Chinese Barbecued Pork (Char Siu)

This was a shot in the dark, as my experience with barbecued pork is about.... none. But we had been to Chinatown recently, and all these great flavors tinkled our chinese taste buds. It turned out to be very good and not that far from the real thing. I think. Mission accomplished.




Serves 2

250g pork loin (about 20cm long, 5cm thick)

2 cloves garlic, mashed
1 teasp freshly grated ginger
1 tablesp soy sauce
1 tablesp chinese rice wine (shokoshu)
1 tablesp tien mien jian (sweet soybean paste)
1 tablesp dark brown sugar
1/4 teasp five spice
1 teasp sesame oil
freshly ground pepper

1 tablesp honey


Combine all ingredients except honey, and marinate the pork loin overnight in the fridge. Turn a couple of times.

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Overlay the oven tray with aluminum foil. Pour about 2 cups of water over the tray. Place the marinated pork on a rack (reserve the marinade), and place in the oven. The marinade will slowly drip onto the tray while cooking. Bake at 220 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn the meat, lower the heat to 180 degrees, and bake for another 15 minutes.
Mix 1 tablespoon of the leftover marinade with 1 tablespoon of honey. Take the meat out of the oven, baste with this mixture, transfer to a broiler, and grill for an additional 3-4 minutes on each side, with basting of honey sauce.
Slice the loin and enjoy with ramen noodles, plain or fried rice, buns, as an appetizer, warm or cold, the possibilities are endless.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies with Fleur de Sel Cardamom Caramel Filling

Another great recipe from Baking Obsession, I really liked the flavor and texture combination. And besides, they look rather elegant!




makes about 27 cookies

180g flour
30g cocoa
1/2 teasp kosher salt
110g butter, softened
100g dark brown sugar
1 teasp vanilla extract
1 egg (room temperature)

filling
90g store-bought soft caramels
1/2 teasp kosher salt
1.5 tablespoon milk
5 cardamon pods, crushed to a fine powder



Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, and salt to combine. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy. Add the egg and continue mixing until light and well combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon just until the dough forms.
Roll the dough into regular 1-inch balls. Place them onto a baking sheet. Using a handle of a wooden spoon, make an indentation in the center of each cookie; make it quite deep and about a penny in diameter. Chill the formed cookies for 20 minutes in the refrigerator, covered with parchment or plastic, before baking.
Bake the cookies, in batches, for 12-13 minutes, until the cookies appear set. Transfer the cookies on the sheet on a cooling rack and, using the same spoon handle, deepen the indentations made earlier; don’t poke through though, be gentle. You do want this extra space for a delicious filling. Transfer the cookies to the cooling rack and let them cool completely before filling.

Put the caramels, milk, salt, cardamom into a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on “medium” for about a minute, pausing the microwave and stirring a couple of times, until the caramel is melted and mixture is smooth. Let it cool down for a couple of minutes and fill the cookies. Top with a few fleur de sel crystals if you wish.
The cookies can be stored for up to a week in an airtight container.

A Breakfast with Crumpets *

A delicious breakfast, according to a recipe from the Guardian.uk.
Can't wait until next weekend to have them again :-))





Makes 4 (for 2 persons).

150g plain white flour
about 230ml lukewarm semi-skimmed milk (or a mix of milk and water)
2g powdered dried yeast
4g salt
1/3 tsp baking powder
A little sunflower or vegetable oil


In a bowl, whisk the flour, milk, water and yeast into a rather runny batter the consistency of single cream. Cover with cling-film and leave for an hour until really bubbly (or three to four hours, if need be).

Heat a heavy-based frying pan or flat griddle over a medium-high heat. Whisk the salt and baking powder into the batter. Lightly grease the crumpet rings and pan. Put one ring in the pan, fill to just below the top – the batter should stay in the ring and lots of holes should appear on the surface after a minute or two. (If it dribbles out underneath, it is too thin, so whisk a little more flour into your batter mix. If lots of holes don't form, it's too thick, so whisk in some water.) Assuming your test crumpet is OK, after five minutes or so, when the surface is just set, flip it over, ring and all. (If the cooked base seems too dark, turn down the heat.) Cook for two to three minutes, until golden on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter in batches. Butter and eat at once, or cool on a wire rack for toasting later.

