Cantonese Roasted Pork Belly

In Cantonese speaking, roasted meat is called “Siu Yuk” while roasted pork belly is called “Siu Nan”. It is very common to order them in Chinese restaurants, like “Char Siu” (the Chinese BBQ pork).  I love Cantonese Roasted Pork Belly very much.  The skin is crispy and the meat is moisture and juicy.  My dad loves it too.  When I was young, my dad always ordered this yummy dish when we had dinner in Chinese restaurants.  It is easy to cook but it takes time to prepare and marinate it.  I always marinate it overnight for better texture and flavor.  I enjoy cooking this for my family.  Hope all of you like it!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Marinating time: overnight in fridge

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Serve: 2

Ingredients:

-         650g pork belly with skin

-         1L water

Seasoning for meat:

-         ½ tbsp Shaoxing wine

-         2½ tsp table salt

-         1 tsp sugar

-         ¾ tsp five spice powder

Seasoning for skin:

-         1 tsp table salt

-         ¼ tsp vinegar

Tools required:

-         1 meat tenderizer needle / a scriber needle

-         2 metal kebab skewers / bamboo skewers

Method:

1.	Scrap away the hair on the skin and clean.  Thread the pork belly on the metal/bamboo skewers.  Then boil water in a saucepan or wok over medium heat and simmer the pork belly for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, use the paper towel to pat the meat dry and let it cool down.
2.	Use a meat tenderizer needle or a thick needle to poke the pig skin until it is full of small holes.  Coat the pig skin with a thin layer of vinegar.
3.	In a small mixing bowl, mix salt, sugar and five spice powder well.  Rub the mixture all over the meat except the skin.  Use the aluminium foil to cover the pork belly except the skin.  Leave the pork belly in the fridge to marinate overnight.
4.	Preheat the oven at 220°c.
5.	Lay the marinated pork belly, skin-side up, on a rack in a roasting tray. Poke the pig skin again and scatter it with salt.  Place the roasting tray at the top of the oven.  Then roast it at 220°c for 15-20 minutes until the skin starts to bubble and turn to golden brown.
6.	In the meantime, uncover the pork belly and place the rack in the middle of the oven.  Reduce to 180°c and roast the pork for 30-35 minutes.  Remove the meat carefully from the oven and leave it to rest for 15-20 minutes.
7.	Chop the pork belly into small pieces and ready to serve with mustard.
	Tips: i. After I tried this recipe several times, I found it’s perfect to brush the vinegar and salt on the skin to make it crispy.  I found some recipes which suggest using baking soda instead of vinegar.  Although the skin is crispy, it is too hard and the texture is not good. ii. If you have time, try to poke as many holes as possible on the skin in order to make it crispy.  At the first time, I failed because I only poke some holes on the skin.

Cantonese Wonton Soup with home-made chicken broth

My family love Cantonese Wonton Soup very much.  Every time we travel to Hong Kong, we must have a bowl of wonton soup.  Wonton noodles are very well-liked by the locals in Hong Kong.  When I was studying at high school, I always have a bowl of wonton noodles for lunch at least twice a week.  It looks like a simple dish but it requires a right combination of rich broth, eggy and springy noodles; and shrimp and pork in order to make a perfect bowl.  The best wonton noodles I have tasted are at Ho Hung Kee. The wontons are a decent size, filled with whole shrimp and some pork. The noodles were glossy, tasted firm and springy.

Today I make a bowl of wonton soup for lunch. I just boil some home-made chicken broth in a quick and simple way instead of canned chicken broth or chicken stock cubes.  I really like wonton soup.  It’s comforting.  It’s the perfect cure-all for a cold day.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serve: 1

Ingredients:

-      8 raw prawns (unpeeled and cleaned)

-      3 tsp egg white

-      8 pieces of wonton wrappers (square-shaped)

-      35g minced pork (10% fat)

-      A drizzle of light soy sauce                      

-      A drizzle of sesame oil

-      A pinch of pepper

-      A pinch of Himalayan pink salt

-      1 spring onion (chopped)

-      1-2 yellow chives (chopped in 2 cm length)

-      50 ml water

Soup:

-      2 cups homemade chicken broth or ready-made chicken broth

-      ¼ tsp sesame oil

Home-made chicken broth (superfast cooked):

-      bony chicken pieces (4-6 pieces of legs or 1 back bone)

-      1 garlic clove (sliced)

-      6g ginger (sliced)

-      1 spring onion (sliced)

-      1 shallot (sliced)

