Spiced Pork Loin with Apples

Started cooking again ever since I came to USA in May. The last post was like 3 years ago! The combination of a change in environment, having too much time on hand and having a oven makes me feel happy all the time. I don't come up with recipes but I do adjust them according to preference and ingredients available in the refrigerator.

Ingredients (for 2)

1lb Pork Loin
1 Apple (Chopped)

For Marinating

1 tsp Canola/Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
1 bulb Garlic (Minced)
1 tsp Parsley Flakes
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Cumin

For Cooking

1 tsp Canola/Olive Oil
3 tbsp Dry White Wine
1/2 bulb Onion
1 cup Chicken Broth

Steps

1. Mix ingredients for marinating together and spread them evenly on the pork loin.
Leave the meat in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more.

2. Preheat the oven to 425.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Pour 1 tsp of olive oil onto it and sear both sides of the pork loin for 2-3 minutes each.

4. Add chicken broth and white wine to the skillet and let it bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

5. Transfer the pork loins onto a chopping board and cut into strips.

6. Add chopped apples and onions to the chicken broth and wine mixture. Saute till apple turns slightly brown.

7. Serve with spinach salad and spaghetti.


Recipe modified from myrecipe.com

Tau Yu Bak (Braised Pork in Soya Sauce)

I hyperventilated when I saw the fats. Since young, my mum removed all visible skin from any type of meat at every meal so I practically grew up not eating chicken skin, kong ba bao etc etc.

When  I made this and I saw the frightening jelly-like skin, I got so turned off but the sauce is not bad lah. Of course I removed the skin before eating.

This when served hot with rice, is amazing. The sauce is like.. undescribable. I think every family cooks this dish differently but noone in my family made this before so I don't have a secret recipe or whatever.

Well, I like the saltiness of the sauce to overpower the sweetness.

Ain't a healthy dish but..... I kinda like it. The best thing is, it goes so well with rice.

Some people add potatoes to the dish. But I thought the amt. of carbs is mega overpowering already.

Ingredients

1. 500g pork belly
2. 4 eggs
3. 10 dried chinese mushrooms
4. 1 block of firm tau kwa
5. 4 stripes of tau pok
6. 2 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
7. 3-4 tbsp dark soya sauce
8. 1 litre of water
9. 2 star anise
10. 1 cinnamon stick
11. 5 cloves 
12. 1 garlic bulb (skin unremoved but slightly bruised)
13. 1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
14. 1 tbsp white peppercorn

Directions

1. Mix dark soy sauce and kecap manis together. 
2. In a pot or wok, brown pork belly and sauce on each side. 
3. Add water, star anise, cinammon stick, cloves, garlic, 5 spice powder, peppercorn and mushroom. When it boils, lower fire and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Cook eggs till they are hard boiled in another pot. Peel egg shell.
5. After 30 minutes, add tau kwa, tau pok and peeled eggs. Simmer for another 30 minutes. 
6. Taste and adjust accordingly. 
7. Serve hot. 

Sweet and Sour Pork

I love sweet sour pork. It's one of my must order when I buy cai fan. I love the combination of all the colours!

I made this the other time but I wanted to try out Rasamalaysia's sauce.

It's yummy but the batter is still a little weird. As in it's not what we would find at the usual zi char stall. I  think it would taste better with more sauce though. 

Anyone has another recipe for this?

Ingredients

1. 200-300g pork tenderloin
2. 1/2 of a green bell pepper
3. 1/2 of a red bell pepper
4. 1 pc pineapple ring (cut into small pieces)
5. 1 clove garlic (minced)
6. 2 stalks scallion (only the white part, chopped diagonally)
7. Oil (for frying)

Marinate

1. 1 tsp light soy sauce
2. 1/2 tsp corn flour
3. 1 tsp hua tiao jiu

Batter

1. 1/2 cup water
2. 4 tbsp plain flour
3. 2 tbsp corn starch
4. 1/2 tsp baking soda
5. 1/2 of an egg
6. 1 tsp cooking oil
7. Pinch of salt

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1. 1 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2. 1 tsp plum sauce
3. 1/4 tsp rice vinegar
4. 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
5. 1 tsp oyster sauce
6. 1 tsp corn starch
7. 1 tsp sugar
8. 2 tbsp water

Directions

1. Mix ingredients for sauce and leave aside.
2. Cut pork tenderloin into bite sized pieces and marinate for half an hour.
3. Mix dry ingredients for batter then add in egg, water and oil to form a thick batter.
4. After pork is well-marinated, transfer them into batter and ensure that they are well coated.
5. Add cooking oil for deep frying into wok and wait till it heats up.
6. Deep fry tenderloin till it's golden brown.
7. Remove pork and drain oil using paper towels.
8. Heat up wok, add cooking oil and add in chopped garlic and stir fry till they are light brown.
9. Then add bell peppers and pineapple pieces. Stir fry till there is a peppery aroma.
10. Add in sweet sour sauce, pork, scallions and fry.

