Caramelised Pork Belly Sliders

Beautiful bite sized buns made with Kylie Kwong’s Braised Pork Belly.

Quite a few years ago when I went travelling with some friends to Singapore and Japan I found a pair of thick framed glasses (when they were all the rage) that I wore for the hell of it. I was, without any hesitation nicknamed Kylie Kwong; partially in part because of sexual preference but mostly because in some strange way, I LOOKED LIKE HER. Raging, thick framed beauty cooking up a storm in the tiny kitchen of a hostel in Tokyo. So following in tradition, many years later I’ve taken one of Kwong’s best family recipes and used them to make the ultimate pork belly bun.

This two pronged recipe is quite lengthy, so I will break up the Ingredients into two parts; Kwong’s caramelised pork belly and my slider put together, which takes NO time at all.

Some of these ingredients may be hard to find, but between an Asian grocer and a more metropolitan supermarket you will find all the ingredients. ALWAYS ask the butcher for female pork belly. Male pork tends to have a pungent smell that is quite distinct and over powering at times.

Ingredients

Serves six

Kwong’s Caramelised Pork Belly

600gm female pork belly cut into 2.5cm cubes

1 cup brown sugar

3 limes, juice only

2 tbsp fish sauce

Red braising stock

2½ cups Shaoxing wine

1½ cups organic tamari

1 cup brown sugar

6garlic cloves, coarsely crushed

90 gm(18cm piece) ginger, thinly sliced

4spring onions, trimmed and halved lengthways

5star anise

2cinnamon quills

3pieces of orange rind, removed with a peeler

1 tsp sesame oil

Pork Belly Sliders

6 plain white buns

1 cucumber

1 bunch coriander/cilantro

Sliced pork belly

Directions

Start by boiling your pork belly to remove all impurities, then running under cold water. This only requires a 5 – 10 minute boil. Next, combine red braising stock and bring to the boil, then let sit and infuse for 30 minutes. When infused, add pork belly and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours until tender. To make caramel, combine brown sugar and 250 ml water and simmer for 20 minutes until caramel forms. Soon after add lime juice and fish sauce. Slice pork belly and drizzle with caramel.

Steam buns as directed on packet. While buns are steaming, slice cucumber length ways. Place a slice of pork belly on the bun with cucumber and coriander and finish with a drizzle of caramel 

Banana Tarte Tatin

A little left of field with a little bastardisation, this banana tarte tatin is amazing. I have adapted this recipe from the traditional French classic, Apple Tatin. Made with a lot of love, butter and sugar you’re in for an easy treat. I used store bought individual fillo pastry sheets, coating with butter between layers too. Serve hot with ice cream and topped with cinnamon.

Ingredients

Serves five to six

3 large bananas

5 tbsp salted butter

2/3 cup caster sugar

1 tsp orange zest

½ tsp cinnamon

2 – 3 sheets individual fillo pastry sheets

Butter for coating

Directions

Start by melting butter, adding orange zest and cinnamon. Follow quickly with sugar and cook until a beautiful caramel forms. Halve bananas length ways then again, sideways. Place flat side up in a pie dish, then pour caramel over bananas. Add layer by layer of the fillo pastry, coating with melted butter between every layer. Be sure not to confuse regular fillo pastry sheets, which may be thicker and contain many micro layers. The regular is fine too.

Cook in preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. Let cool outside of oven for 5 minutes, then using a knife separate edges of the tarte tatin from the pie dish. Placing a flat plate over the top, turn the bowl over and let sit until it falls nicely onto the fillo pastry.  

The Reinvented Chilli, Salt and Pepper Prawn

I’ve been cooking with a lot of seafood lately and loving every mouthful. Seafood in Australia is something to be so thankful for. Although we import a lot, we also take pride in having some of the freshest and cleanest seafood in the world. Much of the farmed seafood available in countries with larger populations and consumption patterns is subject to harmful chemicals that are not regulated. The farming process is equally as toxic with the heavy use of industrial strength cleaning products to maintain farming equipment. The unfortunate truth about this is that a lot of these chemicals too, end up in seafood that we are consuming. The real evil however, is the disclosure and transparency measures in place. Many governments have very little regulation about what can and cannot be withheld from consumers and the danger is immeasurable.  A lot of heavy metals (mercury, antibiotics and pesticides) can be found in fish without a lot of omega three.

When buying your seafood, always buy fresh if you can and ask where the seafood is coming from. Ensure you are doing your part for sustainable fishing and avoiding seafood that is mass farmed. Pre-packaged seafood that is often bought frozen is imported and not always tested for quality and toxicity. FRESH, FRESH FRESH.

I made a chilli, salt and pepper prawn with a few extras from around Asia. All of the ingredients are readily available in supermarkets.

Ingredients

Serves two

6 large king prawns

3 medium radishes, finely sliced

1 sheet of seaweed, finely sliced

1 large red bullet chill, diced

¼ cup fried onions

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp white pepper

Directions

Start by deveining the prawns. I like to keep as much of the shell on for crunch, so I pierce the back and remove the vein. In  wok or hot pan, heat vegetable oil and add chopped chilli. Toss for a few moments then add prawns, salt and pepper. Don’t turn too much, as you want to achieve crispness on the skin of the prawns. After 3 – 4 minutes add thinly sliced radish and cook for another 3 minutes, tossing quickly. Remove from heat and add friend onions and seaweed. Serve with rice and enjoy.

Peanut Butter, Char Siu and Sweet Chilli Oven Baked Ribs

Oh yes, the name says it all. You will be licking your fingers for a very long time. These ribs HAVE to be eaten with your hands and nothing else. I’ve always loved ribs; American ribs, Chinese ribs, Aussie BBQ’d ribs.

My recipe combines the best of the lot. Char siu, a beautiful Chinese way of preparing meat (traditionally pork), is a beautiful sauce that translates roughly to forked roast – the words don’t make much sense to me but the taste does. Combining this with peanut butter and sweet chilli sauce smashes all your preconceived notions of food porn. These are really simple to prepare and all the ingredients (including char siu sauce) are readily available at most grocers.

Ingredients

Serves two

500g pork ribs

¼ cup char siu sauce

¼ cup crunchy peanut butter

1/3 cup sweet chilli sauce

1 tbsp canola oil  

Directions

Start by boiling off the ribs to remove all impurities in the pork. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius. In a bowl combine all sauces and oil, leaving aside a good dollop of the sweet chilli sauce to later coat the ribs. Using your hands, rub the ribs and be sure to cover well. The sauce won’t be very workable so be prepared to get sticky. Place on oven proof paper and pour remaining chilli sauce over the ribs. Bake for 1 hour. .

 

Marty's Meatballs

This is one of my favourite things to cook, but every time I make it, it changes. It’s really never the same each time, but I’m going to post my last make so I finally have something captured. Meatballs are a two pronged endeavour; purists would argue less is more, and others would argue that more is the end of the story. I like more. But granted, there is a time and a place. On a winter’s night I want heat, I want texture, I want spice and I want complex.

Meatballs have been prepared all over the world for many years and there are records in the Ancient Roman cookbook Apicius that make reference to meatballs.

Ingredients

Serves four - five

For the meatballs

500g beef mince

2 eggs

½ cup panko breadcrumbs

½ large onion

½ large field mushroom

2 large cloves garlic

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp black pepper

4 cloves, crushed

1 tsp nutmeg

3 ground bay leaves

1 tbsp ground mustard

1 tsp salt

½ teaspoon chilli flakes

For the Sauce

2 cans whole, peeled tomatoes

3 large vine ripened tomatoes, diced

½ cup red wine

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large onion, diced

1.5 large field mushrooms, diced lengthways

Olive oil for cooking

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp cumin

½ chilli flakes

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp parsley

1 tbsp nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Start by finely dicing all of the meatball ingredients and combine, using your hands to meld the mixture. Roll into small balls and let sit in refrigerator.

In a pan, heat olive oil and fry meatballs off on medium to high heat, browning evenly, then set aside. Add more olive oil to the pan and add garlic, onions and mushrooms to brown. After cooking for 3 -5 minutes, remove from pan and add a dollop of red wine to deglaze. Let the alcohol cook out of the wine to leave behind the grapey nodes. Add tomatoes, both fresh and canned and then add back garlic, onions and mushrooms. Add the herbs and cook for 5 – 10 minutes, adding and adjusting herbs, salt and pepper to taste. It is a matter of trial and error until you reach your desired taste.

Bake in the oven with meatballs for 40 – 60 minutes at 180 degrees. Serve with pasta, as desired. 

Smoked Salmon and Pickle Sandwich

A beautiful smoked salmon rye bread sandwich with pickles, salad and mayonnaise. A perfect open sandwich for a luncheon with friends and family.

I love sandwiches with endless amounts of salad, mayo and some form of meat. Salad sandwiches always remind me of primary school and lunch with friends. You need sweet and savoury, and you need crunch and you need a power packing punch of taste! Served open plate

Ingredients

Serves two

4 slices of rye bread

100g smoked salmon

Handful of mixed salad leaves

8 cornichons

6 slices beetroot

2 slices cheese

Bunch of snowpea sprouts

3 tbsp mayonnaise

Directions

On a plate, or small chopping board, plate each slice of the bread as you please. The first for me was mayonnaise, greens, sprouts, beets and then salt and pepper. The second is butter (if you like) and salmon.

Semolina Calamari

Three Ingredients to Semolina Calamari

The easiest squid calamari recipe! Always use fresh calamari if you can and cut into rings at home, it’s fresher and not so tough.

Ingredients

Serves three – four

2 medium sized calamari hoods

¼ cup semolina flour

¼ cup regular flour

Salt and pepper to taste

1 small red chilli (optional)

Olive oil for cooking

Directions

Start by washing calamari and then lightly dry to remove too much excess moisture. Keep it at room temperature too before cooking. With the calamari flat, cut to make thin rings. Combine semolina and regular flour and lightly toss the calamari. In a shallow pan, heat olive oil on medium heat and cook rings once heated for no more than 1 minute, flipping once to brown evenly. Place on paper towel to soak up excess oil.

Once cooked, add salt, pepper and chilli and toss calamari. Serve with lemon and aioli mayo.

Seared Scallops with Wasabi and Avocado Puree

The butter of the sea paired against a beautiful wasabi avocado puree, topped with fried onions

This is a fusion Japanese dish, melding butter and Chinese wine to sear scallops. Scallops are naturally rich and buttery in flavour and searing in butter really enhances the taste of the scallop.

I love wasabi and purists would never really mix wasabi, as it dilutes the intensity. However, modern cooking calls for adaptation. Mixing wasabi and lime with avocado really adds so many levels of sensory confusion when you eat with a buttery scallop. I wanted to create a new intensity, to augment the purist ideals of traditional Japanese cooking. Adding the walnuts to the puree gives the dish a beautiful crunch and you really need it as the whole dish is quite soft.

You don’t have to cook the life out of the scallop either, nicely seared on either side, with a mellow translucence in the centre is perfect. The fried onions topped on the dish and the Chinese cooking wine are readily available in most supermarkets in the Asian aisle.

Ingredients

Serves two

6 -8 scallop

4 tbsp butter

3 tbsp Chinese Wine

For the Puree

1 medium avocado

¼ lime juice

½ tsp wasabi

¼ cup walnuts

2 tbsp chives, diced

Garnish

2 tbsp fried onions

1 tsp chives

Directions

Start by leaving the scallops in a paper towel for 5 minutes to absorb excess juices they may release when cooking. Next, smash all the puree ingredients, making sure you retain some crunch from the walnuts. In a pan, heat butter on a medium to high heat. Butter won’t burn too fast, but adjust heat as needed. Put the scallops on as soon as the butter is piping hot. Sear on the first side for 1 -2 minutes then turn carefully once with tongues and sear for around 1 to 1.5 minutes. Add Chinese cooking wine at the last moment to deglaze the pan and to pick up all of the beautiful flavours, it almost caramelises the scallop.

Plate the scallops on the puree, drizzle remaining butter and finish with fried onions and chives. Salt and pepper to taste
 

Chilli and Garlic Caramel Crab

 Lime, chilli and garlic caramel swimmer crab with sage butter potato medallions and a radish salad with ginger vinegar

I really enjoy food that heightens the senses with acute tastes, sharp on the palette contrasted against texture. I decided to experiment today and shift my focus to seafood and Asian fusion. I wanted to use beautiful soft crab meat to pair against bitter and sweet flavours, as well as adding soft and crisp elements with salad and vegetable. The meal has three elements and is a lot easier to finish quickly if you do all of your preparation first. Start with crab element, then potato than radish – quick fast execution gives you a beautiful meal that looks and tastes equally amazing.

Ingredients

Serves two

For the Crab

1 medium swimmer crab

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

½ tsp fish sauce

½ lime

1 clove garlic

1 small bullet chilli

For the Potatoes

2 medium washed potatoes

3 tbsp butter

3 – 4 sage leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Radish and Ginger Vinegar

3 medium radishes

¼ cup vinegar

¼ cup caster sugar

¼ water

1 tsp finely chopped ginger

Sprouts for plating.

Directions

Start by preparing the crab; boil in a pot for 5 - 7 minutes. While boiling, dice chilli and garlic. When done, open the torso, clean and carefully remove the meat – this can be timely, but have patience. In a pan, heat butter and add remaining ingredients. Softly stir through the crab and remove from heat shortly after to avoid over cooking the crab meat. Set aside.

Slice two potatoes length ways, and using a scalloping instrument, make medallions and set aside. I was savvy and used a metal medicine measuring cup. In a pan, heat butter and add potato. Fry evenly on each side for 3 -5 minutes until brown, adding sage and salt. Set aside.

In a pan, combine ginger, vinegar, water and sugar and bring to the boil. Cook and reduce for 7 – 10 minutes. Slice radish and when vinegar has cooled, toss radish and plate.

Plating is your creative freedom, I used snowpea sprouts to lay under the delicate crab meat, and the heads to colour the dish. You can also serve crab legs in a bowl on the side, a chance to get sticky and messy after the delicate dish; it’s all about contrast, right.

My Inspiration and a Great Google Search Result

 Cooking for me has always been such a huge part of my childhood, I have so many beautiful memories of family and sharing meals. In later years, I found two extended members of my partially imaginary family – the Two Fat Ladies. The late Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson are two of the most inspirational cooks to date. Although they received a lot of criticism within the media for their weight, political correctness and culinary indulgence, I think a lot of people were missing the point and can agree that it is most definitely not for the light hearted.

No one can deny the value behind rich, over the top, artery clogging, decadent food, these ladies just took it to the next level. Behind every recipe was a story, an origin, a comic value and behind every meal was a table of unsuspected  niche group sort out by the women to cook for. I am a big boy at heart I think  - everything that they cook screams heart attack and there’s nothing better than having what you know you shouldn’t, at least in moderation.

‘Never trust a skinny cook’

‘Most vegetarians relapse on bacon, you know’

A lot of my recipe ideas come from this idea of decadence and the ‘no shame’ attitude Jennifer and Clarissa both had. Rarer, richer and robust. A lot of the recipes they cooked are niche and bordering on extinction so recreating an inspiration for the blog has really helped with the value it holds within the ‘blog world’.  After just short of 10 months of blogging, 39% of my recipes now hold top places within Google’s organic search. Admittedly  some of my recipes aren't very suspecting or common, but they still take the top of the board for what they are worth. I always grappled with the idea of ‘blogging’ but more than anything, it’s been really rewarding to actually achieve something that was inspired so much by my past.