Sweet and Sour
#COOKING: MANGO PEKING PORK CHOPS RECIPE
Mango Peking Pork Chops | 芒果京都肉排. This is my all-time favourite and normally it is so easy to find at a Chinese restaurant or food court at the Asian mall that I often just order it! Isolation has given me the chance to learn how to make it finally and I nailed it! These fried cutlets of pork are glazed in a sweet and sour sauce, but not your typical bright-red sweet and sour. The sauce has a darker complexity to it that makes it mesmerizing. I added mangoes which are in-season right now, because they also are my fave and these two belong together!
Pork Chops:
2-3 lbs pork chops, each chop sliced in three
1/2 tsp 5 Spice Powder
2 tbsps soy sauce
2 tbsps white wine/cooking wine
4 tbsps flour
2 tbsps corn starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 mango, cut into chunks
Sauce:
2 tbsps ketchup
2 tbsps Hoisin Sauce
1 tbsp Gochujang (Korean Pepper Paste)
1 1/2 tbsps rice vinegar
1 tbsp balsamic/black vinegar
3 tbsps maple syrup
2 tbsps organic raw sugar
1 1/2 tbsps Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 tbsps tapioca starch
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 stalk green onion, minced
Black sesame seeds, toasted
Instructions:
1. Marinate pork chops in 5 Spice Powder, soy sauce and wine overnight.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet, just high enough to cover chops.
3. Mix flour, corn starch, soda, salt and pepper. Add just enough (4-5 tbsps) cold water to form a thick batter.
4. Dip pork chop pieces into batter and then drop into hot oil, cooking in batches of 5-6 pieces at a time till golden-brown. Pat-out excess oil on paper towels.
5. Combine sauce ingredients in bowl with 1/3 cup water.
6. In clean skillet, bring sauce to boil. If too thick, add a bit more water. Add mango chunks and once sauce reaches boil, toss-in pork chops and coat in glaze.
7. Transfer to a platter. Garnish with green onion and black sesame. Serve.
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#COOKING: TENDER RIBS RECIPE
Ribs. It’s been way too long since we’ve relished a rack and who would’ve known how easy it is to make these at home? The trick is to remove the tough membrane on the back of the rack, bake at a low heat and to apply your sauce right at the finish! These were perfect and oh so tender!
Ingredients:
3 lbs pork ribs
8 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsps soy sauce
Black pepper, to taste
BBQ Sauce:
1/4 cup Billy Bones Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce (or your favourite!)
3 tbsps honey
1 tbsp Gochujang (Korean Pepper Paste)
1 tbsp Sambal (or Sriracha)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions:
1. Remove white membrane on back of ribs. Cut ribs into four sections.
2. Marinate ribs in garlic, soy sauce and pepper. Let stand room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour.
3. Preheat oven at 275°F.
4. Place ribs in dish and cover with foil. Bake 3.5 hours.
5. Mix all BBQ sauce ingredients together in bowl.
6. Remove ribs from oven and brush with sauce.
7. Set rack in oven one level up (be careful) and set oven to a high broil. Place ribs back in oven uncovered and broil about 5-6 minutes to desired level of charring.
8. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve with corn, potato salad and baked beans.
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN RECIPE
Korean Fried Chicken. You’ve probably had Kentucky Fried Chicken, but this Koreatown favourite is all sorts of delightful. It’s sweet, savoury, sticky and spicy and honestly not that hard to make! 🍗🌶️
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs chicken drumsticks (5-6)
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 tsp, allspice or 5 Spice Powder
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Glaze:
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp Gochujang (Korean Pepper Paste)
2 tbsp organic raw sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 chili, minced thinly
1/2 sweet orange pepper, sectioned
1 stalk green onion, minced
Instructions:
1. Season chicken in salt, pepper, ginger and vinegar for minimum one hour.
2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels.
3. In one dish, combine starch, allspice, salt and pepper.
4. Dip drumsticks in egg wash and then in starch mixture. Place aside.
5. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat.
6. Fry drumsticks in hot oil till golden brown, about 5-7 minutes each side.
7. Place drumsticks on paper towels, absorbing excess oil.
8. In skillet or wok on medium-high heat, sautée ginger, orange peppers, garlic and chilli and sugar in sesame oil. Once caramelized, add Ketchup, Gochujang, maple syrup and soy sauce, stirring well.
9. Toss-in drumsticks and coat in glaze. Cook 2 minutes medium-high heat till caramelized. Garnish with green onion and serve.
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#COOKING: BLOOD ORANGE CHICKEN RECIPE
Blood Orange Chicken. My love of sweet ‘n’ sour often got me teased by my parents as a kid, them jokingly disowning me. Things like sweet and sour chicken balls/pork are seen as “inauthentically-Chinese”. Here is my elevated take on a food court fave. The bitterness of Blood Orange, lime, mild heat of chilli and Sambal give this dish a bit of mystery. Enjoy! 🍊🌶️
Chicken:
4 chicken breasts, sectioned to bite-size pieces and seasoned in sea salt
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup corn starch
3 eggs, beaten
Sea salt and pepper taste
Canola oil
Blood Orange Sauce:
1/2 cup Tropicana Orange Juice (no pulp)
3 Blood Oranges juiced (reserve zests of 2)
1 lime, juiced
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 cup organic raw sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sambal
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 chili, seeds removed and minced
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 green onion stalk, minced for garnish
Cilantro, minced for garnish
Instructions:
1. Heat Canola oil in large skillet, medium-high.
2. Prepare coating in a dish mixing flour, corn starch, sea salt and pepper to taste.
3. Beat eggs in bowl.
4. Dip each chicken piece in egg wash and then flour coating. Once oil is hot, place pieces in oil, careful not to overcrowd.
5. Fry pieces till golden and not too dark. Takes about 4-5 minutes approximately per batch.
6. Place chicken on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
7. Once all chicken is fried, prepare sauce in another skillet.
8. On medium-high heat, sautée chilli, garlic, ginger and Sambal. Add sugar and cook till it caramelizes.
9. Add-in Blood Orange juice, zest and lime juice, stirring till sugar dissolves. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar and bring to quick boil. Add Tropicana and bring to boil. Taste with spoon to ensure flavour balance is right. If not, adjust with rice vinegar, sugar or salt accordingly.
10. Run sauce through strainer, and return to skillet. Bring to boil. In small dish, mix tapioca starch and equal part water to form paste. Stir it into the Blood Orange sauce till it thickens to the consistency of a glaze.
11. Toss-in fried chicken and coat evenly in sauce. Sprinkle cilantro and green onion. Serve.
Gallery:
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(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
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