wine, a lot of garlic, cumin, and oregano. The pork gets seared for a few minutes a side, then removed from the pan. Onions are sautéed, then quickly simmered with the reserved marinade with the pork chops finishing off in the citrusy sauce.
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in pork chops 3/4” – 1” thick
- 1 white onion thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Marinade
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Mix the marinade ingredients together.
- Marinate the pork chops for 8 hours.
- Heat up half of the olive oil on a large sauté pan or griddle over medium high heat. Place the pork chops on the griddle, reserving the marinade.
- Sear the pork chops for 3 minutes a side. Remove from the pan.
- Heat up the rest of the olive oil. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes until translucent.
- Pour the marinade into the pan. Place the pork chops on top of the onions. Turn the heat to medium low and cook the pork chops for 4 more minutes, turning over in the sauce and onions every minute.
Shrimp and Chili Paste Stir Fry
Shrimp and Chili Paste Stir Fry
It’s getting to be that time of the year where I have an excessive amount of basil in my garden and it needs to be used up sooner than later. Here is the perfect recipe to use that basil. This shrimp and chili paste stir fry is unbelievably flavorful and ready in 10 minutes with prep work and cooking time.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3 red bird’s eye chilies finely minced
- 1 lb 16/20 ct shrimp peeled and deveined; tails removed
- 1 1/2 cups asparagus cut into 2” pieces
- 1/2 medium white onion thinly sliced
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 1/2 cups Thai basil
Sauce
- 2 tbsp thai chili paste
- 2 tbsp chicken stock
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp fish sauce
Instructions
- Mix together the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a sauté pan or wok over medium high heat. Sauté the garlic and chilies for 1 minute.
- Add in the shrimp in a single layer on top of the garlic and chilies.
- Pour in the sauce. Add in the asparagus, onion, and sugar. Stir fry for 3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the Thai basil.
