Pork Belly - Popo's way

Pork belly has become increasingly popular in recent years particularly with the new generation of youthful foodies who are not cholesterol shy.   I recall from when I was growing up in Hong Kong that the best kind of pork belly was the "five layered belly" (五花腩) and this was especially a treat when you saw this cut on the roast pig sitting in the BBQ shop window.  These days, it's not as difficult to find this cut in North American supermarkets as it was 30 years ago.  When my mother (my children called her Popo) made braised pork then, she was stuck with pork shoulder if she wanted skin.  Now we have the luxury of choice.

I was thrilled to find a perfect sample of this "five layered belly" at the supermarket the other day - skin, fat, meat, fat, meat in five thin layers.  The way I cooked it is a combination of my mother's method and Mr. A's method of using Le Creuset in the oven.  My mother would let the pork braise on the stove for a couple of hours, turning it every half hour or so and in general fussing over it.  Mr. A's use of Le Creuset is more streamlined.

Start by dipping the pork in dark soy to colour the skin.  Then brown the skin in a heavy pan over medium high heat. Remove from heat when slightly brown.  Pour off any pork fat that has been rendered.  Heat up a tablespoon of vegetable oil in the Le Creuset pot and sauté garlic and a large chopped up onion.  Add red bean curd for flavour.  

Red bean curd comes in a ceramic jar as you can see below and easily available in Chinese markets in North America (and yes, even in San Jose). One and a half squares of this red bean curd, mashed up with a little bit of sugar added would be sufficient for this piece of pork belly.  Finally add high quality fermented soy sauce, dark soy and rock sugar. When the mixture is boiling add pork belly. Put the covered pot in a 300 degree oven for approximately two hours.  Flip over the pork belly at the half way mark.  It's done when you can easily insert a chopstick.  

For cholesterol shy people, cook the pork belly the day before so you can peel off that solid layer of fat over the sauce the following day.  Like most braised meat, the pork belly tastes better overnight.

"Five-layered" pork belly

Dipped in dark soy

Red bean curd

Braised in Le Creuset pot

The finished pork belly - five layers still visible

Winterlicious inToronto

I discovered this post in my draft folder from more than 6 weeks ago - something started but forgotten. It' seems a little late now since Winterlicious has long gone but it's not too late to look forward to Summerlicious in July, when you can try these restaurants again.

I love the idea of Winterlicious (and Summerlicious) in Toronto.  Restaurants offer a prix fixe menu for two weeks in the midst of winter (or summer) when business is usually slower.  Diners are enticed to try out new restaurants, especially expensive ones which may normally be beyond their reach.  It's a win-win situation.

I typically would try to get to a new restaurant every year but also would return to an old favourite. Pangaea is one that I go back to every year and it almost always live up to my expectations, including this year.  I also tried out Cafe Boulud and La Societé for dinners, both special occasion locales.

Cafe Boulud, after Daniel Boulud, provided an excellent winterlicious dinner  Although the menu didn't look very exciting, the food came out quite exceptionally well-prepared.  We had salmon and pot-au-feu.  Both were surprisingly different, especially the pot-au-feu which came with a delicious piece of bone marrow on the braised beef and three slices of pink flank steak.  The salmon came with brussels sprouts, exquisitely presented and prepared.  Appetizer scallops were okay but slightly overpowered by the cream sauce.  Game hen terrine was interesting and well-presented.  Pear chocolate cake dessert was delicately flavoured.   Service was attentive - overall a four star meal.

Scallops in cream sauce

Game hen terrine

Salmon with a difference

Pot au feu with bone marrow topped by a piece of flank steak

Pear chocolate cake

   

As expected, lunch at Pangaea was excellent.  I have never had a bad meal at Pangaea and I have eaten there for the past fifteen years.  It was one of the first local food restaurants and still did a superb job of it.  The beef carpaccio was delicious although the presentation was a little scattered.   The roast leg of lamb was perfectly done and I love the rosemary barley.  

Beef carpaccio

Roasted leg of lamb on creamy gorgonzola and rosemary barley

Dark chocolate cake

This was my first time at La Societé - I like the decor although it was a tat too dark.  The braised short rib looked and smelled excellent on other tables so all three of us ordered it - we were not disappointed. It was tender and flavourful, with the meat easily detaching itself from the bone with a nudge of the fork. The warm chocolate cake was the best of the three chocolate cakes I tasted over Winterlicious - possibly because of the temperature.   And yet this is the restaurant that I would least likely return to because the service was indifferent.  It was generally okay but compared poorly to the service at Cafe Boulud where the staff seemed to be the best trained and the most attentive of the three restaurants.  

Braised short rib

Warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream

Celtuce - spring veggie

First week of spring after a long winter - it's timely to think about spring vegetables.  I discovered celtuce (篙筍) last year and thought it a nice change from asparagus and the usual spring vegetables.  Celtuce is also called celery lettuce or asparagus lettuce, and is apparently a very popular vegetable in China.  This is what it looks like in the supermarket.  .

The first time I saw the celtuce, I asked a woman who was picking through the pile how she cooks it.   It was great practice for my mandarin as that was the only thing she spoke.  So with a combination of hand signs and half-understood mandarin, I was able to figure out how it's done.

So what do you do with this stick sitting on your counter?

With a sharp knife, slice off the skin side ways, holding on to the top of the celtuce so you don't cut yourself

With skin removed, it's just a matter of cutting it up into chunks or slices.  I cut mine into half inch slices for stir-frying.

While the celtuce is crisp, it can be a little bland.  I would use it mostly for texture and add other vegetables beside it for contrast and flavour.

The lotus root is a good companion as it is even more crisp than the celtuce and it's a different colour.

Peel off skin with a potato peeler.  Cut off the ends.

Slice cross-wise to get the half moon shape

Stir fry the celtuce and lotus root in hot oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper or a dash of fermented soy sauce.  I usually add red peppers and king mushrooms for contrast in colour and texture. This would make a great backdrop for stir-fried shrimp.