Twice Cooked Pork

Twice cooked pork is really pork belly and is a loved dish that is very popular.

Ingredients

FOR BLANCHING THE PORK:

• 1 pound of pork belly
• 3 slices of ginger
• 2 pieces of leek
• 3 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorn
• 2 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine
• 1/2 tbsp of dark soy sauce ( mushroom)

VEGETABLES:

• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp of ginger strips
• 5 ounces of leeks
• 3 green chilies and 1 red chili
• Peanut oil

Instructions

• Get a nice piece of pork belly. Make sure it has the clear layer. That will ensure your pork turn out juicy and flavorful.
• Prepared a pot with water. Bring it to a boil. Add in few slices of ginger, 2 pieces of leek, 1 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorn, 2 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine, 1/2 tbsp of dark soy sauce. Then put your meat in.
• Turn the heat to low and let it cook for 30 minutes. Twice cooked pork – That means we need to cook the pork twice. So this is the first time.
• Test the pork with chopstick after 30 minutes. If the chopstick can go through easily, that means it is ready.
• Pop the pork in the fridge. It will help to cool down the pork faster, also, will dry out the surface of the pork and lock the juice inside so when you cut it, there won’t be water splash everywhere.

While waiting, you can prepare your vegetables:

• Ginger, slice it. Then cut it into strips.
• 3 cloves of garlic, peel it then roughly chop it.
• Leeks( scallions) cut it into short strips.
• Chilies, roughly cut it into small pieces.

Now you can take the pork out of the fridge and cut it into thin pieces:

• Let’s start cooking. Heat up your wok. Add a little bit oil in it and put in your pork. Try to separate the meat so most of the pork touches the bottom. Let 1 side cook for about 20 seconds and then give it a mix. Separate it again and cook it for another 20 seconds.
• After 3 minutes, you should see the fat is coming out from the pork. If you don’t like that much fat you can take some oil out. I don’t mind it so I didn’t take it out.
• Now it is time for the seasoning. 1.5 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine, 1.5 tbsp of the broth that we cooked the pork with, 1 tsp of sugar, 1 tsp of sweet bean paste, 1.5 tbsp of Dou ban jiang. Dou Ban Jiang is the most common sauce in Sichuan, if you like Sichuan food, you should store 1 bottle in you kitchen.
• Mix the pork with all the seasoning. Keep cooking this on medium heat. You can tell it is ready by the color.
• Then you can add the rest of ingredients. The garlic, the ginger, the leeks and the chilies. Give it a mix and turn the heat to high. Stir this for 2 minutes until the chilies are getting a little soft and everything is well combined. Take it out and you are done!

Pot roast

The is something very satisfying about a pot roast that is cooked with wine that makes it that much better. This is a good one.

1 (4 to 5-pound) prime boneless beef chuck roast

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

All-purpose flour

Good extra virgin olive oil

2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)

2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)

2 cups chopped celery (4 stalks)

2 large potatoes cut up

2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 to 4 leeks)

5 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 cups good red wine, such as Burgundy (pinot noir)

2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy

1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes in puree

1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade

1 chicken bouillon cube

3 branches fresh thyme

2 branches fresh rosemary

3 bay leaves

Sage

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.
• Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add the wine and Cognac and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bouillon cube, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the thyme, fresh sage, bay leaves and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot.  Add potatoes. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover. Place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender or about 160 degrees F internally. Turn the heat down to 250 degrees F after about an hour to keep the sauce at a simmer.
• Remove the roast to a cutting board. Remove the herb bundle and discard. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth. Pour the puree back into the pot, place on the stovetop over low heat, and return the sauce to a simmer. Place 2 tablespoons flour and the butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Add a jigger of sherry and a jigger of port.
• Taste for seasonings. Remove the strings from the roast, and slice the meat. Serve warm with the sauce spooned over.

Chicken with Dumplings

Although these take considerly more time they are worth the extra effort.

For the Chicken

• 1/2 cup lard or butter 
• 1 large onion finely diced
• 3 celery stalks finely diced
• 5 medium carrots peeled and finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock 
• 1 chicken, roasted shredded

For the Dumplings

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley 
• 1/3 cup chopped chives 
• 1/3 cup chopped jalapeños, red
• 1/3 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
• For the Chicken
• Add ¼ cup of the butter to large pot over medium heat until melted.
• Add onion, celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Cook until veggies get somewhat tender and soft, about 5-6 minutes then place to the side.
• Melt remaining ¼ cup of the butter over medium-low heat. Sprinkle in flour and whisk, allowing it to brown until it becomes golden brown
• Whisk in chicken stock (make sure you are getting the bits of roux stuck to the bottom of the pan too), turn heat up to medium and allow it to get smooth,  then bring to a boil.
• Add the shredded chicken and cooked vegetables to the pot and allow sauce to somewhat thicken.

For the Dumplings

• In a medium bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt and pepper and whisk together. 
• Next add in buttermilk, egg and melted butter until just combined. The mixture should be thick.
• Using a spoon, drop dollops of dough into the pot, dumplings should be separated around a half-inch. They will stay on top. Cover the pot and reduce heat to low.
• Allow dumplings to cook up without lifting the cover for about 20 minutes.  Test dumpling by cutting in half. The dough shouldn’t be raw. If it needs more time, cover, and allow to cook a bit longer.
• Scoop into bowls and sprinkle with parsley add chives to serve.

About forming the biscuits:

Don’t overly mix or form the biscuits less they be tough to eat. Jalapeños and tomatoes are optional. siderly morThe e 
For the Chickens 

• 1/2 cup lard or butter
• 1 large onion finely diced
• 3 celery stalks finely diced
• 5 medium carrots peeled and finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups homemade chicken1 large egg

• 2 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley 
• 1/3 cup chopped chives 
• 1/3 cup chopped jalapeños, red
• 1/3 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
• 
  
• For the Chicken
• Add ¼ cup of the butter to large pot over medium heat until melted.
• Add onion, celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Cook until veggies get somewhat tender and soft, about 5-6 minutes then place to the side.
• Melt remaining ¼ cup of the butter over medium-low heat. Sprinkle in flour and whisk, allowing it to brown until it becomes golden brown
• Whisk in chicken stock (make sure you are getting the bits of roux stuck to the bottom of the pan too), turn heat up to medium and allow it to get smooth,  then bring to a boil.
• Add the shredded chicken and cooked vegetables to the pot and allow sauce to somewhat thicken.

For the Dumplings

• In a medium bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt and pepper and whisk together. 
• Next add in buttermilk, egg and melted butter until just combined. The mixture should be thick.
• Using a spoon, drop dollops of dough into the pot, dumplings should be separated around a half-inch. They will stay on top. Cover the pot and reduce heat to low.
• Allow dumplings to cook up without lifting the cover for about 20 minutes.  Test dumpling by cutting in half. The dough shouldn’t be raw. If it needs more time, cover, and allow to cook a bit longer.
• Scoop into bowls and sprinkle with parsley add chives to serve.

About forming the biscuits:

Don’t overly mix or form the biscuits less they be tough to eat. Jalapeños and tomatoes are optional.