Air-fried Chinese Roast Pork Belly

I must confess. 
As much as I love roast pork, esp the crackling, I've never attempted this at home ... til now.
Fearing all that splatter in my oven and the smells that might contaminate my cakes, etc etc, I've managed to live on store bought roast pork. In this region, I can get by quite happily since there are so many good ones about. 
Then the air fryer came about, caught my eye, got me wondering, wanting, checking out various recipes that have been successfully done in one. I've been putting off getting an air fryer for the longest time. You know, new toy, play with it for awhile, get tired of it and then makes way for the next new gadget and takes up what little space I have. Wait and wait some more ...shall I, shan't I?
Then I visited a neighbouring country and found a locally made air fryer for less than half the price of the popular branded one. Everything about it screams COPY but hey, works the same and it might be sitting on the shelf in a couple of months due to boredom or whatever. Why the heck not?

So here I am, trying out everything I possibly can with it. And boy, I am so happy with this thing, I'm willing to put it in the same <3 category as the slow cooker. 

I've done the basics of potato fries, eggplant, you know .... zzz
I needed to do this at least once and you can see why I'm so happy with it. The crackling turned out super! I'll definitely be making this again.

Cleaning was easy and the color was nice and even. And I believe it takes a shorter time than in a regular oven. Meat below the crackling was moist and tender. The only complaint is having to pierce the skin....I really need to find a better and easier way to do that. But, Oh, the satisfaction of seeing that bubbling crackle!

I'm using the basic instructions from bakecooklove and tweaked some.

Ingredients

about 700g pork belly (with skin intact, cleaned and wiped dry)

salt
white vinegar

Marinade: 

1 tsp 5 spice powder
half tsp white pepper
pinch of salt
roasted garlic paste (just plonk a whole bulb of garlic in the air fryer, cook for a few minutes @ 180°C until it's soft enough to mash)

Method

I did not blanch or boil the meat as instructed as I figured all that natural sweetness would just go to waste. 

Pierce the skin with a fine, sharp skewer. Don't get lazy with this part. The more holes the merrier. 
Rub the marinade ingredients into the meat part only.
Leave in fridge overnight uncovered to dry out the skin.
(I pierced more holes after drying out the skin ... )
Preheat the air fryer at 180°C.
In the meantime, brush the skin with white vinegar and coat with salt. (Just put salt in a wide bowl or plate and dip the skin onto it. )
Wrap the bottom part with foil, leaving the skin exposed.
Air fry for about 20 mins. Remove from air fryer and scrape off the caked up salt.
Air fry again for about another 20 mins or until skin is nice and golden and crackly.

Enjoy while warm. 
Should there be any leftovers (you're kidding!), just plonk it into the air fryer for about 3 mins and the crackling will be nice and crunchy again. 


For those who are thinking of getting an air fryer but in doubt of which to get, here are some reviews of certain models which you may or may not find in your area. 
https://www.reviews.com/air-fryer/

Easy Dinner Rolls

Oh ….

My ….

Gawdness!!

This must be the easiest and fastest bread recipe I’ve ever tried!

And they turned out super!

Soft and tender crusted rolls. Not the hard crust dinner rolls.

My bread machine decided to die on me. I haven’t been making bread since my tennis elbow injury. 

Tried a “No Knead Bread” recipe. It was ok … no great shakes. 

Tonight I had a hankering for some plain soft buns, slathered with butter. I can wolf down a half dozen easily and then regret it all later when I feel like a hippopotamus that can’t swim. So yum!

Had to make some. 

Used a regular stand mixer this time, using the dough hook attachment. 

This is gonna be a repeat recipe for sure …. many, many repeats…probably with some improvisations later. 

Do not be shocked by the amount of yeast. It doesn’t turn out yeasty. All’s good. Tested, tasted and approved by several tonguebuds ...or maybe they're just being polite? 

(Adapted from kitchenmeetsgirl)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup plus 2 tbs warm water

1/3 cup oil (I used grape seed oil)

2 tbs active dry yeast (I used instant yeast)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

3 1/2 cups bread flour / high protein flour

2 tbs butter, melted (for brushing)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 400ºF / 200ºC.

In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine warm water, oil, yeast and sugar. Give it a quick stir and leave to rest for 15 mins. You should have a foamy mush by then.

Mix 2 cups of the flour, salt and egg into the yeast mixture using dough hook attachments. 

Add remaining 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup at a time.
Knead until you have a smooth and elastic dough.

Shape dough into 12 balls (I made into smaller ones and got 18).

Place dough balls into a large baking pan, spacing them apart enough for dough to rise until about doubled in size. Alternatively, you can also bake them in muffin pans.

Let rest for 10 mins (I left mine for 15 mins) or until doubled in size.

Bake for 10 mins (I baked for 10 mins, took them out and brushed with some melted butter and baked a further 5 mins) until tops are just golden brown.

Soooo goooood!!

I've used it as a burger bun, loaded with char shu (Chinese bbq meat) and pickled gherkins with a slathering of mustard. It's a little lighter than the usual burger buns. Okay if the filling isn't too heavy. If you're looking for a good burger bun, you can use this. Great buns for anything.

*Note: unused dough can be frozen before proofing stage. Wrap in cling film and freeze. Thaw, shape and allow to rise to double its size and bake as per instruction above.

Thanksgiving Roasted Duck & Sundried Tomatoes Pasta

Okay, so I cheated, and used a store bought roasted duck. 
Hey, Thanksgiving isn't even celebrated big time here. It should, if not just to remind everyone to be thankful and doesn't have to be about any country's traditions and shmaditions if you don't want it to be. Gratitude is the keyword, not stuffing, yams or turkeys .... or even pasta ... well, it can be, but gratitude comes first, and then stuffing, yams and turkeys ... even pasta.

I'm thankful, even after several months of sadness, mishaps and not-nice whatnots, I still have some sanity and strength left in me. Thankful that I still have some time to make and post this. Thankful that you are reading this. Thankful to be here. 
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I've never had to roast a duck (I'm thankful for that too, altho I'd like to try do so one fine day). People seem to like giving me roast duck. I get this quite often. I love roast duck ... any which way. I'm happy.
I was given this, I said thanks. Thanks-given. Thanksgiving ... get it? Oh well ...
This one was roasted in the Cantonese style, with a strong flavor of five spice. You can use any kind of roasted duck meat.
The usual way we enjoy this is with fluffy steamed rice and perhaps some vegetable side dish. 
I like teasing off the meat and using them in all sorts of concoctions. This is one of our favorites.

Notice I don't have any measurements. It's up to you how much you stuff you want in your pasta. Just toss everything in.


INGREDIENTS

Roasted duck meat, sliced
Garlic, finely chopped
Sun-dried tomatoes, sliced (if not using those already packed in oil, soak dried ones in hot water until soft)
sweet basil leaves
salt, to taste
chilly flakes, optional

prepared pasta (I used Vermicelli, the finer spaghetti)


METHOD

Saute chopped garlic in a little oil until fragrant but not burnt. (If you have duck fat, it would be awesome!)
Stir in chilly flakes, if using.
Add in duck meat. 
And then the tomatoes.
Stir fry for a couple of minutes.
Toss the prepared pasta to mix evenly with everything.
Season with salt to taste.
Finally add in the sweet basil leaves just before serving.


Sounds simple? I can tell you, the sun-dried tomatoes, basil and the roasted duck goes perfect with each other! 
This is actually similar in method to the shrimp/seafood pasta recipe, just a twist to the ingredients.



                         ~ Thank you for being you ~

Easy 2 Potato Salad

On a less dramatic note ... (see previous post)


My diet have recently been kicked out the window BUT I'm totally ok with it. Was off for a weekend of food and relaxation .... mainly food. That episode might get turned into a "Just for Reads" post soon.
But for now ....


It looks like I have a "Quickie" series going here.


Quick doesn't have to be boring, even if it's just using the fewest ingredients.
In fact, some of my quickie meals turn out to be quite the favorite at home, with friends and even on Foodbuzz  (now known as DailyBuzz), to the point of getting Top 9!
I am so thrilled and encouraged by it, knowing that I don't have to slog over a hot stove for hours, have fancy gadgets or have a fancy camera with fancy lighting to turn out a dish that looks and tastes good. Fancy that!


We had a pretty heavy and late lunch today and just didn't feel up to another heavy meal for dinner. But we still needed to eat something otherwise it's gonna be a rather unhealthy midnight, raid-the-fridge type moment.


I wouldn't call this a proper meal. It makes a great side dish. We just love potatoes around here. And I had a bunch of sweet potatoes and chats lying around. Also, I'd had this salad at one of our regular hangouts and I thought it was such a lovely salad to have even on its own. So, I'm doing a copycat here. Shhh ... I'm trying to save my arm and my leg, if you know what I mean.




INGREDIENTS


Sweet potatoes / yams, peeled and cut into chunks
Chat potatoes or any waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
a little oil (I used grapeseed)
a good amount of finely chopped parsley (I used the curly leafed ones)
toasted pine nuts
salt to taste




METHOD


Preheat oven to 200C.
Toss the potato chunks evenly to coat with the oil. (Just a light coat will do, definitely not dripping).
Place potatoes on a parchment lined baking tray and roast for about 30 - 40 mins, depending  on the size of your chunks. (When it's nice and lightly browned, it's done, or just poke a fork through a piece to check).
Remove from tray and toss with salt, chopped parsley and toasted pine nuts.


So simple. So tasty. So satisfying!
And to think they charged me both my limbs for that at the eaterie. Huh. 

Rambutan Jam & Country Style Ribs

Is it rambutan season already? Gosh.

Some folks feel the years go by from the changes in weather. In this part of the world, we get that from the fruiting seasons. And I believe we get rambutans twice a year.

We have a huge old rambutan tree in the backyard that refuses to go away to rambutan heaven. When we first moved in, we saw that it could cause a bit of a problem safety-wise if it doesn't get chopped down. So we did just that.

Today, it's half its height but still bearing fruit, not the biggest and juiciest but still sweet and nice. And I believe it's trying to tell us that it's not ready to fold up it's branches by giving us a whole lot of fruit every year.

The squirrels are happy, the civet cats are happy, the birds are happy and most of all, my neighbors are happy. After making everyone happy, I still have a ton of fruit left. There's only so much one can eat and I've given away sackfuls.

And so I do what I always do with too many fruits ... make jam.

Why not? They keep, they make good gifts, they taste great with everything, they're versatile (can be turned into marinades, cordials, sauces, ice cream...).

Strangely enough, eaten on its own, the rambutan tastes pretty good. But as a jam, it tastes just like plain ol' syrup (sugar and water with no flavorings). So I had to liven it up a tad and add some lemon juice. Magic!

This turned out better than I'd hope. Not a jam to be eaten with toast, altho I don't see why not ... just saying what my tastebuds are telling me.

And they're saying this loudly, "MOVE OVER, MINT JELLIES & APPLE SAUCES!"

It went super with our roast rack of lamb this last Christmas and before that, we had it with roasted country-style ribs. Absoverylutely yummerlicious!

The only tedious part of this process is peeling the flesh off the seeds.

I've also included the recipe for the Roasted Country-style ribs here using the brining method. This is a method to be talked about at length in another post (maybe). I've found the results rather satisfying and the process useful when it comes to roasting big chunks of meat (not steaks).

RAMBUTAN JAM

INGREDIENTS

(feel free to double the amount)

3 cups peeled & seeded rambutans

juice of 1 large lemon

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

METHOD

Plonk rambutan flesh into a food processor. Buzz until you get a texture you're happy with. I made mine a little chunky as I like a bit of bite.

Put everything into a pot.

Cook on medium heat until all sugar has dissolved.

Lower heat and allow to simmer for about 15-20 mins or until it turns all gooey. (Sorry, I'm not one who uses a thermometer, poor neglected thing) or just do a cold plate test.

Do not allow sugar to caramelize.

Bottle.

ROASTED COUNTRY-STYLE RIBS

(Country-style ribs refers to the meatiest variety of ribs)

INGREDIENTS

2.5 - 3 kg rack of Country-style ribs (in this case, it's pork)

Dry English mustard

2 - 3 tbs molasses

brine solution (see below)

METHOD

With a small, sharp pointy knife, stab the rack to death! Stab! Stab! Stab! (Watch for the bones tho, don't want to break your knife there).

Rub dry mustard and molasses all over rack. ( I didn't measure how much mustard I'd used but I'd estimate about an ounce or so, enough to coat the rack generously).

Leave in fridge for a couple of hours.

Prepare brine:

Mix together 1/4 cup kosher / coarse salt with 1 cup of water and dissolve over heat.

Leave to cool.

When cooled, mix solution with about 5 cups of cold water (more if needed, to cover meat completely)

Place seasoned meat in a large baggy/ non-reactive container and cover completely with brine. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight or in my case, 4 hours.

We cooked this in the bbq, covered and on very low heat for 2 1/2 hours. Make sure the temperature at the center of the meat is at 71˚C otherwise it's not safe to eat. (This is pork, remember?)

