Szechuan Pig Cheeks

Forget sweet and sour, black bean and chow mein, the only Chinese food that i ever crave is the cuisine from the Szechuan region.

Rachel and I spent 5 days in Chengdu in 2010 and fell in love with the food, there was one street restaurant that we went back to daily having failed to find anywhere that came close for flavour and sheer addictive spiciness.

Upon arriving back in old blighty we were again craving the seriously hot, full of flavour dishes we'd tried a few months before so i trawled the internet for ideas and luckily was provided with a Szechuan cook book, Sichuan Cookery by Fuchsia Dunlop, for my birthday.

And so i discovered the secret - Chilli Bean Paste. My cupboard will never again be missing this vital ingredient.

There are a few ingredients that you may not have seen before but should be easy to find in your local Asian supermarket and you'll be able to pick up pig cheeks from your butchers or Waitrose.

Ingredients -

Tbsp ground nut oil

650g pig cheeks

2 tsp Szechuan Peppercorns, crushed

2 tbsp Shaoxing Wine

2 Red Pepper and 1 Yellow Pepper, sliced

4 tbsp Chilli Bean Paste

3 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

12 dried red chilis (optional)

For the Stock -

1 litre of Chicken Stock

4 Spring Onions finely chopped

4cm piece of fresh Ginger, finely grated

To serve -

Rice

Stir fried Pak Choi

3 Spring Onions, finely sliced

2 Red Chillis, finely chopped

• Halve the pig cheeks and place in a bowl with the crushed Szechuan peppercorns and a tbsp Shaoxing wine, mix together and allow to marinate for a few hours, or however long you can.
• Make a simple Asian stock by adding the finely chopped spring onions and grated ginger to chicken stock and giving a good stir.
• Heat the oil in a large pan, medium heat, and add the marinated pig cheeks to brown all over, a few minutes on either side. When done remove from the pan and set aside.
• Add the chilli bean paste to the same pan and stir fry for a few seconds to start releasing all the wonderful flavour. Add the stock, the last tbsp of Shaoxing wine and the soy sauce.
• Bring to the boil, add the pig cheeks back in and reduce the heat to simmer. 
• Preheat the oven to 150C
• Cover the pan with a lid and transfer to the oven for approximately 3 hours or until the meat is really tender. 
• Add the sliced peppers and dried chillis for the last hour of cooking time.

 Serve over rice with fresh chilli and spring onions sprinkled over the top.

Etli Kuru Fasulye

The Mrs and I found this dish first of all in Transylvania but had no idea what we had ordered, we just knew everyone in the restaurant was eating it and that the waiter found it very strange that a girl would dare order it. Rach is a right FOMO though so the stares didn't put her off too much!

It wasn't until we arrived in Istanbul at the end of the trip that we could actually put a name to the dish and look it up on the internet. The name literally translates to 'meat and beans' and has been adapted to as closely resemble the Transylvanian dish we first had, meaning the stew cooked with a whole piece of ham.

Ingredients -

Approx 1.2kg Smoked Gammon Joint

2 Onions, finely chopped,

2 Red Peppers, finely chopped

3 Cans of Butter/White Beans in water, or a mixture

Dried Chili Flakes, to taste

3 Tbsp Tomato Puree

• Place the ham in a pot, cover with water, bring to the boil, discard the water. This will remove excess salt which can overpower the dish. Alternatively you can soak the joint overnight in water and then discard that. Preheat your slow cooker.
• Trim the fat from the meat
• Fry the chopped onion in olive oil until soft.
• Add the peppers, chilli flakes and tomato puree, mix and continue to cook for a couple more minutes
• Add 2 cans of butter beans and their water, drain the last can and add those too, bring to the boil
• Place the meat in the middle of the slow cooker and pour over the bean mixture
• Cook on high for approx 8 hours, remove lid for the final hour if sauce needs to thicken, add a little water if it gets too thick

Serve over rice / with veg / bread

Nutella Mug Cakes

Photo courtesy of Sarah Gatehouse

Are you mugging me off !?

A freshly prepared, hot chocolate cake with beautiful gooey centre ready in less than 5 minutes? Made with ingredients you probably have in your kitchen cupboards already...

You may think I've gone nut(ella)y but it is possible, I promise you, I'm not taking you for a mug, I'm just showing you how to prepare a super fast, delicious desert in one!

Ingredients, for 4 mugs - 

8 Tbsp Self Raising Flour

8 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

2 Eggs

6 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

6 Tbsp Semi Skimmed Milk

6 Tbsp Nutella

6 Tbsp of Vegetable or Olive Oil

• Combine all of the above in a large bowl and whisk together with a fork until smooth.
• Separate the mixture between mugs, half fill each.
• Cook each one in the microwave for 90 seconds - 3 minutes, depending on oven wattage and size of portion, until the pudding has risen and set on top.

Serve with vanilla ice cream

Japanese Mirin Poached Beef

Having recently suffered a rather serious knee injury, leaving me unable to put weight on my right leg, cooking has started to feel a little more like a chore...

This is mostly down to the discomfort of standing on one leg and hopping around the kitchen unable to move freely to grab the necessary ingredients. So, until I'm all fixed, or have two legs at least able to share the 15 stone burden, I'll be cooking quite quick and simple meals.

We have a few Asian dishes that fit into that category, see previous post for smoked mackerel noodles, and this is one that's great if you need a red meat fix.


Ingredients for 4 servings -

500g Rump Steak, trimmed of fat
300ml Vegetable Stock
2 Onions, sliced
6 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
10 tbsp Mirin
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
Approx 2cm piece of Ginger, grated
Bunch of Spring Onions, sliced
2 Red Chillies, sliced

Rice to serve

• The key here is to slice the meat as thinly as possible. To assist with this put the meat in the freezer for a short while or if frozen then slice before completely thawed.
• Combine the stock, soy sauce, mirin, sugar and ginger in a pan, bring to the boil and then turn down the heat to simmer.
• Add the onions and cook for a few minutes until softened.
• Add the beef to the pan and cook for a few more minutes, stirring until the meat is cooked.
• Serve over rice with spring onions and fresh chillies sprinkled on top.

Grasshopper Squares

I'm not sure if I've mentioned previously but i am partial to a chocolate brownie or two... Another thing i love is after eights chocolates and will eat a whole box given half a chance!

Imagine combining the two.

Grasshopper squares do this; mixing the best aspects of two great things to make something even more amazing like taking the best bits of Carmen Electra, ass, and Elle Macpherson, legs, and creating a perfect lower portion of the female form.

My choice of lady pin up might be showing my age there... I wonder who the kids fancy these days? That mechanic chick from transformers i bet, or maybe Cheryl Cole is still popular with the naive younglings? Taking a quick flick through FHMs top 100 girls of 2011 i don't even recognise half the names...

Surely none of these young pretenders can hold a candle to Tiffani Amber Thiessen in her prime anyway?

I digress.... the grasshopper squares are immense and well worth the little extra effort it takes to make the three layers, so if you're a fan of mint and chocolate, give them a go!

Ingredients -

For the brownie base:

100g good quality dark chocolate, 50g butter, 125g golden caster sugar, 2 eggs, 50g plain flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 20g cocoa, 1/4 tsp vanilla essence.

For the mint ganache layer:

200g good quality white chocolate, 100ml double cream, 3tsp peppermint extract, green food colouring.

For the chocolate icing top:

150g dark chocolate, tbsp of golden syrup, 50g butter

• First preheat your oven to 180C/160C not fan/fan and line an approx 22cm square baking tin/dish with greaseproof paper. 
• For the brownie base - melt the butter and chocolate in a microwave or in a bowl over simmering water, leave to cool.  
• Beat eggs, vanilla essence and sugar together until mixed, thick and pale. 
• Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture then sift over the flour, baking powder and cocoa, fold this through until evenly mixed. 
• Pour into the baking dish and put in the oven for 15-20 minutes, the middle should just be set. Leave to cool in the tin.  
• Now the mint ganache - Chop the white chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. 
• Heat the cream until just simmering, then pour over the white chocolate, Allow to sit for a few seconds and then stir until the chocolate has melted. Add the peppermint extract and a drop of food colouring so you have a pale mint colour or whatever green colour you're aiming for. 
• Cool until thickened then spread evenly over the brownie base. Put in the fridge for approx 45 minutes until the ganache has set.
• Lastly the chocolate icing - Break the dark chocolate into pieces and place in a bowl with the syrup and butter. Gently melt in a microwave or in a bowl over simmering water. 
• Cool until it won't melt the mint ganache layer, then spread evenly on top. 
• Put it back into the fridge for 1 hour.
• Take the whole thing out of the baking dish, remove paper, trim the edges and then cut into small squares .

Makhani Dhal

While at Dishoom, see previous post Dishoom Keema Pau i had the opportunity to taste their signature 24 hour slow cooked makhani dhal, which is amazing, unfortunately the recipe is a well guarded secret.

I love dhal though and makhani dhal, makhani meaning buttery, is the most luxurious Indian dhal, saved for special occasions, so i had to find a way to recreate it.

Scouring the internet most recipes have a very similar base but i've settled on the one below, which is perhaps the most indulgent i've seen, incorporating double cream and a suitably generous amount of butter for a dish with butter in it's name.

This can be done on the stove but i got the trusty old slow cooker out again and cooked it for around 12 hours, only half the cooking time of Dishoom's dish but just as good!

Ingredients -

225g Black Urad Dhal / Black Lentils

2 Onions, finely chopped

2 Green Chillis, sliced

50g Butter + Extra

Tbsp freshly grated Root Ginger

3 Garlic Cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 Tsp Tumeric

Tsp Hot Chilli Powder

2 Tsp Cumin

2 Tsp Coriander

2 Bay Leaves

2 x 400g cans Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed

142ml Pot of Double Cream

1/2 Tsp Garam Masala

Handful Chopped Coriander

Salt

• Heat your slowcooker to high
• Boil lentils in 800ml of water for 15 minutes until almost tender
• Meanwhile fry the onions and chilli in 50g butter until soft
• Stir in the ginger, garlic and spices and cook over a low heat for 1 minute
• Pour the lentils with liquid, contents of frying pan and 800ml boiling water into your slow cooker (or a large pan if cooking on the stove)
• After an hour add bay leaves and kidney beans
• After a couple more hours blend the mixture but not for too long, you still want some texture to the dhal
• Add in the cream and some corriander and taste. Add a little more butter, 15g maybe, and any other seasoning that the dhal needs to your taste and continue to cook until thick and creamy but not dry
• I cooked it for a total of 12 hours but it's up to you, add a little more water if it gets too dry.

Serve with some extra fresh coriander either on it's own, with your choice of indian bread or as part of a full Indian feast.