Chinese Slow-cooked Pork: condiments

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Chinese Slow-cooked Pork: condiments

Image by Denni Schnapp
I didn't get a picture of the pork since it disappeared so quickly!

This recipe is rich, so it needs chilli oil and plenty of pickles and soy sauce (you can cut the soy sauce with rice wine vinegar to reduce the salt level).

spicy chinese eggplant and pork

Image by absentmindedprof
mommy, this picture's for you. :)

a couple weekends ago we bought some eggplants at the farmer's market. i finally got around to cooking them yesterday, but first i had to call my mom to ask for her recipe. she must have done a good job giving me instructions because i think my attempt came out as good (if not better!) than what she's cooked for us at home. i think it was my addition of chili sauce.

ingredients:
2 medium-to-large oriental eggplants, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 lb. pork
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 green onion, sliced
vegetable oil
soy sauce
rice wine
sesame oil
chili sauce (optional)

1. marinate the pork in about 2 tbsp each of soy sauce and rice wine, salt, and a tiny bit of sugar.
2. add a bit of vegetable oil to a medium-high pan and saute the garlic until fragrant.
3. add the marinated pork. cook until mostly browned.
4. add another tbsp of soy sauce and let it cook out a bit on the bottom of the pan.
4. add the eggplant and toss around in the pork and soy sauce mixture.
5. cover and cook until the eggplant is tender. depending on how much water/fat is in your eggplant/pork, you may have to add 1-2 tbsps of water or a bit more vegetable oil.
6. about halfway through cooking, add 1 tsp of sesame oil.
7. when the eggplant's done (i like my eggplant pretty mushy because that's how my mom and chinese restaurants cook it), add the green onion and chili sauce. toss to incorporate and cook for one more minute. serve with rice, of course.

Dinner Soup 2-1-07

Image by The_Smiths
This didn't really pair with dinner, but I made it because I had the time (and desire). I've been holding on to a butternut squash since last weekend and have been meaning to make soup out of it for my dear ol' wife, who loves butternut squash soup.

This recipe is inspired by the recipe in the 2006 America's Test Kitchen companion.

Quarter one whole squash, scoop out the fibers and the seeds and put them in a bowl.

Sweat about a cup of finely diced onions in half a stick of butter until the onions are translucent. Add the fibers and the seeds to the butter and onions. Let that cook for a few minutes. The butter will take on some of the rich color of the fibers.

Add six cups of water and some salt, put the four squash pieces cut side down on one of those metal basket steamers, and drop it into pot (or dutch oven, which is what I used). Cover and let cook for like, 40 minutes or so.

Remove the squash, scrape out the "meat", strain the solids out of the liquid left in the pot, and puree the cooked squash in a blender, using the leftover liquids to create a smooth consistency (like baby food). Return the pureed squash to the pot (which you've no doubt cleaned and dried by now), add as much liquid as your preference as far as soup consistency goes, add about a half cup of heavy cream, Chinese Five Spice, and a bit of salt. Heat up and serve.

Mine here is served with a little bit of cream, some fresh ground "rainbow" peppercorns, and a sprig of cilantro.