*Okay: confession time. I don't know whether the brining process worked its magic on the rack this time since pork is already quite fatty and sweet and not prone to drying out too much. I'm just telling it as what we did (we had some fun tho .. all experimental), and whether the dry rub was necessary in this case.

I definitely will be trying this out on other meats and learning more about this process and will keep you informed.

FYI: a basic brine solution would be:

4 cups cool water

1/2 cup kosher salt / coarse salt

1/2 cup sugar

Since I had used molasses, I omitted the sugar in the solution.

Roasted Spring (Clean) Vegetables

Spring vegetables (not that it's spring here), sprung clean (is there such a term?) from my forever packed fridge. I really gotta love my fridge. It's definitely working overtime and over capacity (is it ever!) and still is working great all these years. Shhh .... Better not say it out too loudly .... nah, not (really) superstitious.

Anyway, I'd found a bag of baby radish (spring/summer radish), baby carrots, baby onions (pickling onions), mini yellow tomatoes (grape tomatoes) and a bunch of other stuff in my chiller compartment. Too lazy (just back from a weekend, mini high school reunion of sorts) and exhausted from lack of sleep, decided to throw everything in the oven and have a simple dinner. No frills.

INGREDIENTS

baby radishes, tops trimmed and halved

baby carrots

mini yellow tomatoes (grape tomatoes), halved

baby onions / shallots, halved

large cloves of garlic (mini doesn't do it here)

sesame seeds, lightly toasted

1-2 tbs soy sauce

grapeseed oil

sesame oil

balsamic vinegar

METHOD

Preheat oven to ... um ... hot. (Gosh, I can't remember but I think it was around 200˚C).

Place radishes, carrots, onions, tomatoes and garlic into a deep bowl. Drizzle with a little grapeseed oil, toss to coat evenly.

Line baking tray with parchment (less mess) and dump veges in it into a single layer if possible.

Roast for 20 mins. Remove from oven and stir in soy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil.

Roast for another 15 mins or until veges are slightly browned at the edges. Mash up the garlic cloves ... they're beautifully soft and sweet at this point, and toss it together with the veges.

Drizzle with some balsamic vinegar.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Serve hot with a leafy salad or in my case, I had it with some pasta, bacon bits and roughly chopped Frisée.

East Meets West Char Siew / BBQ Meat

I have to admit this isn't the regular Char Siew / Chinese Sweet Bbq Meat recipe. I had discovered this combination of ingredients due to a spur of the moment inspiration (also due to a lack of the proper ingredients in my pantry) and it seemed to work really well together. There is the super Chinese ingredient (Dong Quai/Chinese Angelica) and then there's the super non-Chinese ingredient, Liquid Smoke (I'm not claiming it's American, altho I was introduced to it in the States, coz I'm not too sure where this originated from).... hence, East meets West, and formed a great alliance.... world peace :D

There are many versions of this roast meat, even chicken meat have been used in place of pork for the non porky people but I'll have to say that it's just not the same. The fat in the pork belly is actually what gives the moistness and richness in the taste and of course the kind of "sweetness" that only pork fat can give.... yumminess!

Here goes ... some Chinese folks will be shaking their heads at this ... oh well....

INGREDIENTS

1/2 kg pork belly (not too fatty, skinned)

2 tbs hoisin sauce

2 tbs thick caramel soy sauce

1 tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp food grade rose water (it's suppose to be rose wine but I didn't have that)

1 tsp liquid smoke (this can be replaced with Worcestershire sauce & is optional, it's just to give it a smoky flavor)

1/2 - 1 tsp ground Dong Quai / Chinese Angelica herb (also optional)*

*(you can also substitute the Dong Quai with 5 spice powder altho it will result in a different flavor)

METHOD

Divide belly into 2 - 3 strips. (The thicker the strips the longer it takes to cook).

Put everything into a baggy, coat the meat well and leave to marinade overnight in the fridge.

When ready, preheat oven to 200˚C.

Remove strips of meat from the baggy, saving the marinade for basting. Place meat on parchment-lined baking tray. Roast for 15 mins. Turn meat over, baste with marinade and roast for another 10 - 15 mins. Remove from oven.

Heat a non stick pan or grill pan, brush the meat with the leftover marinade. Char meat a little or as much as you like, baste and char other side. Remove from pan and leave to rest for 10 mins before slicing.