HOMECOOKING WITH TERESA

According to the author this recipe is "reputed to be Mao Zedong's favourite dish. It is a speciality of Hunan, his home region. It is irresistibly rich and truly delicious. Enjoy with a simple bowl of steamed white rice and pak choi or a mixed vegetable stir-fry". I served it with jasmine rice and steamed Asian greens with a ginger and chili sauce. It was truly delicious!   Ingredients 800g pork belly 1 Tbsp vegetable oil 2 Tbsp rock or caster sugar 3 Tbsp light soy sauce 3 Tbsp dark soy sauce 3cm knob of fresh root ginger, peeled and thickly sliced 2 star anise 1 cinnamon stick 3 dried red chillies about 200ml water 3 spring onions, trimmed and chopped Method Bring a wide pan of water to the boil, then reduce the heat slightly.  Lower the pork belly into the pan (cut in half if it doesn't fit in whole) and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Skim off the scum and froth from the surface. Drain the pork and leave to cool slightly.  Preheat the oven to 170C. Cut the pork belly in...

I really like Asian greens. This time I made them with oyster sauce and they were nice as a side dish to other Chinese dishes - see below - but I still like them best steamed with a bit of soy sauce with a splash of sesame oil, garlic oil and chili oil. Love them with any type of Asian style dish. INGREDIENTS 1 bunch gai lan 1 bunch bok choy 1 bunch broccolini 1 1/2 Tbsp grated ginger 3 garlic cloves, crushed 3 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 1/2 Tbsp light soy sauce 1 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine 1 tsp brown sugar 1 tsp roasted sesame oil oil for frying 1 small bunch of coriander, chopped, to garnish METHOD: Rinse all vegetables well and discard any tough stems.  Cut into 5 cm pieces through the stem and the leaf. Heat the wok over high heat, add the oil and heat until very hot. Stir-fry the ginger and garlic for 10 seconds or until fragrant. Add the vegetable stems and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and cook for another 2 minutes. ...

This recipe is an adaptation from a noodles recipe from Adam Liaw. It is easy and very fast to cook. Just make sure that you have all ingredients ready beforehand. It's yummy!! INGREDIENTS 1 Tbsp duck fat 1 Tbsp olive oil 400g chicken thighs, skinless, sliced thinly 500g Hokkien noodles 5 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped sea salt a pinch of brown sugar 3 Tbsp dark soy sauce 1/4 tsp white pepper or freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup chicken stock or water 4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced 1 bunch baby bok choy, leaves separated and trimmed 1/2 lombok cabbage, shredded 1 bunch broccolini Chicken Marinade 2 tsp Shaoxing wine 2 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp dark soy sauce 2 tsp cornflour Mix together the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add the chicken.  Prepare all the vegetables and tease apart the noodles so that they separate. If you have trouble separating them, soak in a large bowl with warm water. Heat a wok and add the duck fat and the ...

I love cod. We have very interesting recipes in our Catalan cuisine, especially for salted cod. This time, though, I wanted to try out this recipe with a touch of Japanese flavours. It turned out beautiful. The fish was flaky and delicious with a mild flavour that increases as you eat more of it. INGREDIENTS 4 x 180g pieces firm white fish fillet, such as snapper or blue-eyed cod, skinned 1 Tbsp white miso paste 2 tsp sugar 2 tsp lemon juice 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil To serve finely shredded spring onions sesame seeds steamed rice steamed green vegetables, such as baby Asian leafy greens and asparagus METHOD Place the fish on a lightly oiled baking tray.  Preheat the grill to high. Stir the miso paste, sugar, lemon juice and olive oil together in a bowl to combine. Shred the spring onion and put some sesame seeds in a bowl. Brush the fish with the miso mixture.  Place the tray under the grill for 5-7 minutes until the fish is just cooked throu...

This is a variation of a recipe from the cookbook Delicious - Home Cooking. I followed the recipe and everything was fantastic except for the peanut relish. It was quite awful to be honest. I have omitted it from this recipe and have added a Satay Sauce.  It works very well with the steamed Asian greens with a bit of soy sauce and a splash of flavoured oils. INGREDIENTS: 1.5 kg boneless pork belly, skin on Olive oil to rub 1 Tbs sea salt Steamed Asian greens, to serve Satay sauce (From Complete Asian Cookbook - Charmaine Solomon) 6 Tbs peanut butter (smooth or crunchy) 1 cup water 1 tsp minced garlic 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes 2 tsp palm sugar 2 Tbs dark soy sauce lemon juice to taste 1/2 tsp shrimp paste Coconut milk for thinning METHOD: Preheat the oven to 100C. Score the pork skin and fat in a criss-cross pattern without cutting into the meat. Place pork on a rack in the sink and pour over a kettle of boiling water (this will result in crisp crackling)...

This is a very simple and delicious recipe from Neil Perry. I have varied the actual recipe and made it a lot easier. I used deboned chicken thighs instead of chicken breast. They both work very well. Sometimes, I also add some truffle oil or any other flavoured oil I have in the pantry to the greens. This time I served it with Coconut rice with crunchy ginger, chilli and peanuts, an adaptation of one of the recipes from Ottolenghi's Simple cookbook. Just delicious! INGREDIENTS: 150 g lemongrass and ginger butter (see below) 600 g chicken breast fillets or thigh fillets, cut thinly 1 Tbsp olive oil sea salt and freshly ground black pepper steamed Asian greens, to serve sesame oil, garlic oil, chilli oil and light soy sauce, to serve Lemongrass and ginger butter 2 Tbsp thinly sliced lemongrass, white part only 1 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger 1 garlic clove, chopped 2 French shallots, peeled and diced juice of 1 lime 1 Tbsp fish sauce 1/2 tsp caster ...

I love wontons and BBQ pork ! Unfortunately, my husband doesn't! So I only cook them every so often for myself. I make a batch and freeze them for another day. It takes quite a long time to make the dish but it's worth it!!! Love it! DRY WONTON NOODLES INGREDIENTS: Salt, to taste 1 tsp vegetable oil 1 bunch choy sum or gai lan, washed well A handful of beansprouts 12 Pork and Prawn Wontons (see recipe below) 4 cups fresh thin egg noodles 4 Tbsp garlic oil 250 gr BBQ pork, sliced (see recipe below) Spring onion, to garnish Soy sauce and sliced red chillies, to serve (optional) Noodle sauce 1 tsp caster sugar 1 Tbsp oyster sauce 2 Tbsp light soy sauce 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce METHOD Combine the noodle sauce ingredients and mix well. If the sugar does not dissolve completely, heat the sauce briefly in a small saucepan or in the microwave, but do not bring to the boil. Bring 3-4 litres of water to a rolling boil in a large saucepan and season w...