Tenderloin with red pepper

Ingredients

1. 200-300g tenderloin
2. Red bell pepper (half)
3. 1/2 tsp of Crushed black pepper
4. 2 Dashes of grounded white pepper 
5. 1 tsp corn flour
6. 3 cloves of Garlic (minced)
7. 1 tsp corn starch
8. 1 tsp hua tiao jiu
9. 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
10. 5 tbsp water
11. 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Directions

1. Chop the tenderloin into pieces and marinate with rice wine, corn flour and white pepper. Leave for 30 minutes.
2. Heat up 1tbsp of cooking oil and add in garlic. Stir fry till garlic turns light brown.
3. Add in tenderloin and stir fry till half cooked.
4. Add bell pepper and continue stirfrying until there is a peppery aroma. 
5. Add in water, hua tiao jiu, oyster sauce and sesame oil. Mix well or you can premix the sauce before hand.
6. Sprinkle black pepper on top of the dish.
7. Serve hot.

Cashew Chicken

This is one of the first few dishes that I made when I started cooking and I think it remains one of my favourite 'cuz of the addition of cashew nuts.



Well, the only difference is that I added more water as the previous one was pretty dry.
I love nuts in most of my food!

Recipe can be found here.

Fried Eggs with Chai Poh

After making carrot cake, I still had a lot of preserved turnip left so I had to think of ways to use them up instead of leaving it forgotten in my fridge.


My grandmother cooks this type of eggs in a really frightening way. No chai poh, A LOT of light soy sauce, A LOT of pepper and when I say A LOT, it's really A LOT.

Maybe like 5 tbsp of soy sauce?

Oh well, pardon the chao ta bits on the eggs and this is how I make my chaipoh eggs.

Ingredients

1. 3 eggs
2. 2 tbsp of chai poh

Directions

1. Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl
2. Put chai poh in and mix.
3. Fry!

Fried carrot cake

My grandma is a huge fan of carrot cake. She either eats this or chee cheong fan. Her heart wavers among these two but I think she just likes her food really sweet.

I went fairprice and saw pre-packed radish for stirfrying and i thought it would be a good idea to try something I thought I would never cook.


Ingredients

1. 480g carrot cake (for stir-frying)
2. 2 tbsp oil
3. 1 tbsp sweet sauce
4. 1-2 tsp fish sauce (depending on how salty you want it to be)
5. 1 tbsp chopped garlic
6. dash of White pepper
7. 2 eggs, beaten
8. 1 tbsp chai poh (preserved turnip)
9. 2 stalk spring onion (chopped)

Directions

1. Chop carrot cake into pieces 
2. Heat oil in wok and fry carrot cake till slightly light brown
3. Add chopped garlic and chai poh 
4. Add pepper and fish sauce and continue stir frying
5. Pour eggs over carrot cake and wait till it sets and turn over
6. Drizzle sweet sauce over carrot cake and mix evenly
7. Serve with chopped spring onions

Sambal Shrimps with French Beans

Don't be mistaken. I know I just cooked french beans yesterday but but but, I think sambal shrimps will go well with that, thus the repetition.

Ingredients

1. 400g Shrimp with tail-on
2. 2 tbsp light soy sauce
3. Dash of pepper
4. 1 tbsp oil
5. 2 1/2 tbsp woh hup sambal shrimp
6. 200g french beans
7. 5 tbsp water
8. 1 tbsp baking soda
9. 1 egg white
10. 1 tsp corn starch
11. 1 tbsp chopped garlic

Directions

1. Submerge shrimps in water, add baking soda to water and massage shrimps gently. Soak for 30 minutes and run shrimps under running water.
2. Drain water and pat shrimps dry. Add egg white, starch and massage. Marinate for half a day or overnight.
3. Add 1 tbsp light soy sauce and a dash of pepper to the shrimps and marinate for 10 minutes.
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok. Add chopped garlic, fry till light brown.
5. Add  2 1/2 woh hup sambal shrimp. Stir fry till fragrant.
6. Add french beans, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 5 tbsp water and stir well. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Add shrimps and stir fry till done. 

recipe from the woh hup jar (tweeked)

Garlic French Beans

I had french beans at my bf's place the other day. His mum makes wicked food. As in they're really wickedly delicious. Every meal's like a different adventure.

I made this dish but it didn't really taste like hers but well, considering how lousy I am... this should do!

Ingredients

1. 1 tbsp olive oil
2. 1.5 tbsp garlic (minced)
3. 250g French beans, chopped into 1.5inch pcs
4. 2.5 tbsp dried shrimps(soaked in warm water and minced)
5. 1/4 cup water

Directions

1. Heat up the wok, add olive oil and fry garlic and minced dried shrimps
2. When garlic turns light brown, add french beans and stir fry for 1 minute.
3. Add water and continue frying till french beans are cooked. (approx 5-8 minutes)

Cheese Scrambled Eggs

This is how I like my scrambled eggs to be like. Wet, cheesy and super eggy.

It isn't the 'right' way to cook this but it's how I made mine.

Ingredients

1. 1 tsp of oil
2. 2 eggs
3. 1 piece of Chedder cheese
4. Parsley and chilli flakes
5. Dash of pepper

Directions

1. Heat up oil in pan
2. Break the eggs and start stirring. Take pan away from heat occasionally but continue stirring.
3. Add a piece of cheese and a dash of pepper. Keep stirring.
4. Serve on plate and garnish with parsley and chilli flakes.

I love egg with cheese but as I've mentioned, my mum hates it and claimed that it makes her want to gag.