Hong Kong Baked Pork Chop Fried Rice

Whenever I feel like having comfort food, I always go back to this very delicious and simple dish. When I was a kid, my parents would bring us out to Hong Kong style cafes and we would ordered baked pork chop with fried rice, almost every time! It is a great dish to make if you have guests over or if you want to make lots of leftovers.

The key to making the fried rice is to use leftover rice that it has been refrigerated.  So when you cook it, it will separate and not clump together.

Ingredients

* 1 tbsp Shao Hsing Wine (Chinese rice wine)

* 2 tbsp soy sauce

* 1/2 tsp salt

* 1/2 tsp sugar

* 3 pork chops

* 3 cups leftover rice

* 2 eggs

* 6 tbsp of oil

* salt to taste

* 2 stalks spring onions, chopped

* 1/4 tsp white pepper

* 4 tbsp flour

* 2 cloves garlic, crushed

* 1 onion, sliced

* 1 cup mushrooms, sliced

* 5 ripe tomatoes, sliced

* 4 tbsp ketchup

* 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Mix Shao Hsing wine, soy sauce, salt and sugar in a Ziploc bag and marinate pork chops in the Ziploc bag for 30 minutes.  

2. Put the rice into a large bowl and break it up until all rice is loosened.  In a small bowl, beat eggs together.  Heat wok to medium high heat and add 2 tbsp of oil.  Add eggs and whisk gently till eggs are halfway cooked.  Add rice all at once and stir immediately to distribute egg to all the rice, the more evenly and smaller pieces of egg the better.  Add salt to taste.   Add the spring onions and stir half a minute.  Spread fried rice in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

3. On a large plate, mix white pepper and flour and lightly coat pork chops with flour mixture, shaking off excess flour.  Add 2 tbsp oil to a large saucepan and pan fry the pork chops over medium heat for two minutes on each side, or til golden brown.  Remove the pork chop and place on top of fried rice.

4. In the same saucepan over medium heat, add remaining 2 tbsp oil. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, then add onions.  Stir until onions slightly caramelized, then add mushrooms and stir fry for 1 minute or till slightly browned.  Lower the heat and add the tomatoes and ketchup.  Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the tomato is softened.  Remove cover and simmer until sauce is reduced and thickened.  Pour sauce over pork chops.

5. Turn oven on broil. Top the pork chop rice with cheese and broil for 10 minutes or until cheese is slightly brown. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Coconut Tapioca with Mango 椰汁芒果西米露

Do you have times you are craving for dessert that are made with fruit? This recipe is one of my favorite Hong Kong dessert and it is very easy to make. I got the small yellow mango at the Asian store, they are smaller, yellower and sweeter than the Mexican ones that you find in normal grocery stores which they are perfect for dessert or have it by itself.

Serve 6

Ingredients:
* 1 cup Tapioca
* 1 cup milk
* 1/2 yellow rock sugar
* 1 can coconut milk
* 4 mango, peeled, seeded and cut in 1" cubes

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, boil 3 cups of water. Put a spoon in the saucepan to prevent tapioca sticking together. Add tapioca into the boiling water, then turn down the heat to low-simmer for 15 minutes. Stir constantly. Off heat, cover tapioca, for 30 minutes.
2.  In another medium saucepan, heat 1 cup of water, milk and sugar in medium heat. Once liquid started to boil, turn heat to simmer, until sugar is all melted. Add in coconut milk, turn heat up to medium. Stir constantly, until milk mixture is boiling, then immediately turn off heat and let it cool. If you want the dessert to be cold, put the coconut mixture into the refrigerator for 3 hours before serving.
3. Drain the tapioca and wash with cold water to wash off the starch to help with breaking them apart. Evenly distribute tapioca into 6 bowls, then add coconut milk mixture. Top with mango and serve.

Dutch baby

This is our all time favorite breakfast at our home. Mr. S saw this in the GQ magazine a few years ago and we started to make Dutch Baby for weekend brunch when we feel like a sweet doughy breakfast.  Since peach is in season, so I made a peach topping to go with the Dutch Baby, but you don't have to have any topping and it is very delicious!

Ingredients: 
* 3 Tablespoons butter
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup flour
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1 tsp sugar
* 1/4 tsp salt
* pinch of nutmeg (Optional)

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

2. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a 9" oven proof skillet in the oven. Remove when melted.

3. Mix together the rest of the ingredients, then pour into hot skillet.

4. Return to oven and bake for 18-20 minutes until puffy and evenly browned. 
5. Remove and sprinkle with lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Ham and Cheese Pie

I bought 2 dozens of pasture eggs the other day at the farmers market and thought of  making quiche, but I was too lazy to make the pie crust. This recipe is great for a lazy me with using Parmesan cheese as the crust. It was very delicious and great brunch food to make for a brunch pot luck!

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened plus 2 tablespoons melted

* 3 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese

* 8 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (2 cups)

* 4 ounces thickly sliced deli ham, chopped

* 4 scallions, minced

*  ½ cup (2½ ounces) all-purpose flour

*  ¾ teaspoon baking powder

*  ½ teaspoon pepper

*  ¼ teaspoon salt

*  1 cup half-and-half

*  4 large eggs, lightly beaten

*  2 teaspoons dijon mustard

*  1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch pie plate with softened butter, then coat plate evenly with Parmesan.

2. Combine Gruyère, ham, and scallions in bowl. Sprinkle cheese-and-ham mixture evenly in bottom of prepared pie dish. Combine flour, baking powder, pepper, and salt in now-empty bowl. Whisk in half-and-half, eggs, melted butter, mustard, and nutmeg until smooth. Slowly pour batter over cheese-and-ham mixture in pie dish.

3. Bake until pie is light golden brown and filling is set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Slice into wedges. Serve warm.

Sweet Corn Spoonbread

I got this recipe from Cook's Country and was very impressed with the result. The spoonbread is like a cornbread souffle, by folding in egg white to the cornmeal which created the fluffiness to the spoonbread.

Ingredients

*1 cup cornmeal

*2 3/4 cups whole milk

*4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus additional for greasing dish

*2 cups corn kernels (from 3 to 4 ears of corn, or frozen, if defrosted and well drained)

*1 teaspoon sugar

*1 teaspoon salt

*1/8 teaspoon cayenne

*3 large eggs, separated

*1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 1 1/2 quart soufflé dish or an 8-inch square baking dish. Whisk cornmeal and 3/4 cup of milk in a small bowl until combined and set aside.
2. Melt butter in a Dutch oven or large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Cook corn until beginning to brown. Stir in sugar, salt, cayenne and remaining 2 cups milk and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let mixture steep for 15 minutes.
3. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return to pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and add the cornmeal mixture, whisking constantly until thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let it cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Once cool, whisk in egg yolks until combined.
4. Using a hand mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Whisk one-third of whites into corn mixture, then gently fold in remaining whites until combined. Scrape mixture into prepared dish and transfer to oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until spoonbread is golden brown and has risen above rim of dish, about 45 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Individual spoonbreads

To make individual spoonbreads, divide batter among 6 greased 7 oz ramekins, Arrange ramekins on rimmed baking sheet and bake as directed, reducing cooking time to 30 to 35 minutes.

Chicken Florentine

I was surprised how well this dish turned out and the chicken was very tender after cooking in the creamy broth. It is easy to add some bread on the side to become an easy to make weekday dinner. 

Ingredients

*2 Tbs canola oil

*12 oz (2 bags) spinach leaves

*1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat

*Salt and pepper

*½ small white onion, finely chopped

*2 garlic, minced

*2 Tbs all-purpose flour

*2 c chicken broth

*1 c milk

*1 tsp fresh lemon zest

*1 tsp fresh lemon juice

*¼ c grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Position an oven rack 5 inches from the top coils; Heat the broiler.
2. Heat 1 Tbs oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted. Transfer spinach to a colander and press with a large spoon or a spatula to remove excess liquid. Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining 1 Tbs of oil in the skillet. Lay the breasts in the skillet and brown on both sides. Transfer the skillet to a plate and loosely cover with foil.
3. Add the onion and garlic to the skillet and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour. Slowly whisk in the broth, scraping up the browned bits. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add the milk. Return the chicken breasts and any accumulated juices to the pan. Cook until the thickest part of the breasts reach 160 degrees, about 30 mintues, flipping the breasts halfway through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent loosely with foil.
4. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until thickened and reduced to about 1 ¼ c, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Cut the chicken breasts crosswise into thick slices. Arrange in a broiler-safe casserole dish/skillet. Scatter the spinach over the chicken in an even layer. Pour the sauce over the spinach. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top and broil until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Watch carefully so cheese doesn’t burn. Serve.