Honey and Yuzu Pannacotta

This recipe was adapted from a post on the stunning blog Baking Obsession. I made a few changes and used japanese lime (yuzu) instead of lemon, but it will also work with normal lemon or lime.





Makes 2 or 3 glasses, according to size and appetite

20ml yuzu (or lime) juice
1 teasp gelatin powder
170ml whipping cream
40ml honey
zest of 1 yuzu (or lime)
a pinch of salt
85ml yogurt
a few drops of vanilla essence

1 teasp apricot jam
2 teasp honey
zest of 1/2 yuzu (or lime)
1 teasp Grand-Marnier (or other alcohol)
crushed pistachios (optional)



Pour the lemon juice into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over. Let soften for a couple of minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the whipping cream, honey, lemon zest, and salt. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until the honey is dissolved and the cream is hot. Remove from the heat and whisk in the softened gelatin; whisk until the gelatin dissolves. Set aside.
Place the yogurt in a bowl. Add the vanilla extracts and whisk to combine and lighten the yogurt. Gradually, whisk in the warm cream-gelatin mixture. Divide the mixture equally between 2 or 3 glasses or ramekins. Once cooled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours to overnight.
Right before serving or close to the serving time, combine the jam, honey, Grand-Marnier in a small microwave-safe bowl. Warm the mixture gently, so it’s barely warm to the touch. Stir in the yuzu zest. Divide the honey mixture equally between the panna cotta, gently spread. Note that the jam should be spreadable but not hot; otherwise, it will melt the panna cotta. Decorate with crushed pistachios and serve right away.

Red Curry and Coconut Tuna Steaks

Serves two

2 fresh tuna steaks

For the marinade:
1 teasp red curry paste
2 tablesp white wine
1 tablesp lemon juice
1 teasp (level) sugar
pepper

grated coconut for coating
peanut oil

For the dressing:
2 tablesp fish sauce
2 tablesp lemon juice
2 teasp sugar
1 tablesp fresh corianger, chopped


Combine all ingredients of the marinade and leave the tuna to marinate for 10 minutes (turn from time to time).
Coat the steaks with grated coconut. Heat up a couple of tablespoons of peanut oil, and cook them for about 2 minutes on each side.
Serve right away, with basmati rice, vegetables, and drizzles of dressing.

Apple and Raspberry Crumble

What can be more comforting than an apple crumble on a slow autumn Saturday? We enjoyed this seasonal treat with an afternoon coffee on our balcony, making the most of the mild october sun.






For about 5 servings

For the fruity part:
3 apples
1 tablesp sugar
1 tablesp butter
2 tablesp lemon juice
1 tablesp raisins
a pinch of cinnamon
a pinch of ground clove
about 150g frozen raspberries

For the crumble:
60g flour
50g dark brown sugar
50g ground nuts or almonds
50g butter, cut in small pieces



Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.

Peel the apples and slice them. In a saucepan, melt the butter and sugar and cook in the apples over low heat until they soften and take up a nice golden color. Add lemon juce, raisins, cinnamon, clove, raspberries, mix well and set aside.

For the crumble, mix the flour, brown sugar and ground nuts in a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingers until you obtain a sandy and crumbly mixture.

Put the apple mix in an oven proof dish, overlay with the crumble and bake at 190 degrees for about 25 minutes. Serve warm with a side of vanilla ice cream or custard.

Sweet Potato and Blueberry Muffins

When it comes to muffins I can come up with endless combinations or flavors and textures. Those have an autumn touch with sweet potatoes an blueberries, delicious.





For 6 muffins
- 100g flour
- 150g cooked sweet potato (about 1 small yellow type)
- 1 good teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (level) of sodium bicarbonate
- 30g sugar
- a pinch of clove powder
- a pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 80ml milk
- 30ml olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- about 100g blueberries (frozen is fine)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice



Preheat the oven to 210 degrees.
Mix the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and reserve.

Peel the sweet potato, cut it in rough chunks and steam them until cooked. Pass them through a sieve with a spoon, keep the purée light and fluffy.
Mix the flour, baking powders, sugar, salt, clove powder and sift them into a bowl. Add the sweet potato purée and mix gently. Sprinkle with blueberries.
In another bowl, mix the beaten egg, milk, olive oil, vanilla extract.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, and mix with a wooden spoon. A few turns are enough, the mix has to remain lumpy.
Divide the preparation among the muffin cups, put them in the oven (lower shelf) and lower the temperature to 180 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes.