Tag: pork
BBQ Pork Rice Noodle Salad
BBQ Pork Rice Noodle Salad
There is a lot of food prep in making this Vietnamese rice noodle salad; but it pays off in the end. You will see this on just about every Vietnamese menu, served with various forms of protein. My absolute favorite is char siu bbq roast pork. You can use lemongrass marinated grilled pork or chicken, meatballs, and shrimp as well. I just recently ate this at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, IPho by Saigon. I ordered their special and almost couldn’t finish it, it was so big. That’s saying something. It was topped with 2 types of pork, chicken, and shrimp. It was so good that I had to learn how to make it. 5 days later…
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 bunch green leaf lettuce chopped
- 8 oz rice vermicelli noodles prepare according to package
- 2 cup bean sprouts
- 1 cucumber seeded, cut into long strips
- 1 cup pickled carrots and daikon
- 1 cup fresh mint
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1/2 cup peanuts crushed
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1 1/2 lb bbq pork
Dressing
- 6 tbsp water
- 4 tbsp vinegar
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 2 thai chilies thinly sliced
Instructions
- Mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a small pot. Bring to a simmer. Make sure all of the sugar is dissolved. Take off the heat and let cool.
- Assembly: Place a good handful of the leaf lettuce in the bottom of a bowl. Place about 1 cup of the rice noodles on top of the lettuce. Then arrange the ingredients around the perimeter of the bowl, with the peanuts in the middle. Pour the dressing over the top. This recipe makes 4 large servings.
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.
Pickled Carrots and Daikon
These pickled carrots and daikon are used as a topping for banh mi sandwiches. Sweet and vinegary with a nice crunch. These are good in your refrigerator for up to a month.
Ingredients
- 6 oz carrots cut into large matchstick sized pieces
- 6 oz daikon cut into large matchstick sized pieces
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cut your carrots and daikon into large matchstick sized pieces.
- Place them in a bowl with 2 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp salt. Let sit for 5 minutes. Liquid will start to pool at the bottom. Rinse in cold water and pat dry.
- Mix together the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar until dissolved.
- Place the carrots and Daikon in a mason jar. Pour in the brine. Let pickle for a day before use.
Stir Fried Shishito Peppers
Stir Fried Shishito Peppers
I was just introduced to these peppers a couple of weeks ago. Shishito peppers are indigenous to East Asia. They are typically used in stir fry, stews, and can be grilled or eaten raw. What is unique about the peppers is that 1 out of every 10 is spicy. But not really that spicy. They have a taste similar to a green pepper, but kind of remind of a green bean or sugar snap pea. The ones that I just purchased were grown in Mexico.This stir fry is really simple and takes only 10 minutes to make. You leaves the stems on if you’d like and pull them off while eating or take them off before cooking like I did. I happened to have a small chunk of leftover pork loin; so I diced it up and added it to this dish. Bacon or shrimp would be great protein substitutes. Omit the protein to make this side dish vegan.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 16 oz Shishito peppers stems removed
- 4 oz pork loin julienned
- 2 shallots diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Heat cooking oil in a large sauté pan or wok over medium high heat. Add in the peppers, pork, shallots, garlic, and salt. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add in the soy sauce. Cook for 4 minutes.
- Stir in the sesame oil and sesame seeds. Cook for 1 minute, then turn off the heat. Crack black pepper to you taste.
Roast Pig Head
Roast Pig Head
I’ve been wanting to roast a pig head for a long time. Stoned Soup contributor Melanie Paradise had the idea of having site followers vote each month on a “weird” ingredient for myself to prepare. For the first poll, I had followers chose between a pig head or a pig stomach. With 79% of the vote, pig head won overwhelmingly. Unless you’re from the south, most Americans wouldn’t even consider eating a pig’s head. But we sure love to eat hotdogs in the country, don’t we. Other than the crispy skin, amazing flavor, and tenderness from the pig’s cheek, jowls, and other bits of head meat, the purpose of eating the head is to utilize the entire animal. This is something that pretty much every other culture in the world does; a concept that is hard to grasp in our country. Most Americans would consider this a garbage cut and not even consider trying a pig head. And that ideology is what Stoned Soup is set out to destroy.Pretty much the only place you can find pigs head at is an Asian market. They sell half and whole pigs head at my favorite market for $1.59lb. I purchased a 5lb Head for $8. They come wrapped on a tray next to all the other pork cuts. The pigs head are usually cut either horizontals through the mouth and back of the head or vertically from the top of the forehead to the bottom of the jowl. They still have the eye, ear, and tongue attached. They can be anywhere from 4-8lbs a half a pig head. This preparation is a simple Filipino recipe. The outer skin is rubbed with vinegar and spices then allowed to dry out in the refrigerator overnight. When ready to cook, place the pig head on a rack in a baking pan. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Roast the pig head for 3 hours. Roasting at this tempature helps render out a lot of fat from the head. Then turn your oven up to 325 degrees. Roast for 90 minutes up to 2 hours, depending on the size of the head. Roasting at this tempature cooks the head meat. Finally, turn your oven up to 425 degrees. Roast for 30-60 minutes. Roasting at this tempature crisps up the outer skin. Let rest before carving off the face meat. There happens to be a decent amount of meat from the head; at least 2lbs of meat and another lb. of crispy pig skin. You also have the tongue and crispy pig ear to chew on. The cheeks of the pig are the richest and most tender cut as far as I’m concerned. If you take off all of the meat and chop it up, you’d think you’re eating the most succulent pork shoulder you’ve ever had. Nothing “weird” about the taste or texture. You could say that it tastes “normal.” Pigs head are a great centerpieces for parties. The meat and skin can be eaten as is or chopped up for sisig, another great Filipino dish. I’m planning on turning mine into tacos. So if you want to try something that looks different but really isn’t in flavor, try roasting up a pig’s head. If you think you are being brave trying something like this. You’re not. Get over yourself and get some culture. End of pig head rant.
Ingredients
- 5-8 lb half Pig Head
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Rub the vinegar and spices over the pig head. Let rest uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. When ready to cook, place in a pan on a rack.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Roast for 3 hours. Turn oven up to 325 degrees. Roast for 2 hours. Turn oven up to 425 degrees. Roast 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of the head.
- Let rest for 15 minutes before carving.
