Tag: pork
Chinese “Spaghetti Bolognese”
Chinese “Spaghetti Bolognese”
Here is a dish that you won’t find in any Chinese restaurants. Chinese “spaghetti bolognese” is another great example of home cooking that is whipped up in 30 minutes. You can use ground pork, beef, chicken, turkey, and even shrimp as your protein.
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry spaghetti prepared according to package directions
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 24 oz ground pork or ground beef
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/3 cup oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 1/4 cup cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup of water
Instructions
- Heat up the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add in the ground pork and brown for 8 minutes.
- Add in the onions and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the shaoxing wine, chicken stock, soy sauces, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the peas. Cook for a minute.
- Pour in the slurry. Let thicken for a minute or two.
- Toss the pasta with the sauce. Cook for 2 minutes.
Bandeja Paisa
Bandeja Paisa
Bandeja paisa is the most popular dish in Colombia. It’s really more of a platter than a dish. This caloric feast consists of fried chicharon, chorizo, powdered beef, beans, rice topped with a fried egg, fried plantains, a cheese arepa, and sliced avocado. There’s no way around it, you don’t want to eat this very often. Once or twice a year tops. But when you are in the mood for this protein overload, prepare to work for this meal. Plan out a timeline for making all of the components. I recommend making the beans and powdered beef the day before.
Ingredients
- chicharron
- chorizo
- carne de pulvo
- white rice
- fried eggs
- Colombian beans
- cheese arepa
- fried plantains
- avocado sliced
Chicharrón Colombiano
Is there a greater gift to man than the belly of swine? The answer is no. No there isn’t. It is so great that we make the decision to fry this gift in it’s own rendered fat while naked, bathing in it’s crackling bukkake of lipidation. Oh yesss! Pinch that pork nipple.
Ingredients
- 1 lb skin on pork belly
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- water enough to cover
Instructions
- Cut 1” cuts crosswise into the meat of a piece of pork belly, but not into the skin. Rub with baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the pork belly to a large sauté pan. Add enough water to cover the belly. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook until all of the water has evaporated.
- Cook the pork belly for 15-20 minutes depending on thickness. Flip the pork belly every couple of minutes to get even browning. The pork will render out plenty of fat, so no oil or lard required.
Argentinian Chorizo
When we talk about chorizo in South American countries like Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, etc., it couldn’t be more different than Mexican chorizo. Argentinian chorizo usually has a 2 to 1 ratio of pork and beef. It is seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika, and fresh garlic. Red wine is also a major flavor component to the sausage. It is also a raw chorizo, as opposed to the dried Spanish chorizo.
Equipment
- standing mixer
- sausage stuffer
Ingredients
- 3 lbs ground pork
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 1/2 tbsp salt
- 3 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup red wine
- hog casings
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a standing mixer.
- Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed for 2 minutes until all of the ingredients are homogeneous. Place the sausage in the refrigerator for an hour before stuffing.
- Pipe the sausage through a stuffer into the hog casings. Twist to 6” each link.
- Let rest for a couple hours in the refrigerator before cutting.
Cooking the Sausage
- Heat up a tbsp of cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the sausages. Cook for 5 minutes a side.
- Make 5-6 slits half way into the sausage. Cook for a couple more minutes.
Powdered Beef (Carne en Polvo)
Powdered beef is commonly eaten in Colombia as part of a bandeja paisa platter. Flank steak gets marinated, boiled, then pulverized in a food processor until it resembles a powdered form. Carne en polvo is great for little kids who might have a problem chewing pieces of steak. Not me. I was consuming meat at 6 months old like a champion.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 lb flank steak
- 5 cups watet
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1/2 cup white onion chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the flank steak in a storage bag with the garlic, green onions, white onions, cumin, salt, and pepper. Marinate for 24 hours.
- Put the flank steak in a pot of water.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for an hour.
- Strain the meat. Let cool.
- Cut up the flank into chunks and place in a food processor.
- Process until it is finely shredded.
Frijoles Antioquenos
Frijoles antioquenos is a Colombian bean soup that’s bursting with flavor. Pinto or cranberry beans are simmered with pork hocks, plantains, and carrots. After simmering, the carrots are scooped out, puréed in a food processor, then stirred back into the soup to thicken. But the main source of the flavor of this soup comes from the alinos and hogao sauce, which I’ve attached the recipes for below.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried pinto beans soaked overnight
- 3 smoked pork hocks
- 1 plantain cubed
- 2 large carrots each cut into 3 pieces
- 1/2 cup alinos sauce
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 9 cups water
- 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
- 1 cup hogao sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the beans and smoked hocks to a pot of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat medium low and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the cumin, alinos, carrots, and plantains. Simmer for 1 hour.
- Add in the hogao, cilantro, salt and pepper. Continue simmering for 30 minutes.
- Scoop out the carrots along with 1 cup of the bean broth.
- Purée until smooth.
- Add the purée back into the beans. Scoop out the hocks. Cut off any meat and return to the pot. Simmer for 10 more minutes.
Arepas de Rellenos Queso
Arepas de rellenos queso is stuffed with mozzarella cheese and is fried for an extra 2 minutes a side, allowing the cheese to melt. Top it off with a little hogao sauce and cilantro. This is similar to a grilled cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 arepa corn cake
- 2 slices mozzerella
- 2 tbsp hogao sauce
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Cut your arepa in half; like you would an english muffin.
- Put 2 slices of mozzarella inside.
- Add it back into the pan. Cook for another 2 minutes a side until the cheese is melted.
- Top with hogao sauce and cilantro.
Roast Pork and Broccoli Rabe Sandwich (Philly’s DiNic’s knock-off)
Roast Pork and Broccoli Rabe Sandwich (Philly’s DiNic’s knock-off)
There is a legendary sandwich located in Philly at the Reading Terminal Market. No, it isn’t a cheesesteak. This sandwich has been featured on many food travel shows, Good Morning America, etc, and is recognized as the best sandwich in America. In that market is a small food stall named DiNic’s. DiNic’s have perfected the Italian classic roast pork with broccoli rabe sandwich. I have had the opportunity to eat this monstrosity of porky love on 2 occasions; most recently in September 2021 with my homies Brian and Aaron during the Decibel Magazine beer and Metalfest. It is that good. No fucking joke. I look forward to eating this sandwich more than the festival. And now I’ve taken it upon myself to learn how to make this epic sandwich.DiNic’s uses pork shoulder instead of pork loin. Usually when you think of pork shoulder, you think of shredded pulled pork. But this is sliced. The key to this roast pork is to only cook it to 180 degrees internal temperature. It will be sliceable. If you cook it past 200 degrees internal temp, it will fall apart and shred like pulled pork. Quite honestly, that way is good too, but if you want your sandwich to be like DiNic’s, it needs to be sliced. If you happen to have a deli slicer like me, slice that pork as thin as possible. Or you can use a carving knife. The pork gets added back into the juices it cooked in for more flavor and moistness.Broccoli rabe is a bitter green in season during the Fall. It is finely chopped, stems and all, and sautéed in olive oil with garlic and crushed red pepper. The bitterness of the greens balances out the richness of the pork. If you can’t find broccoli rabe, mustard and turnip green are a suitable replacement. I’ve tried all 3 and they’re all pretty close in flavor in this preparation. I think my roast pork and broccoli rabe turned out really close to DiNic’s. There is one thing that sets their sandwich apart from mine, and that is their bread. It has the perfect level of chewiness that soaks up the pork juices without it being a sloppy mess. I recommend using as crusty of a hoagie roll as possible. Anything that is too light won’t be able to handle the moisture from the fillings.
Equipment
- twine
- roasting pan with rack
- meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 4 lbs boneless pork shoulder
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds ground
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 20 garlic cloves minced
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- olive oil
- 4 cups pork stock
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 15 oz canned tomatoes
- 3 bay leaves
Broccoli Rabe
- 2 bunches broccoli rabe washed; finely chopped (can substitute mustard or turnip greens)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
Sandwich
- Italian hoagie buns
- provolone cheese 2 slices per sandwich
- pepperoncinis peppers sliced
Instructions
- Tightly tie your pork shoulder.
- Mix together all of the dried seasonings.
- Make a bed of onions in the bottom of a large bowl. Rub the pork shoulder with the dry rub, minced garlic cloves, parsley, and olive oil. Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator
- Let rest at room temperature for 2 hours before roasting. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place the pork shoulder on a rack on a roasting pan. Save the onions and any other drippings from the bowl. Roast for 30 minutes.
- Mix together the stock, red wine, canned tomatoes, and bay leaves with the saved bowl of onions. Pour that into the roasting pan. Cover the pan with foil and roast for another 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300 degrees and roast for 2 hours.
- Remove the rack from the roasting pan. Place the pork shoulder in the juices. Cover with the foil and roast for another 2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees with a meat thermometer.
- Let the pork rest for 30 minutes before slicing. Save the reserved juices in the roasting pan.
- Remove the twine. Thinly slice the pork shoulder.
- Place the pork back in the pan of juices.
Broccoli Rabe
- Heat up the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the garlic and crushed red pepper for 1 minute.
- Add in the broccoli rabe. Reduce the heat to medium.
- Sauté for 10 minutes until the stems are tender.
Sandwich Assembly
- Toast your bun in the oven for a couple of minutes. Slice open and place the slices of provolone across the inside.
- Place a couple of scoops of the broccoli rabe on one side of the hoagie bun. Then layer the slices of pork on the other side. Spoon over some of the juices if you like your sandwich wet.
