Chinese Steamed Black Pepper Pork Ribs

First of all, Spice Divas would like to wish you a Happy New Year. We hope you had a good Christmas with your family and friends. Christmas is one of our favourite holidays as it is filled with laughter, tons of food and good wine (for sure)! 

The year of 2013 has been great to us. We have more readership and managed to post more recipes to share with our readers. If you really really love our site and recipes, we strongly encourage you (ok, maybe begging you) to pass the word: forward our link to your family and friends. This blog was created out of our passion to cook and share with you all. Leave us comments in our blog. We would love to hear from you! 

As for myself, 2013 has been a great year. With all hard work and perseverance, I am happy to announce that my son, baby A, who is 17 months old now is free of eczema. He was on a special elimination diet for 4 months and we now are able to find certain foods that trigger his itchiness. As for now, he is able to tolerate wheat and dairy. We still have more allergens and food to introduce to see his reactions. The journey will not be short but I am sure it will be a fruitful one. Ever since Baby A was diagnosed with eczema, I have become more aware of this chronic skin disease. I did my research and was told by health professionals that eczema, unfortunately, has no cure. There are treatments only and he will grow out of it. But the question was: how long do we have to wait? Do we need to just sit and do nothing and wait for him to grow out of it while he is itchy here and there? 

With the success story that I have, I am hoping to be able to help mothers out there who have children who suffer from multiple allergies or eczema that triggered by food sensitivities or allergies. In the course of 4 months of elimination diet, I have developed recipes that are allergy-free and are baby/toddler friendly. In the coming year of 2014, I will share those recipes and hopefully, able to inspire mothers that living allergy-free may not be hard at all! We also received some emails from our viewers if we will eventually be blogging on dot com. We are happy to announce that we are working hard and on our way to launch our website to dot com, so stay tuned! We will also get our site exposed to social media so be prepared to see us launching our account on facebook, pinterest and twitter!

New Year is only one sleep away but my mind is already ahead of celebrating Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year will fall on January 31st in 2014. In South East and East Asia, it is the biggest celebration, just like Christmas in the western hemisphere. The holiday is celebrated for 15 days with family and friends visiting, chatting over plates of food as well as Chinese New Year snacks and cookies. I will be posting more recipes to come in the near future so you can celebrate Chinese New Year with your family and friends in style! 

Today I am featuring a Chinese Steamed Black Pepper Pork Ribs. This dish is juicy, succulent and flavoured with the spiciness from black pepper sauce and the sweetness from honey. It is one of my favourites and my mother-in-law loves this dish dearly when she came to visit this summer. I think it is a perfect dish to serve on Chinese New Year's Eve or even any other weekday dinners. 

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.2 kg pork side ribs (request your butcher to cut into bite sizes)
• 3 1/2 tbsp Lee Kum Kee brand black pepper sauce
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp corn starch

METHOD:

1. In a small bowl, mix the black pepper sauce, garlic, soy sauce and honey with a spoon till uniform
2. Place bite-sized pork side ribs in a heat-proof dish, pour the sauce in and mix well 
3. Add in the corn starch, mix uniformly and marinate for at least 4 hours in the fridge. Best if left marinated overnight
4. In a steamer, boil water. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, place the pork side ribs (with the heat-proof dish) in a steamer
5. Steam for 35 minutes and best served warm

Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Greens

After 4 months of no activity, I am glad to be back in action again. Cooking has been quite challenging with a baby crawling all over the house. My son has just celebrated his 1st birthday and am glad I now have some time on my own while he is in a daycare. Soon, I will be returning to work. Hence, I am now cooking like a storm and freeze some dishes for busy days ahead. The Chinese style Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Greens is in my cooking list this week. 

If you grew up in a Chinese family, you probably know this dish. It's called Mui Choy Khau Yoke, a traditional Hakka meat dish known with its rich fatty flavour, saltiness from preserved mustard greens and sweetness from sweet soy sauce. It is served in many Chinese restaurants here in Canada and our family's favourite dish.

