Mee hoon goreng

Mee hoon goring may not be a dish you’ve heard of before but, once acquainted, it is certainly a dish you want time and time again. It comes from Malaysia and is a super savoury noodle recipe. As it is so versatile you can play around with the main ingredients, be it pork, prawn or chicken to satisfy everyone but making it vegetarian by adding in even more vegetables is equally delicious so there really is no excuse for not making it. Mee hoon goring calls for a base paste that can be made in larger quantity and then kept in a sealed container in the fridge for a week or so. To add another layer of flavour and texture you can serve the noodles topped with crispy shallot ring; simply shallow fry sliced shallot in oil until golden and arrange on top.

Ingredients- serves 2-3
For the paste
1 banana shallot- finely chopped
2-3 dried Kashmiri chillies(or similar)
2 garlic cloves- finely chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger- finely chopped
Salt

For the rest
Vegetable oil
3 slices of pork belly- cut into bite sized pieces
3tbsp dark soy
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp honey
2 nests of vermicelli rice noodles
Half a pointed cabbage- finely shredded
Carrot- grated
3 spring onions- finely chopped
Kecap manis
Oyster sauce

1. Start off by making the paste. Simply combine all the paste ingredients plus a pinch of salt in a small blender or pestle and mortar and blend (or bash!) to a coarse paste. Add a splash of water to loosen it and set it aside.

2. Take a large pan and fill with boiling water. Add the chunks of pork belly and boil for 2 minutes to remove any impurities; remove carefully using a slotted spoon. Rinse the pan out, add a splash of oil and heat to medium- high. Add the pork belly to the pan and fry until golden. Remove and set aside.

3. Next up, make the sauce for the pork belly by combining the dark soy, rice wine vinegar and honey in a small non- stick pan. Simmer until reduced and thickened and add to the pork belly. Continue to cook on a lower heat until the pork is caramelised and sticky.

4. Meanwhile you can make the base of the noodles. Soak the noodles in hot water according to the packet instructions before draining well. Heat a glug of oil in the wok and fry off a generous tablespoon of the paste you have already made. Fry until fragrant but keep it moving so it does not catch on the bottom of the wok. Add the cabbage and carrot and fry until starting to soften. Add a tablespoon each of kecap manis, oyster sauce and a splash of water, stir well to combine. Making sure the noodles are well separated and add to the pan along with the pork belly which is now nice and sticky; cover the pan and cook until warmed through. Towards the end of cooking sprinkle in the spring onions so they retain some crunch. Serve immediately.

 

Mee hoon goring- a new noodle dish to add to your repertoire!

 

 

Asian spicy braised pork belly

Who can resist the tenderness of pork belly, the umami flavour of Asian ingredients and the punch of chilli in a recipe? Certainly not me! This sticky braised pork belly takes inspiration from Asia to give a straightforward meal idea that everyone can achieve.

This recipe cannot necessarily be pinned down to one specific Asian cuisine but I have mixed and matched my favourite ingredients to give the perfect balance of flavour. I have used gochujang which is a spicy paste made from fermented soya beans. You can buy this online at http://www.souschef.co.uk or find it at your local Asian supermarkets if you have one.

Ingredients- serves 2-3 
300g lean pork belly
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons sake or shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
450ml water

1.To begin, cut the pork belly into inch sized pieces. Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the pork belly chunks for 2 minutes to draw out any impurities before removing from the pan with a slotted spoon and setting aside.

2. Heat a wok over a low to medium heat and add in the oil and sugar. Cook until the sugar is melting before adding the pork chunks. Cook until the pork is beginning to turn golden- remember to brown off on each side of the pork chunks for an even colour and flavour.

3. At this stage, lower the temperature of the wok back to low and add in both kinds of soy sauce, the sake or shaoxing wine (whichever you are using) and water. Cover the wok with a lid and simmer the pork for approximately 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes until the pork belly is meltingly tender. Remember to check the pork from time to time during the cooking process and add a splash more water if it starting to stick to the pan or becoming too dry. If, at the end of the cooking, you have excess sauce then simply remove the lid of the wok, increase the heat slightly and reduce so it ends up being a glossy, sticky glaze over the pork and that’s all there is to it! Serve with rice and Asian greens if you like and dig in!

Asian inspired sticky braised pork belly- a recipe you will come back to time and time again!

 

 

Slow cooked sticky Chinese pork belly slices

Forget your favourite Chinese takeaway this week and give this a try. The sweet pork belly meat is balanced with a savoury and punchy marinade which is a surefire winner!

Ingredients- serves 4
8 pork belly slices
1 tsp five spice
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns- ground (optional)
2 tbsp dark soy
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 garlic clove- finely grated

1. This pork benefits from being marinated in advance, even the night before if you can so the meat can take on the different flavours. To make the marinade, simply mix the spice and wet ingredients before massaging into the belly slices. Cover and keep in the fridge before you need it.

2. When you’re ready to cook the belly, preheat the oven to 160c/ 140 fan. Place the belly slices onto a baking tray and cover with foil. Cook in the oven for 1 hour. As the pork cooks, check it occasionally and use the sticky juices to baste as needed. After the first hour, turn the oven up to 200c/ 180 fan, remove the foil and cook for a further half an hour.

Serve with long grain rice and a vegetable side dish. I served with a mixed vegetable stir fry of shredded pak choi, tenderstem broccoli, sugar snap peas and spring onion which was finished simply with soy sauce and sesame oil.

Unctuous pork belly- move over takeaways!