Spicy & Sour Pork Trotters 酸辣猪蹄

They say pork trotters can improve your complexion and skin elasticity. If you are feeling adventurous today and can spend a little more time in the kitchen, try this recipe. It's been passed down from my grandma to my mother. And recently, I've kind of acquired a taste for pork trotters as well so I've noted all the details that went into the cooking process and mastered the recipe myself.

Get your butcher to cut the trotters into small blocks, about 6 pcs for each trotter. Put them in a pot of boiling water and cook for a few minutes.






Boil the trotters to get rid of the scum and blood. Drain the trotters once they are cooked and set aside.







Cut some shallots, garlic, chilli and tomatoes (optional, I had some so decided to throw them in for colour). Throw them into a blender and add some water before blending it into a paste.






Pour the boiled trotters into a dry wok. This is to get rid of the extra moisture on the meat. Add some sesame oil and lightly stir it in the wok until slightly brown and fragrant. Dish them out onto a plate.





Heat some oil in the wok and pour in the blended paste once the oil is hot. Keep stirring.







Cook the paste til golden brown and the water content has slowly evaporated. This might take around 15 minutes. Check the consistency of the paste. It should be thick and not watery at all when done.





Pour the pork trotter into the wok. Add one bowl of water and one tablespoon of Lee Kum Kee chili bean sauce to the mixture. Stir well, cover the wok and let it cook. This process might take up to an hour. Keep checking every 5-10 minutes to see if the water has dried up. Keep adding water and stirring once it has dried up. Cook til the meat turns soft. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar and some salt to taste.


Best served with noodles or rice.

Cucumber Salad

I never really knew that the Chinese have so many types of salads until I came to Beijing. There is a whole section of cold dishes on their menus and Chinese salads are mainly dressed with sesame oil and vinegar. Cucumber salad became one of my favourites. Perfect accompaniment to that all-in-a-pot chicken rice.

Cut the cucumber into sections. Using the side of your chopper, hit the cucumber to flatten it. This ensures that the dressing can be easily absorbed into the cucumber.



Cut them up into small pieces. Chop some garlic and throw it in with the cucumber. You can also add some chili to the mixture.





Drizzle some sesame oil and vinegar. Mix it up and refrigerate before serving. You can use white Chinese vinegar or the black vinegar. I like the sweet smell of black Zhenjiang vinegar镇江醋.

All-in-a-pot Chicken Rice

When you are too lazy to prepare a meat and a vegetable dish to go with your rice, what better idea is there than to throw everything into one pot. There's a lazy way to do this and a tastier way to cook this. Feel free to experiment.

Ingredients:
Chicken breast (cut into cubes)
Ginger (sliced)
Dried oysters
Dried scallops
Dried mushroom
Rice


Soak (or boil) the dried oysters, scallops and mushroom til soft. Then cut them up into small pieces.

Marinate the chicken breasts with sesame oil, salt, pepper, soy sauce and some corn flour (cooking wine is optional). Once this is done, start by cooking some rice in the rice cooker.

You can start to stir fry the ginger, dried scallops, oysters and mushrooms. Fry til slightly golden brown, then add chicken. Add some oyster sauce to taste. Dish them out when the chicken is half cooked. Pour the stir-fried mixture into your rice cooker when your rice is half-cooked. Let it cook in the rice cooker til done.

Lazy way:
You don't have to stir-fry the ingredients. Mix your marinated chicken and other ingredients with oyster sauce and cooking wine (optional) and pour into rice cooker when rice is boiling. Cook til done. Your all-in-a pot chicken rice is ready!

Lotus Root Water Chestnut Soup 莲藕马蹄煲猪腱

Time to cool down the body with one of my favourite soups as lotus root and water chestnut rids the body of heatiness.





Ingredients:
Lotus root 莲藕
Water chestnut 马蹄
Red dates 红枣
Pork tendon 猪腱

I usually use a small section of lotus root, about 5 pcs of water chestnut and 5-6 pcs of dates for a small pot of soup. Boil for 1.5-2 hours. Add salt to taste. Good enough to serve 1-2 persons. If you are eating alone, you can save some for supper.

Tip: Always scald or quickly boil the pork before putting it in the soup to get rid of impurities. This leaves your soup clear and without smelling of pork, especially if you are dealing with bones.

My Mukka Express

I recently inherited a Mukka Express coffee-maker from a friend's friend. This little coffee pot makes cappuccino and latte in just a few simple steps. Took me quite a while to figure out how to use it but it did put some fun into my morning breakfasts. Here it is:

First, fill the base with water. Then, add ground coffee into the coffee compartment. Fasten the coffee pot back onto the base.







Add milk, close the cover and depress the button. Pressing the button downwards makes you cappuccino while leaving the button as it is makes you latte.







Set the Mukka Express on the stove and turn on the fire. Once the button pops up, turn off the heat and remove the coffee maker. Wala! Cappuccino.





You can watch all the fun on video here: