Family Spaghetti Bolognese

My kids are such pasta fans that we cook Italian-style spaghetti bolognese almost every week. After several years, our version of the recipe has evolved from the usual elaborate one I used to do to this most basic recipe that we use week in, week out. With this one, I just throw in whatever is available. Sometimes it's all chopped tomatoes and no passata, sometimes it's red wine or none at all, most of the time there are no chicken livers or I forget to add Worcestershire sauce. Other times there are even no carrots nor celery. It's quite versatile such that most ingredients are optional. And you can tweak it as much as you like as long as there is that mandatory ingredients of minced meat and tomatoes (of whatever form).


Spaghetti Bolognese

1 kg  minced beef (or 3/4 beef, 1/4 pork in proportion)
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1 large onion - finely chopped
125 g  pancetta or streaky bacon - finely diced
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/8 tsp (pinch) dried thyme*
1 tsp dried oregano*
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh or 1 tsp dried basil*
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1 cup white wine
1 cup full-fat milk
1 x 400 g  can of chopped tomatoes
500 g  passata (tomato sauce)
1 Tbsp double concentrate tomato puree (tomato paste) [optional]
2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
freshly milled black pepper
1/2 cup beef stock or water
butter or olive oil
125 g  chicken liver - trimmed, washed and cut into 3/4-inch pieces [optional]

1. In a pan (preferably non-stick), drizzle some olive oil and heat it up. Brown the minced meats in batches. Set aside.
2. If using chicken liver - wipe the pan and heat up some more olive oil or butter. Cook the chicken liver until well cooked and crumbly - about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, then using a fork mash it up. If need be, finely chop some of the bits of liver that refuse to get mashed.
3. In a big stewing pot, heat the 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and gently fry the bacon until it changes colour.
4. Add in the garlic and cook until aromatic.
5. Stir in the onion and cook gently for about 4-5 minutes or until translucent.
6. Turn up the heat to medium and add the carrots and celery. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Add the spices - basil, thyme, oregano. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds.
8. Tip in the browned minced beef and white wine. Simmer until all the wine has evaporated.
9. Add the milk and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer until almost all the liquid has dried up.
10. Add the chopped tomatoes, passata, tomato puree (if using), bay leaf, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce, chicken liver, salt, pepper, and stock.
11. Bring to boil then bring down heat to lowest setting and simmer for *at least* 2-3 hours. The longer you simmer it the better.
12. If you have more fresh basil lying around, chop about 2 Tbsp of it and stir in the sauce.
13. Serve with freshly cooked al dente pasta such as spaghetti or tagliatelli.

*Note: In place of the basil, thyme, and oregano, you may use 1 Tbsp of Italian mixed herb.

Dutch Apple Cake

As always I'm on the lookout for use of apples in anything baked. I found this Rachel Allen recipe in the Good Food Channel website. This is one very fluffy, soft, and yummy apple cake. The only thing I changed is the way the sliced apple is added to the batter. I didn't put it on top as she suggested but put it about 2/3 down the way in the cake tin to make sure they sink to the bottom. Otherwise, it's perfect as it is.


Dutch Apple Cake

175 g  caster sugar (superfine)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
85 g  [1/3 cup] butter
125 g  plain flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 cooking apples - peeled, cored, sliced thinly
1 Tbsp sugar

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/400°F. Line and butter an 8 x 8-inch (20 x 20 cm) baking pan with greaseproof paper.
2. Melt the butter with the milk in a saucepan. Set aside.
3. Sift and combine the flour, cinnamon, and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside.
4. Beat the eggs and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is thick and mousse-like.
5. Pour the melted butter and milk into the egg mixture while whisking all the time.
6. Fold the flour mixture carefully into the mixture just enough to wet the dry mixture.
7. Pour about 1/3 of the batter into the prepared baking pan.
8. Arrange the sliced apple on top and then pour the rest of the batter to cover it. This is to make sure that the apple slices sink to the bottom.
9. Sprinkle the 1 Tbsp sugar all over the top.
10. Bake for ten minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 180C/fan 160C/350F and bake for a further 20-25 minutes or until well risen and golden brown.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the baking pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove from pan and cut into squares. Serve warm with cream.

Lamb Biryani

This was supposed to be my submission for the Daring Cooks in October. But for some reason I wasn't able to blog. So here it is and what a very good recipe to keep. Actually, I made a lamb biryani earlier using a recipe from another book. You could probably hear the crash it made when I tossed it in the rubbish bin. The dish that came out of that was vile! And the meat was so tough I wasn't able to eat it. Well I say good riddance. One less cookbook on my bookshelf.

My ever reliable cookbook by Angela Nielsen, The Ultimate Recipe Book, was the source that I adapted for this keeper of a recipe. The accompanying tomato raita paired very well with it. My only gripe was that it took quite sometime to make and involved a lot of steps and ingredients. But it is perfect for those infrequent special occasions where your effort will be well rewarded with one delicious complete meal.

Lamb Biryani

600 g  lean boneless leg of lamb - cut into 1-inch pieces

*Marinade:
1 Tbsp minced or grated garlic
1/2 Tbsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sea salt
150 g  natural yoghurt

*For the rice:
300 g  basmati rice
1 cinnamon stick - halved
5 green cardamom pods - lightly bashed
4 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
700 ml  chicken stock

*For the drizzle:
5 Tbsp lukewarm milk
generous pinch of saffron strands
1 tsp garam masala
25 g  butter - melted

4 medium onions - cut into half lengthwise then very thinly sliced
5 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
1 - 2 fresh chillies - chopped (optional)
60 ml  [1/4 cup] hot water

*To serve:
1/2 cup toasted almonds or cashews
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves (optional)
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
Coriander and Tomato Raita

1. Marinate the meat - combine the yoghurt, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, and salt in a bowl. Mix in the lamb and marinate for 2-3 hours or more.
2. Dissolve the saffron in the lukewarm milk. Set aside.
3. Combine the melted butter and garam masala. Set aside.
4. Once the lamb has marinated, saute one of the sliced onions in 1 1/2 Tbsp oil in a saute pan. Fry over medium-low heat until it has softened (about 5 minutes).
5. Add the marinated lamb (including the marinade) a tablespoon at a time, cooking and frying briefly before adding the next one. This helps stop the yoghurt from curdling.
6. When all the lamb has been added, cook for about 10 minutes.
7. Add the chilli powder and/or fresh chillies (if using) and fry for a few seconds.
8. Mix in the hot water. Bring to boil and then turn the heat to low and simmer covered for about 1 hour or until meat is very tender. Stir from time to time.
9. Put the rice in a bowl cover with cold water and soak for about 20 minutes. Drain. Set aside.
10. While the rice is soaking and the meat is cooking, cook the rest of the onions in a large saute pan with about 2 Tbsp oil on medium heat. Sprinkle salt on it to stop it from burning.
11. Fry for about 25 minutes or until golden brown all over. Tip the onions onto kitchen paper towels, spread them out in thin layer and set aside to cool.
12. To cook the rice - heat the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp oil in the pan used for the onion. Fry the cinnamon sticks, cardamom, cloves and cumin seeds for about a minute or until you could smell the aroma.
13. Add the drained rice and fry for a minute, stirring all the time. Add in the stock and bring to boil. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 6-7 minutes or until the all the stock has been absorbed. Take off the heat, let stand but keep the cover on.
14. Heat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F. Butter a 2.5 litre casserole dish or pot.
15. Fluff the rice with a fork while picking out the spices from it.
16. Spread in half of the lamb at the bottom of the casserole.
17. Scatter a third of the fried onions on top.
18. Spoon half of the rice on top of the lamb and onions, then pour the spiced butter all over.
19. Repeat the layers and finish with a sprinkling of the spiced milk on the rice, then the rest of the fried onions and toasted nuts.
20. Cover tightly with foil then put the casserole cover on and bake in oven for about 20 minutes.
21. Sprinkle with mint (if using) and coriander. Serve with coriander and tomato raita (see below).

Coriander and Tomato Raita

1/2 tsp cumin seeds or powder
300 g  natural yoghurt
1 medium tomato - deseeded and chopped finely
about 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
salt to taste

1. If using cumin seeds, briefly dry-fry the seeds in a small pan until toasty and aromatic. Grind to a powder.
2. Combine cumin powder and all the other ingredients in a bowl.
3. Add salt to taste. Mix well.

Chocolate Cake with Boiling Water

We never get tired of chocolate cakes and this is another one that I've baked over the years. I was in a quandary over this post's title. How to make it distinctive and descriptive? After all, you can only name so much 'chocolate cakes'. The ingredients are very much like what we can find in other chocolate cakes except for this one surprising addition of boiling water. Intriguing! To be honest this is the first time I've used boiling water in a cake batter. I was bracing myself for a flop of a cake but thankfully was very relieved to find out that it results in a very soft, spongy and moist cake. Really really nice. It was not as chocolatey as other ones I've tried before but the texture was something I was pleasantly surprised and very delighted with that I didn't mind if there was less of a chocolate taste. Lastly, this is quite easy since you just combine everything all at once to mix, then add the boiling water last and you're ready to go.

Originally, this was sourced from the BBC Food website but has since discovered that it was virtually the same as Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake except for the salt and sugar! So I will credit them both since I combined them for this version of mine.


Easy Chocolate Cake

225 g  [1 3/4 cups] plain flour
375 g  [1 3/4 cups] granulated sugar
90 g  [3/4 cup] cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/2 vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

*For icing: use Chocolate Ganache or Chocolate Buttercream Icing (even plain buttercream is good)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F.
2. Grease and flour two 9-inch round (or one 13 x 9-inch) baking pans.
3. Combine all ingredients except the boiling water in a bowl and beat until well combined.
4. Add the boiling water a little at a time while beating until the batter is smooth.
5. Divide the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes (for 13x9 cake tin - 35-40 mins.) or until a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and cool completely while still in the pan.

*To assemble: Remove the cakes carefully from the tin and spread a little of the icing on top of one then put the other cake on top. Spread the rest of the icing on top and all around of the cake stack.

Classic Beef Meatballs

The June Daring Cooks’ challenge sure kept us rolling – meatballs, that is! Shelley from C Mom Cook and Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to try meatballs from around the world and to create our own meatball meal celebrating a culture or cuisine of our own choice.

Meatballs especially ones dunked on top of pasta is a favourite in our family. So as expected I have already done quite a number of meatball recipes in this blog. There's our usual spaghetti meatballs, the soupy almondigas, the Spanish albondigas for tapas, even a sweet and sour meatballs. I've been wondering what to cook until I spied this Classic Beef Meatballs recipe from ABC News. Although our usual family meatballs is almost the same as other Italian-style meatballs around, this one had a significant variant in the form of ricotta cheese. That had got me all intrigued enough to try it. And I wasn't disappointed, the cheese made it very moist and soft. The golf ball-sized meatballs weren't to my liking, however. I like them smaller, easier to handle and bite - probably the size of a conker is best for me. So here is my adaptation of that classic beef meatballs.

Classic Beef Meatballs

1 kg  minced beef (80% lean beef)
1 cup (250 g) ricotta cheese
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 eggs - slightly beaten
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp crushed pepper flakes (optional)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 Tbsp dried
1 tsp minced garlic
olive oil

*For the tomato sauce:
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1 medium onion - chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
4 x 400 g  can of chopped tomatoes
2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground pepper (to taste)
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp double concentrate tomato puree (tomato paste)

*Do the tomato sauce first:

1. Saute the onion and garlic in olive in a heavy-bottomed saucepan on medium heat until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the oregano, ground pepper and sea salt. Cook for about 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, and bay leaf.
4. Bring to boil then lower heat to simmer for 1 hour (if making as sandwich filler) or just 10 minutes (if making for pasta) making sure to stir from time to time to avoid burning. Taste and add more salt if necessary or a little sugar if too sour.

*For the meatballs:

1. Grease a 13 x 9-inch metal baking pan generously with the olive oil. Preheat oven to 230°C/fan 210°C/450°F.
2. Mix all the other ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl. Combine well.
3. Shape into balls about the size of a conker (around 1 inch in diameter) making sure to pack the meat firmly. Arrange closely in the greased pan (they should be touching each other).
4. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. A meat thermometer inserted in the middle should read 74°C/165°F.
5. Now, if you want this for sandwiches, spoon the tomato sauce on top of the meatballs and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
6. If, however, you want this for pasta, pour all the roasted meatballs in the tomato sauce pot and continue simmering for 1 hour.

Salmon En Croute

Our lovely Monkey Queen of Don’t Make Me Call My Flying Monkeys, was our May Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to dive into the world of en Croute! We were encouraged to make Beef Wellington, Stuffed Mushroom en Croute and to bring our kids into the challenge by encouraging them to create their own en Croute recipes!

I decided to go with the flow of the season and do a salmon covered in pastry since it's currently on sale! Even my stuffing is more spring-like: blended combination of spinach, watercress, and rocket (arugula). I used a combination of cream cheese and ricotta (left-over from another recipe). They were quite nice although I must say I was right in seasoning it well. Otherwise it comes across as too bland.

The BBC Good Food magazine provided me with the recipe to adapt to. This is so easy to make what with the ready-made puff pastry you can get from almost any supermarket. The only thing a bit hard is when moving the whole encased salmon from the assembly area to the baking pan. Otherwise, it was all a breeze frankly.

Salmon En Croute

500 g  salmon fillet - skinned and deboned
500 g  puff pastry
150 g  mascarpone or cream cheese
100 g  combined spinach, watercress and rocket
1 medium egg - beaten with 2 tsp milk

1. Combine the cream cheese and the watercress, spinach and rocket in a food processor and whizz until well mixed. Season well with sea salt. Set aside.
2. Heat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/375°F. Butter or oil a baking sheet.
3. Roll the pastry out to a size that will enclose the salmon completely, with a thickness of around 1/8 of an inch. Lay it on the prepared baking sheet (it will hang over the edges) and put the salmon in the middle. If it has a thinner tail end, tuck it under.
4. Put half of the cream cheese mixture on the salmon. Fold the pastry over to make a neat parcel. Trim the edges and seal with a fork or by crimping.
5. Make three slashes in the pastry to allow the steam to escape. Brush the pastry with the egg glaze.
6. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and browned. Dish up and serve with the rest of the watercress puree.

Chicken Ballotine

For the April Daring Cooks Challenge, Lisa from Parsley, Sage and Sweet has challenged us to debone a whole chicken, using this video by Jacques Pepin as our guide; then stuff it, tie it and roast it, to create a Chicken Ballotine.

A few years' ago I was an eager participant to the Daring Baker's food blogging monthly event. It has now morphed into a Daring Kitchen which includes the Daring Cooks challenge. Well, I say the more the merrier! I wanted to get going again after a few years absence but since my big oven conked out months before, all I could participate in is the Daring Cooks challenge.

I love this month's one, deboning a whole chicken. I've always wanted to learn how to do it but always beaten back by procastination. So this kind of dare is the very thing to spur me on. This particular technique of Jacques Pepin, is the simpler one since the back of the chicken is cut open. Next time I hope to learn the more tricky way of deboning poultry without cutting the skin which is the one used in the Filipino chicken relleno or chicken gallantina.

How did I fare? Well, I watched the video at least three times to remember the techniques and the order of the steps. Going back and forth to the computer while my hands are soiled is not something I planned on doing. So after memorizing the process, the deboning itself was quite straight forward. It's the sliminess that I found difficult at times usually when I have to grab the bones. But other than that I must say it went quite well. What I found tricky was the tying of the string! I can't make it 'link' to one another. So I had to refer to the end of the video and had to see it several times. Jacques did it very quickly and I didn't notice at first that he turned his hand to twist the string!

I didn't make the sauce in the recipe and instead used my usual gravy one but included it here in case I'll have the chance to make it next time around. The stuffed, bound and tied chicken was brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with a little salt and pepper then roasted. I served this for our Easter family dinner and it went down quite well. There's something about slicing so easily into that chicken without worrying about bones that makes this so appealing. I'm definitely doing this again.

Ballotine of Chicken

1 whole chicken (about 1.8 kg) - deboned
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Red Rice Stuffing or Spinach, Cheese, and Bread Stuffing (see below)

*Gravy Sauce:
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup dry red wine or chicken stock
1/2 cup diced celery stalk
1 small onion - diced
1/3 cup diced carrot
1/2 tsp potato starch or cornstarch/cornflour dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
2. Lay the deboned chicken skin side down and sprinkle the salt and pepper.
3. Spread the cooled stuffing mixture evenly over the chicken - stuffing the legs, too. If using the spinach stuffing, sprinkle the cheese and bread cubes on top of the spinach.
4. Roll the chicken up, tie it with kitchen string, brush with melted butter and place in a roasting pan.
5. Roast in the oven for about 45 mins - 1 hour or until the temperature in the centre of the chicken ballotine is 70°-74°C/160°-165°F. Check the chicken midway through the roasting time to see if it is browning too much in which case you can reduce the temperature to 190°C/fan 170°C/375°F/gas mark 5.
6. Remove from oven and lift from pan into a serving platter. Let rest for at about 10 minutes before serving.

*For the gravy sauce:

1. Skim off and discard most of the fat from the drippings in the pan. Add water and wine (or stock) to deglaze the pan, and heat over medium heat, stirring to loosen and melt the solidified juices.
2. Strain the juices into a saucepan. Add the celery, onion and carrot. Bring to a boil in high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low and boil gently for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the dissolved potato starch and soy sauce. Bring back to boil while stirring to thicken it. Remove from the heat.

Red Rice Stuffing

115 g  [1/2 cup] Wehani rice
300 ml  [1 1/4 cups] chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 tsp sea salt
15 g  [1/2 cup] dried mushrooms (such as porcini) - rinsed and broken into pieces
1 cup chopped leek (white part)
1 onion - chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
60 ml  [1/4 cup] water

1. Combine the rice, stock, salt and dried mushrooms in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 1 hour or until the rice is tender. Set the rice aside in the pan, uncovered.
2. In another saucepan, combine the leek, onion, oil and water and bring to boil. Cover, reduce the heat, and cook in gentle heat for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook until all the water is gone.
3. Add the rice, mix well and let cool to room temperature.

Spinach, Cheese, and Bread Stuffing

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
140 g  baby spinach leaves
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated Gruyere or matured cheddar or mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups cubed bread

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or skillet. Add the garlic, spinach, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute or until the spinach is wilted.
2. Transfer to a sieve set over a bowl. Drain and let cool to room temperature.

Vanilla Cupcakes

I've held out on posting this recipe for quite sometime because I was waiting for a chance to have a picture of it with lovely swirled icings on top. But since my big oven is out of action for the last few months I don't think I would have that chance soon enough. So I'll just post the plain cupcake in here to make sure that I won't lose the recipe because this is simply one of the best I have come across.

One thing going for this is that it's an all-in-one-bowl recipe in a Nigella Lawson-esque kinda way. Dump everything in a bowl then beat to mix and presto you've got your cake batter. It can't get any easier than that! I adapted this from my latest favourite Cook's Illustrated's - The New Best Recipe cookbook.

Vanilla Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups [210 g] plain flour
1 cup [200 g] sugar
1/2 tsp fine salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup [125 g] unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F. Line a cupcake/muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and combine well.
3. Add all the other ingredients in the bowl and mix with an electric mixer until smooth and well combined.
4. Fill the cupcake tin to about 2/3 full and bake for about 20-24 minutes or until a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean.
5. Remove from pan and cook completely on a wire rack.
6. Spread your choice of frosting on top.

Texas Chili

Tagumpay ! That's the name of a male relative of mine and also the Tagalog word for success! For this innocuous recipe adapted from Epicurious proved to be quite a hit at first try. Actually, on first inspection of the recipe I wasn't too impressed because if you remove the chillies, masa harina and cumin, it would be your usual beef stew. How wrong I was! Maybe it's the masa harina or its combination with the chillies my husband got from his colleague that shaped the great flavour. It is really really good especially for this blustery, wintry weather we seem to be all under right now. I highly recommend this my friends so get cooking!

Thanks to my husband's colleague Dave who gave us his prized hybrid chillies he got from a specialist grower. They added a complexity of flavour and a variety of spiciness that is departure from the usual. The heat I felt was around the mouth and back of throat which was surprisingly pleasant for me not like the usual in-your-face hot spiciness that just gives you pain. For someone who's a chilli wimp this was a great adventure.

This chili is a departure from the usual recipes where they normally use minced (ground) beef. True Texan chili I've read and heard - never use minced meat only cut-up pieces of well-marbled beef. Thus the use of braising or chuck beef was important. I think other stewing beef parts like the shin would be good as well. And that is only one of the differences. It also never use beans nor tomato sauce. And I guess bell peppers would be sacrilege as well!


Texas Chili

1 kg  braising beef (or chuck or stewing beef) - cut into 3/4-inch pieces
6-8 pieces of dried New Mexico, guajillo, or pasilla chillies (or combination)*
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp whole black peppercorn
2 tsp sea salt
5 Tbsp (approx.) lard, butter, or vegetable oil
1 medium onion - finely chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced (about 1 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp masa harina (corn tortilla flour)*
2 cups beef stock
1 Tbsp firmly packaged dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp white distilled vinegar*
sour cream
lime wedges

1. [Optional] If you're using dried chillies, lightly toast the dried chillies in a pan over medium-low heat about 2-3 minutes on each side. Be careful not to burn them or they will taste bitter. Put in a bowl and soak in very hot water until soft (about 30-45 minutes).
2. Split the chillies; remove and discard the seeds and stems. Chop roughly.
3. Place in a blender or food processor and add salt, ground cumin, and 1/4 cup water. Blend/process until a smooth paste forms. Set aside.
4. In a heavy pot, heat 2 Tbsp of the lard or oil. Brown the beef on at least two sides in small batches over medium heat. Add more oil if needed. Set aside.
5. Reheat pot and add more lard/oil if needed. Saute the onion and garlic. Cook for about 4 minutes over low-medium heat.
6. Add in the chilli mixture and quickly saute for a few seconds. Watch out, this might sting your eyes and throat so just cook them very briefly.
7. Add the beef, mix briefly. Then add the beef stock.
8. Slowly add the masa harina while stirring. Cover and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 1.5 hours or until beef is tender. (Note: I used a pressure cooker and it did not seem to affect the quality)
9. Stir in the brown sugar and vinegar and cook a few minutes more until dissolved. Taste and add more salt or pepper if desired.
10. Serve with sour cream and wedges of lime with long grain rice or chips (thick french fries).

*Notes:

• You can use plain tortilla chips if you can't find masa harina. Grind them into fine crumbs before using.
• Dried chillies are not mandatory. You may use fresh chillies; just skip procedure no. 1 above.
• I used cane vinegar for this recipe and it was okay.

Leek and Potato Soup

I never thought that these cream soups that I so love during winter time is so easy to make. Well, it's even easier when they come out of a tin can but the real thing is so much more flavourful and healthier that making it from scratch can be deemed mandatory.

The only specialized equipment needed is a stick blender or a regular blender or a food processor. This is to puree the soup to a smooth and fine consistency. Although it won't hurt even if don't puree, you'll just have more texture in the soup which for some people is preferable.

The picture of the finished product isn't that great so I'll put that at the bottom. I'll post a better one next time I cook this again. Darina Allen's recipe in the BBC GoodFood website is the recipe I adapted.

Leek & Potato Soup

450 g  chopped leek (you may use just the white part if preferred)
1 small onion - chopped
450 g  potatoes - peeled and diced
50 g  butter
1 litre [4 cups] chicken stock
250 ml  [1 cup] milk*
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Remove the tough outer layer of the leeks. Chop and wash thoroughly to remove soil and sand.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
3. Add in the onion and leek and cook on medium heat for about 1 minute.
4. Add the diced potatoes; stir, cover and cook on low heat until vegetables are soft (about 5-10 minutes).
5. Pour in the stock, bring to boil then turn heat to lowest and simmer until the vegetables are soft.
6. Remove from heat and puree everything with a stick blender or in batches with a regular blender or food processor.
7. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
8. Reheat gently and stir in the milk. Serve hot.

*Note: You can use single/double cream or a combination of milk and creams.

Creme Caramel

I thought it was time to make Creme Caramel which is the Western world's version of our very own leche flan. Afterall, I live in the Western world where the ingredients for it are abundant and cheap.

My effort was not particularly stellar as you can see with the various holes. The oven was probably quite hot that's why it's overcooked. Though thankfully this did not affect the overall quality of the custard. It was still smooth and silky with just the right sweetness.

The recipe I adapted is from The New Best Recipe cookbook from Cook's Illustrated.

Creme Caramel

1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp light corn syrup or golden syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp lemon juice (optional)

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups single cream (light cream)
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

*For the syrup:

1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, water, syrup, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer without stirring on medium heat.
   While doing this, wipe the sides of the saucepan with a wet cloth or a wet brush to remove any sugar crystals that can turn the syrup grainy.
2. Continue to cook the syrup until it turns golden (about 8 minutes). Occasionally swirl the saucepan gently for even browning.
3. Cook for a further 4-5 minutes while swirling the saucepan gently and constantly until the syrup turns honey-caramel in colour.
4. Remove from the heat and immediately pour and divide into ramekins or baking moulds you are using. Careful when doing this because the syrup is very hot at this point. Let the caramel cool and harden completely in the moulds.

*For the custard:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F.
2. Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir from time to time and cook until steam appears (about 7 minutes). Remove from heat.
3. Mix gently the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the heated milk mixture, salt, and vanilla while stirring gently. Whisk until just combined but not foamy. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve.
4. Boil about 5 cups of water in a kettle. Put a folded tea towel to fit in the bottom of a large baking pan.
5. Divide the custard mixture in the ramekins or moulds. Arrange the moulds on the tea towel in the baking pan making sure they do not touch.
6. Position the pan in the middle of the oven. Pull the oven rack and the pan about less than half-way out.
   Pour the hot water in the baking pan to reach halfway up the side of the ramekins. This is called a bain-marie or water bath.
7. Cover the entire pan loosely with aluminium foil. Bake until a skewer or small knife inserted between the centre and edge of the ramekin comes out clean. Baking time for small ramekins is about 35-40 minutes while for larger baking dish is about 70-75 minutes.
8. Remove from the bain-marie and cool completely on a wire rack. [Optional] Cover individually with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days.
9. To unmould, run a knife all around the edge of the ramekin. Cover it with a plate and turn it upside down. Shake the ramekin gently to release the custard.

Lime & Coconut Drizzle Cake

Again, the thought of throwing out a soon-to-be-expiring can of coconut milk brought out the daring in me. This, I believe, is the first time I have combined coconut and lime in a cake. And take my word for it - it's sublime! Gregg Wallace's recipe in the BBC Good Food magazine of January 2007 provided the source that I adapted. Things I changed: I didn't bother with the sugar sprinkle and I poked (stabbed more like it) the cake many times before pouring in the syrup icing just like the lemon drizzle version.


Lime & Coconut Drizzle Cake

100 g  butter - softened
175 g  caster sugar
2 eggs
175 g  self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
400 g  coconut milk - divided
finely grated zest of 2 limes

*For icing
half of coconut milk from the cake
150 g  caster sugar
juice of three limes

*For sugar sprinkle [optional]
50 g  caster sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lime

1. Heat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Butter and line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with baking parchment.
2. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and beat everything with an electric until batter is smooth and well combined. Add and stir in enough coconut milk (about 1/3 cup) to make the batter into droppable consistency.
3. Pour mixture in the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean.
4. While the cake is baking, make the icing syrup: mix the coconut milk with 150 gm of the caster sugar in a saucepan. Boil for about 10-15 minutes, while stirring from time to time, until syrupy and you can see the bottom of the pan when stirred.
5. Stir in the lime juice, remove from heat and set aside.
6. If using sugar sprinkle, crush the remaining sugar with the lime zest until it becomes a damp green paste. Set aside.
7. When the loaf has finished baking, remove from oven; [optional] poke the cake many times with a thin skewer. Pour the icing a little at a time, waiting for the cake to absorb it before adding more. Leave the cake to cool in the pan.
8. Once completely cool, remove from pan and sprinkle with lime sugar (if using).

Note: The original recipe did not require poking the finished cake. I just did this so that the icing syrup would penetrate the cake down in the middle more. It is up to you if you want to do this.

Spaghetti Bolognese (no herbs nor wine)

My eldest and youngest love their pasta - that's a given. It's but natural that we're looking at the many variations of the sauces that we can pair with it. Their absolute favourite is the Ragu Bolognese, aka spaghetti tomato meat sauce in this side of the Western world. The three differing sauces that we regularly use with spaghetti are: Classic Ragu Bolognese, Pinoy-style sauce, and the Meatballs sauce. This one I'm posting is quite a departure from those three. Well, it's similar to the first one but quite distinct because it does not involve any herbs, garlic nor wine! Plus the stewing technique is different and the sauce is not simmered down a thick consistency. It is kept topped up and moist. I was quite intrigued so I promptly made it a few days later. Lo and behold, the resulting sauce is really really good which even the harshest critics in the family concurring that this is a gem of a sauce.

Cooking competitions for viewers occurs from time to time in the TV magazine program The One Show in the BBC. And it's there that I chanced upon this winning recipe from a guy who in turn got it from his Italian granny-in-law. Actually she didn't give it to him, he just watched her all the time she cooks it! This happened early in 2012 and I couldn't find the permalinks anymore. Good thing I emailed the recipe to myself as soon as it was published. So who ever you are (the winner and his Italian nonna-in-law) thank you very much for sharing. Your sauce is now my kids' new pasta sauce favourite.

Tweaks I made for this recipe are - increased recipe to x1.5, changed proportion of beef to pork, and increased the passata. It's mainly to use up all the ingredients as per supermarket packaging. I really don't know what to do with a left-over 150gm of passata nor with 200gm of minced beef. Well ... I could make some other dish out of it but I couldn't be bothered to be honest, I just chucked them all in the pot which I'm sure all of you harried cooks would relate to.

So if you're the type who doesn't like herbs or the after-taste of wine in their pasta sauce this one's for you.

Spaghetti Bolognese

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500 g  minced beef
400 g  minced pork
3 good-quality pork sausages (97% pork) [about 200 gm]
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
60 g  onion - finely chopped
60 g  celery - finely chopped
60 g  carrots - finely chopped
500 g  passata (tomato sauce/puree)
2 Tbsp double-concentrated tomato puree (tomato paste)
2 cups stock
salt and pepper to taste

1. Remove sausage from casing. Mix the beef, pork, and sausage in a bowl (best to do by hand) until well combined. Set aside.
2. Heat a heavy saucepan or pot. Add the olive oil in low heat and saute the onion, celery, and carrots. Cook for around 5-10 minutes or until softened.
3. Add the mixed meat and brown evenly in medium-low heat. Do not overcook until dry. It must stay moist. Break up the meat with your cooking spoon as you brown it.
4. Once browned, pour in the passata and tomato puree. Add the stock and stir. It should be covered by liquid.
5. Season with salt and pepper. (I usually add 1 tsp sea salt at this point).
6. Simmer on very low heat with the cover slightly ajar for about 4-5 hours. Taste regularly and add more salt and/or pepper if needed.
7. Check the sauce regularly and if the sauce is thickening too quickly, add a little more hot water or stock. The sauce should always cover the minced meat and not allowed to dry out.
8. Serve with spaghetti or any pasta shapes with a topping of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (although this is traditionally eaten with tagliatelle or rigatoni).

Blueberry Cake

It's been awhile and this summer cake is just waiting to be posted. This is a simple and tasty way of serving up your superfood blueberries. Superbly complimented by that cream cheese-sour cream combination topping for the icing. Lovely eaten with hot or cold tea. Sorry I couldn't remember where I got this recipe but I will surely do the attribution once I find my missing notes.

Blueberry Cake

175 g  butter - room temperature
175 g  caster sugar
225 g  self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
375 g  fresh blueberries

* Frosting:
200 g  cream cheese - room temperature
100 g  icing sugar - sifted
3 Tbsp sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F. Grease and line an 8-inch/20cm round cake pan.
2. Mix the dry ingredients - flour and baking powder and set aside.
3. Cream butter and caster sugar in a bowl.
4. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
5. Add in the sour cream and beat until combined.
6. Using a wooden spoon fold the dry ingredients in the batter.
7. Then fold in the fresh blueberries.
8. Pour in the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until a stick poked in the middle comes out clean.
9. Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Remove and cool completely on a rack.
10. Spread frosting on top and sides.

*For the frosting:

• While the cake is baking, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and icing sugar together until well combined.

Couscous Salad

I thought I have blogged this before and was quite surprised not to see it in the index of this blog. The current warm weather has prompted me to remember this keeper of a recipe as a great accompaniment to barbecued meats. It's very easy to assemble. Once you've done some of the simple preps all you do is toss it together. Taste.com.au has the recipe that I adapted this from.


Couscous Salad

200 g  couscous
200 ml  chicken stock
1 cup diced and seeded cucumber
2 tomatoes - seeded and diced
1 yellow bell pepper - seeded and diced
2 Tbsp chopped red onion
2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp hummus (optional)
sea salt
freshly grated black pepper

1. Combine the chicken stock and 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan and bring to just boiling point.
2. Immediately pour over the couscous in a heatproof bowl. Cover and let steep for 10 minutes.
3. Fluff couscous and season with salt and pepper. Let cool completely.
4. Combine the remaining olive oil, lemon juice and hummus in a bowl and set aside.
5. Toss and mix all the remaining ingredients with the couscous.
6. Add the olive oil dressing and stir well to combine.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and sour pork cantonese style would always be one of my all-time favourite Chinese dishes. What does 'cantonese' mean in this context? Well, the pork is covered in batter and then deep fried before combining or pouring over the sweet and sour sauce. Unlike some other SS concoctions where the meat is cooked all together with the sauce.

My former Chinese colleagues (when I was living in Hong Kong) looked in feigned disdain at me whenever I have this. "That's for tourists", they said. Well, I was a foreigner there, though not exactly a tourist, but at any rate I don't really care. LOL. Serve me sweet and sour pork with a soy sauce dip and freshly cooked rice and I'm a happy bunny. I definitely have an affinity with anything fried with sauce. Somehow the contrast of the crispiness versus whatever flavourful sauce mixed with it is quite delightful to me.

Now my main complaint with this dish is if I follow the recipe to a T, the resulting meat is not tender enough. I wonder what the Chinese restaurant chefs do to make theirs super tender? So to solve the problem I pre-cooked the pork until tender and briefly deep fry it only long enough for the outside to be crisp. It didn't seem to detract from the original intention of the recipe so I guess that's all right.

My well-worn Chinese Cooking For Beginners cookbook by Huang Su-Huei is the source of my updated recipe.


Sweet and Sour Pork

500 g  pork
1 egg yolk
1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/3 cup cornstarch (for dredging)

cooking oil for frying
1 small onion
1 clove garlic - finely chopped
1 cup canned pineapple chunks
1 small red or green bell pepper

*Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
3 Tbsp pineapple juice - use the juice from the canned pineapple
3 Tbsp white vinegar
3 Tbsp ketchup
1 tsp sea salt

*Thickener:
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp cornstarch

1. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Taste and if needed adjust to the right sweet-sour balance that suits you. Set aside.
2. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water for the thickener in another container; set aside.
3. Cut the pork meat into about 3/4-inch size pieces.
4. Lightly tenderise the meat by pounding it with a meat mallet or with the blunt edge of a cleaver.
   *OR*
   Pre-cook the meat (boil or steam) until just tender.
5. Combine the egg yolk, soy sauce, and the 1 Tbsp cornstarch. Mix well with the meat; set aside.
6. Heat enough cooking oil in a wok for deep frying. Before frying, dredge the meat in the cornstarch.
7. Once the oil is hot, deep fry the meat for about 3 minutes. If you pre-cooked the meat, deep fry for about 1-2 minutes only. Remove and drain.
8. Reheat oil in wok until very hot (not smoking). Re-fry the meat for 30 seconds. Remove and drain again.
9. Remove oil from wok and re-heat. In high heat, add 1 Tbsp oil and stir-fry the bell pepper. Add 1 Tbsp water and continue to stir-fry until all water has evaporated (about 30 seconds). Remove and drain.
10. Re-heat wok again; add 2 Tbsp oil. Stir-fry the garlic until fragrant.
11. Turn up the heat and add the onion and pineapple. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds.
12. Stir in the sauce mixture and once it begins to boil add the thickener. Stir and bring to boil.
13. Once thick, add the meat and bell pepper. Toss or stir lightly until sauce covers all of the meat. Dish up and serve.

*Note: Usually, I skip procedure no.9 by combining the stir-frying of the bell pepper with the onion (and omit the 1 Tbsp water). Then I add the pineapple after.

Butter Cut-Out Cookies

My youngest is doing her Confectioner's badge for her Girl Guides. One of the tasks is to do icings on cookies (biscuits). I took this opportunity to blog about this very simple recipe I found on the internet that I've been forgetting to post for the last 3 years!

I was trying to find a butter cookie recipe with the least amount of ingredients to make for my kids at the time. This recipe I adapted from the about.com website was the simplest but probably the most mouth-meltingly delicious butter cookie we've ever baked. It's got a very similar taste to those buttery, crumbly French sable breton that we were able to sample from my food-blogging friend Shalimar.

Anyway, my daughter was very much hands-on in the baking and especially in the decorating. She rolled the dough ...

Did her very first cookie decorations with royal icing ...

And finally the finished products ...

Best of all, her fellow Guides loved them a lot !



Butter Cut-Out Cookies

188 g  [3/4 cup] butter - softened
95 g  [3/4 cup] icing sugar
1 egg yolk
250 g  [2 cups] all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)

1. Beat butter and icing sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).
2. Add in egg yolk and vanilla (if using) and mix until well combined.
3. Tip in the flour and using a spoon, mix well with the butter mixture until you can form into a ball. If the dough is too soft, wrap in cling film or plastic bag and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until firm enough to be rolled.
4. Preheat oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/375°F degrees.
5. Roll on a floured surface (or in between baking paper and cling film) to a even thickness of about 1/8 inch.
6. Cut out or roll into shapes, arrange in a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.
7. Let cool in the baking tray for about 5 minutes then move onto racks to cool completely.
8. If desired, decorate with icing, coloured sugars, or sprinkles.

Waldorf Salad

The only good recipe that came out of the new ones I made this Christmas is this tweaked version of Waldorf Salad from the Epicurious website. The key here is to let the salad sit in the fridge overnight so that the flavours meld well.

This salad is a great refreshing contrast to lots of rich and fatty food that is often served during the holiday seasons. I highly recommend this one folks especially with the Sweet Spicy Pecans that adds a bit of crunch and strong flavour.

Waldorf Salad

1 1/3 cups very thinly sliced celery
1 1/3 cups red seedless grapes - cut in half
4 Golden Delicious apples - cored (not peeled) and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
2/3 cups dried cranberries
1 cup boiling water

*Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp sour cream or plain full-fat yoghurt
1 tsp sugar

1. Put dried cranberries in a heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water on top. Let soak until soft - about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a big bowl. Stir until well combined.
3. Add all the other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
4. Chill in the fridge overnight.
5. Serve on a bed of lettuce and with a sprinkling of Sweet Spicy Pecans on top.

Adobong Mani

This is best paired with a tall glass of Coke with lots of ice. Yum! One of the favourite snacks of Pinoys is this deep-fried peanut aka adobong mani. Why it's called adobo, with nary a sight of vinegar nor soy sauce, I do not know. I just go with the flow or rather the flavour and do not attempt to explain things away.

I used to watch my more enterprising younger sister make this when she was still in elementary school. She then proceeds to package it into small plastic bags and sell it via a corner store. Me and the rest of our siblings? We gamely volunteered to pack it for her with the eye of course of sneaking every other spoonful in our mouths. You can probably guess that my sister's business didn't exactly flourish. Hahaha.

The thing with deep frying the peanuts is once it reaches the cooked stage it can very quickly burn in a matter of seconds. So it is imperative to immediately remove all of the peanuts from the deep fryer once you think it's cooked otherwise you will have a mix of crunchy well cooked ones and some burned ones. Not nice at all.

My sister did not have any deep fryer thermometer nor use a timer when she was cooking this. All she had for indicator was the garlic - if it turned to golden crispy and the peanuts are of the right colour then it is done. You can use that as a guide although timing it and pre-heating the cooking oil to the right temperature would help a lot from guesswork.

Adobong Mani
Deep Fried Red-Skinned Peanuts

dried red-skinned peanuts
garlic cloves - smashed skin-on
cooking oil
fine salt

1. Pour some cooking oil into a saucepan to reach at least 1/2-inch up the side. Heat until it reaches 180°C/350°F in temperature (or if a grain of rice dropped in it pops right back up and starts cooking; or if you stick the end of a wooden spoon or chopstick in it and it starts to bubble up around the wood then it is ready).
2. Deep fry the garlic and peanuts in batches making sure that the peanuts are submerged in oil. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes for peanuts with small kernels and 4 - 5 minutes for big kernels. Alternatively, fry until the whole garlic (not just the edges) turns golden brown and crispy.
3. Set a metal sieve or strainer on a deep bowl big enough to fit all the oil in your saucepan. Once the peanuts are cooked, carefully pour the whole lot in the strainer making sure that the bowl will catch the hot oil. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl. Add fine salt to taste.
4. Pour back the oil in the saucepan, re-heat to 180°C, and repeat for the next batch.

Baked Pork Chop Rice

This is my homage to Hong Kong-style fastfood restaurants that ushered me gently into the wonderful world of Hong Kong food. At the start my stint in the former British colony in the early 1990s, I was quite intimidated of walking into any restaurant for fear of being reprimanded or ignored due to my lack of Cantonese language skills. So the fast food restaurants of Maxim's and Cafe de Coral were heaven sent for me. If the staff does not speak English I simply point to the brightly coloured pictures of mouth-watering food on the wall and I get served pronto!

Thank god the fast food there were so much healthier than the usual Western ones. The mains were almost always a rice-based meal or noodles with meat. Although there are some pretty weird ones like Hot Lemon Coke. Once I plucked the courage to order it to satisfy my growing curiosity. How did they do it? They filled up a tall glass with Coke, stuck in a microwave and nuked it then, just before handing it to me, dropped a slice of lemon in it. Et voila - hot lemon coke! I was laughing pretty much of the time I walked to my table. The concoction had a strange chemical potion taste to it. Similar to a medicine you're forced to swallow when you were little except it's hot. It was okay though I'm not hurrying to order another one any time soon. LOL.

Baked Pork Chop Rice is one of my favourites among Cafe de Coral's menu. It is simply fried pork chops (marinated and floured), put on a bed of egg fried rice, topped with a tomato-based sauce and grated cheese then baked. Just remembering the smell when it comes out of the oven onto my plastic tray and the wonderful taste of the succulent chops starts me drooling.

My well-thumbed Chopsticks Recipes Introduction cookbook by Cecilia J. Au Yeung is where I got the recipe that I adapted.

Baked Pork Chop Rice

500 g  pork chops or pork rib steaks or pork shoulder steaks
flour
grated cheddar cheese

*Marinade:
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp celery salt (optional)
1 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp cooking oil

*Sauce:
1 medium onion - chopped
2 medium tomatoes - chopped
1/2 cup of chopped vegetables - carrots, peas, sweetcorn, celery, etc.
1 Tbsp tomato paste or ketchup
1 cup stock
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp cornflour
3 Tbsp water
1 cooking oil

*Egg Fried Rice:
4-5 cups cooked rice (preferably chilled)
2 beaten eggs
3 Tbsp cooking oil
salt to taste

1. Pound the meat with a meat mallet or the back of a cleaver knife to tenderise.
2. Combine all ingredients for the marinade and mix with the meat. Marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Add the oil and marinate for another 10 minutes.
4. While it is marinating, make your egg fried rice. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat.
5. Add the cooked rice plus salt according to taste. If you're using chilled cooked rice, crumble the rice first before adding to the wok to separate the grains.
6. Stir fry for a few minutes.
7. When it is almost done, push the rice to the sides of the wok and drizzle a little oil in the middle. Pour in the beaten eggs and cook in the middle for a few seconds until almost completely set. Then combine it with the rest of the rice breaking it up as you stir it in.
8. Remove from heat and set aside.
9. For the sauce, heat the cooking oil over medium heat in a sauce pan.
10. Saute the onion in medium heat until translucent.
11. Add the tomatoes and cook until soft. Mash the tomatoes with a spatula.
12. Tip in the soy sauce, sugar, tomato paste, pepper, stock, and vegetables.
13. Bring to boil and then simmer until the vegetables are cooked (about 5 minutes).
14. Dissolve the cornflour in the water and then add to the sauce.
15. Bring to boil on medium heat and stir until thickened.
16. Remove from heat and set aside.
17. Dredge the marinated pork chops in flour.
18. Deep fry or pan fry until golden brown - about 3-4 minutes each side.

*To assemble:

1. Pre-heat oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/430°F.
2. Divide the egg fried rice into oven-proof bowls.
3. Top each one with one fried pork chop.
4. Spoon sauce on top.
5. Sprinkle grated cheese.
6. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes.
7. Serve while hot.