-      2 cups boiled water

-      1 tsp oil

-      ⅛tsp Himalayan pink salt or 1 tsp fish sauce

Method:

1.	Home-made chicken broth: Add oil in a non-stick small pan/saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic, ginger, shallot and spring onion, then stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.  Then add the bony chicken pieces and keep on stir-frying for another 1-2 minutes.  In the meantime, add boiled water and cover.  Simmer for 20 minutes and add a pinch of Himalayan pink salt or fish sauce. Boil for a further 5 minutes. Remove from heat.  Strain the broth through a fine mesh colander into a saucepan.  Discard chicken pieces and other ingredients.  Set aside the clear chicken broth.
2.	Marinate the raw prawns with egg white, a pinch of pepper and a pinch of salt for 5-8 minutes.
3.	Marinate the minced pork with a drizzle of light soy sauce and sesame oil for 5-8 minutes.
4.	In a mixing bowl, mix the prawns and minced pork well. Divide the filling mixture in 8 equal parts, which is one raw prawn with some meat.
5.	Wrap wonton: Fill a small bowl with water. Place one part of filling mixture in the middle of the wrapper.  Wet the finger and run a little water around the edges of the wrapper.  Bring the bottom corner of the diamond up to meet the top corner.  Then press the pastry firmly around the filling mixture.  Dab a little water along the both sides and tightly fold the two corners into the middle.
6.	In a saucepan, add the sliced yellow chives and boil the ready-made homemade chicken broth over medium heat.  Place wontons inside for 3-4 minutes until they float.  Remove from heat.
7.	Drizzle sesame oil in a serving bowl. Place in the cooked wontons, chicken broth and chives
8.	Garnish with spring onion and ready to serve.
	Tips:
i.	You can make more wontons and keep them into freezer for further use.
ii.	There are three to four ways to wrap wontons.  I only suggest using the simplest way to do it.
iii.	For a more rich and strong flavor of home-made chicken broth, more ingredients and a whole chicken will be added. Normally it is simmered for 2-3 hours.

豉油雞

又星期五了，心情特別興奮！昨天去唐人街中式超市發現走地雞減至五折，立即買了一隻回來弄大爺最喜歡吃的豉油雞。他吃得非常滋味，讚不絕口，足足吃了兩大碗白飯！這個食譜簡單又易做，歡迎大家交流心得。祝大家有一個愉快周末！

準備時間：10分鐘

烹調時間：50分鐘

份量：4人

材料：

- 雞 1隻(約1.8 kg)                               

- 生抽 ½ 杯

- 老抽 ¼杯

- 薑 6片

- 蔥 2條（斜切段）

- 蒜頭 2粒（切片）

- 冰糖 30克

- 紹興酒 2湯匙

- 鹽½茶匙

- 陳皮1小塊（泡水浸軟）

- 水 ¾ 杯

- 油1 ½茶匙

做法：

1.	洗凈光雞，抹乾水份。用白棉繩綁好雞腿。用紹興酒抹勻全隻雞身。將鹽塗抹在雞胸內，把 1條葱的葱段和 3片薑片塞進雞肚內，待10分鐘備用。
2.	倒入生抽，老抽和水在一湯碗內，拌勻備用。
3.	在易潔鑊或鍋中，下油爆香3片薑片，蒜片和蔥段約1分鐘。加入果皮、生抽、老抽和水。煮滾後，加入冰糖，調至小火拌勻至糖煮溶。
4.	放下雞隻 (雞胸向下)後，從鑊或鍋中舀豉油汁淋在雞隻外露部份，蓋好用小火煮10分鐘。反轉雞背，再加蓋煮10分鐘。期間從鑊或鍋中舀豉油汁淋在雞上，再次反轉雞身(雞胸向下) ，加蓋煮15分鐘。關掉爐火，使用煲內的餘熱把雞隻繼續炆煮15分鐘。
5.	撈起雞隻，瀝乾豉油，斬件上碟。進食前淋上少許豉油汁。
	温馨提示：
i.	用白棉繩綁好雞腿的好處是烹調時雞腿不易彈開。
ii.	放下雞隻後，全程以小火烹調，滾起時有細小氣泡就可以，注意切勿大火，否則雞肉易變老和不滑。
iii.	將雞隻轉身時，切記輕力用長筷子傍著，太大力會弄破雞皮。
iv.	用針或筷子插進雞腿最厚肉地方，若見有清澈的水流出，即代表雞已煮熟。如見有血水流出，可以小火再煮5-10分鐘。時間長短視乎雞隻大小。