Roasted Pork Belly

I grew up in a restaurant environment. My mother runs an Indonesian-Chinese restaurant in Indonesia and she serves this dish every Sunday. By noon, the Mui Choy Khau Yoke will be sold out. Making this dish is quite troublesome as the traditional method requires you to deep-fry the pork belly, then steam the pork slices with other ingredients for 3 to 4 hours. Personally, I do not have the time to spend hours in the kitchen, not when my 1 year old toddler running around the house (that's the reason why I have not updated this blog for quite a while). Cooking in the kitchen at my own time is now a precious moment. Since my son starts to crawl, I no longer have the time to cook and take notes of every recipe in the kitchen. My son is now in a daycare so I thought of cooking this dish and feature it on our blog.

In this post, I have revised my mother's traditional recipe to adapt to our busy lifestyle. Instead of making crispy pork belly from scratch, I buy a readily roasted pork belly from a Chinese grocery store. Also, I opt for braising this pork belly dish in a slow cooker instead of steaming for 3 to 4 hours. I could have used those hours to run errands and by the time I got home, voila! A delicious dish perfect for a family dinner. It is so moist and tender that it melts in your mouth. Best served with a bowl of steamed rice. I am confident that my mother approves this dish and be proud of me.

From left: Dried shrimps, shitake mushrooms, preserved mustard greens, dried squids

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 8 - 10

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs of roasted pork belly, cut into 1 cm thickness
• 1 bunch of Chinese preserved mustard greens
• 9 dried shitake mushrooms
• 1/2 cup dried shrimps
• 1/4 cup dried squids, shredded
• 4 tbsp cooking oil
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 1/2 cups water
• ground white pepper
• 1/2 cup Chinese cooking wine

METHOD: 

1. Soak 1 bunch of Chinese preserved mustard greens for 2 hours. Rinse thoroughly and cut the greens into 1 cm length
2. Meanwhile, soak dried shitake mushrooms with boiling water for 20 minutes. Once soft, slice mushrooms thinly
3. In a separate bowl, soak dried shrimps and squids for 20 minutes. Rinse 
4. In a small bowl, combine light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), chinese cooking wine and water. Mix the sauce well with a spoon 
5. Heat up cooking oil in a pan. Once hot, saute minced garlic till golden brown
6. Add in the preserved mustard greens, dried shrimps, squids and shitake mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes or until fragrant
7. Mix in the sauce, stir and cook till wait. Lower heat and simmer for another 15 minutes
8. In a slow cooker, arrange roasted pork belly slices evenly
9. Add in the cooked ingredients with its sauce and cook for 3 hours

Pork and Mushroom Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps are a light summer appetizer that is easy to make. These are non vegetarian but I sometimes make a vegetarian option by substituting the pork with four kinds of mushrooms - shitake, oyster, cremini and white button. My first encounter with lettuce wraps was when my sister took me to P.F. Chang's where they presented it beautifully with three kinds of dipping sauces. This is a variation of the original and I have no dipping sauces just hoisin sauce added to the mixture. Perfect for the summer, this appetizer is bursting with flavour and colour with a nice variation in texture provided by celery and water chestnuts. Enjoy!

water chestnut

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 - 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb (454 g) lean ground pork
• 2 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup each yellow and red or orange bell pepper
• 3 stalks of celery sliced
• 1 cups of sliced water chestnuts
• 3 green onions sliced
• 1 inch piece of ginger chopped fine
• 1/4 tsp each chili flakes, salt and black pepper (to taste)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 Tbsp Hoisin Sauce (available at most local supermarkets or in Chinese stores)
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 2 heads of Boston lettuce
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil

METHOD :

1. Combine hoisin sauce and cornstarch with 3/4 cup of water and set aside
2. Add pork to a pan, break up large pieces and heat through till cooked and no longer pink. 
3. Remove pork and drain all fat and wipe the pan clean
4. Sauté onions, ginger and garlic till transparent, add mushrooms and cook. Add celery, peppers and water chestnuts until vegetables are cooked but still crisp
5. Add pork to the vegetables, season and mix well
6. Add hoisin and corn starch mixture and cook until the starch thickens 
7. Serve with lettuce

Greek Inspired Pork Souvlaki on Pita

Victoria Day is just a few sleeps away and it's about the time to fire up my BBQ grill! I decided to feature a Greek recipe which I think is a perfect meal for a weekend lunch or brunch.

I love Greek Food and feel fortunate to live in a city where ethnic food can be found easily in every street corner.I first tasted Greek food in 2003 when I was shopping for a dress with my blog partner. She suggested Greek cuisine for a quick lunch and I had a classic Greek entree: pork souvlaki with rice and potatoes. The burst of lemon and oregano give it a unique flavour. My food adventure has now expanded beyond food court franchise-style Greek fare. An acquaintance of mine introduced me to a restaurant called That's Greek Cuisine in Etobicoke about 3 years ago. It is now one of my favourite places for a plate of good Greek food. Their gyros, lamb chops and Saganaki Opa are must to order!

Long story short, this food adventure has also entered into my kitchen. Frequently, I see pork tenderloins on sale in weekly flyers and I certainly do not want to miss this great offer. Pork tenderloin is lean, moist, soft and does not require extensive cooking time. Hence, it is a good choice for pork souvlaki. Here is my version of Greek style pork souvlaki on pita bread!

Skill Level: Easy 

Serves: 8 

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 pieces of Pita bread, white or whole wheat

Pork Souvlaki:

• 1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
• 1 lemon (grate the skin and retain juice for marinate)
• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper or paprika
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Tzatziki Sauce:

• 1.5 cup plain or Greek yogurt 
• 1/2 cucumber, shredded
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 clove of garlic, finely minced
• 1 tbsp honey 
• Black pepper, to taste

Toppings:

• Iceberg lettuce, sliced thinly
• Chopped olives
• Cucumbers, sliced
• Tomatoes, sliced
• Red onions, sliced thinly

 METHOD: 

1. Clean the pork tenderloin by removing the silver lining with a small knife. 
2. Cut the tenderloin into bite sized and mix in all seaonings. Marinade for at least 4 hours or overnight in the fridge
3. Heat up BBQ grill for 325 degree Celcius
4. Grill the pork tenderloin for 5 minutes, on each side or until meat is cooked thoroughly 
5. You can brush the meat with olive oil to help prevent dryness
6. To make the tzatziki sauce, mix in all ingredients and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes
7. Warm the pita bread on BBQ grill for couple of seconds
8. Serve the pita bread with tzatziki sauce, pork souvlaki and toppings

Quinoa with BBQ Pork

This week does not seem to be moving fast enough and the mild winter here in Ontario makes me want to be out walking the dog and enjoying the weather. So for a quick and easy dinner idea for those evenings that you want to spend more time outside, here is the mighty ancient grain Quinoa (pronounced Kee-Noah) in a super simple recipe. I had left over BBQ Pork, but this recipe works just as well with chicken.


Skill Level : Easy
Serves : 4-6


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup frozen shelled Edamame (soy beans)
• 1 cup BBQ pork cubed
• 1/2 onion sliced
• salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

1. Dry roast the quinoa for about 2-3 minutes
2. Add the chicken broth, water and shelled Edamame. Stir well, season, reduce the heat and cover the pot. Allow to cook for ~ 15 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed, fluff up with a fork.
3. In another pan, saute the onion and then add the BQQ pork. Season and cook, adding a little water or broth to soften the meat.
4. When the pork has warmed through, add it to the cooked quinoa.
5. Serve warm.

Braised Soy Sauce Pork

The weather has not been overly cold this winter. However, it does not stop me thinking of comfort food. Chinese style braised soy sauce pork is one of my favourite comfort food. It was one of a few dishes that I learned to cook when I was living away from home. Traditionally, pork belly is used but I substitute it with pork butt to cut down the fat. This dish is uniquely Chinese but I cook with a South East Asian twist by adding fish sauce, spices and sweet soy sauce. Who knows, maybe my comfort food will become yours this winter?

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 10 - 12

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 lb pork butt, cut into 1.5 inch cubes
• 6 hard boiled eggs
• 5 slices of ginger 
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 cup red wine (optional)
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce (for colour) 
• 4 tbsp kecap (ketjap) manis (omit if not available)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce 
• 3 tbsp soy sauce 
• 2 cup water
• 2 star anises
• 1/2 tsp five spice powder
• 1 tbsp brown sugar 
• Salt and white pepper to taste 

METHOD:

1. In a pot or dutch oven, heat up cooking oil and add in garlic and ginger. Cook until fragrant
2. Add in pork butt and cook for another 5-7 minutes
3. Add the rest of ingredients, except brown sugar, and cook until boil
4. Lower down the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour or until meat is tender
5. Mix in brown sugar and hard boiled eggs 
6. Add salt and pepper to your taste and cook for another 10 minutes
7. Serves with steamed rice