Ingredients

• 2 or 3 large cloves garlic
• 2-inch piece fresh ginger root
• 3 scallions
• 1 pound sweet potato
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 6 ounces ground pork
• 1 tablespoon canola or grapeseed oil
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Preparation

Mince enough of the garlic to yield 1 tablespoon. Peel and mince the ginger to yield 1 tablespoon. Separate the scallion whites and greens; chop each. Peel the sweet potato, and either grate it in a food processor (cut into chunks first), cut it into matchsticks or use a spiralizer.

Whisk together the wine or dry sherry, the soy sauce or tamari, the Worcestershire sauce and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the pork and stir with a fork to incorporate.

Heat a wok or large, well­-seasoned cast-iron skillet over high heat. Drizzle in the oil so that it coats the sides of the wok. Working quickly, add the garlic, ginger and scallion whites; stir-fry for 5 seconds, then add the pork mixture and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes, until the pork is cooked through.

Add the sweet potato; stir-fry for about 6 minutes and try to create some crisped edges on it, if possible. Some of the sweet potato pieces will still be somewhat firm. Remove from the heat.

Divide among individual bowls. Garnish each portion with the scallion greens. Serve hot.

Washington Post

Ingredients

• 16 tortillas de maiz
• 800g (1.5 lbs) pork butt
• 1/2 pineapple
• 1 lg. onion
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 8 limes
• salt

For the axiote marinade:

• juice of 2 oranges
• 300g ground axiote (powder)
• 10 dry chiles guajillos
• 1 medium size onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp white pepper
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 stick of cinnamon

1 recipe salsa taquera

Preparation

1. Make a cut into the side of each chile guajillo, and devein them (rip out the stem and the guts) and soak them in hot water. Once they’ve hydrated and they’re soft, remove from water and place in blender. Add the vinegar, the juice of two oranges, chop up the medium sized onion and add that too. Add your garlic cloves, the cinnamon, and blend it a little. Then add the axiote, the white pepper, then blend. Then add salt to taste. Once the mix is ready, pour into a big bowl you’ll use to marinate the meat.

2. Cut your pork hiney into half steak pieces. Try to make them uniformly thick, but they don’t need to look pretty at all because we’re going to chop them all up before the end to serve in the tacos.

3. Cover each “steak” in the axiote marinade and then refrigerate them all for as long as you can afford to (at least three hours).

4. When it’s time to make dinner, start be preheating the grill.

5. Slice your 1/2 pineapple into “disks” just a bit over 1cm thick (about 1/2″). You can just cut the slices across the entire pineapple, and you don’t have to peel the outside of the pineapple off before you grill it, either.

6. With a hot grill, throw on the now-marinated pork steaks along with your pineapple pieces until both have been cooked. This should take about eight minutes, maybe a touch more. You know you’ve cooked the pineapple enough when it has become soft throughout. It’s alright if the pineapple slices get charred a bit, but do your best to keep them from burning, otherwise they will not taste good.

7. Now peel the pineapple rings off and chop the pineapple into small little cooked pieces.

8. Mince the onions, chop up the cilantro, then mix them together with the pineapple in a bowl. Take a lime and squeeze its juice into the mix and add salt to taste. Sample it to see if you need to add more lime juice.

9. Chop up the pork into little strips and pieces for filling your tacos with.

10. Make the tacos: add the meat to the tortillas first, then your pineapple-cilantro-onion mix, and then top off with your delicious authentic salsa taquera.

Authentic Mexican Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 lb. thick macaroni
• 7 tbsp olive oil
• 2 vegetable stock cubes (1 of which optional)
• 1 lg. onion, finely chopped
• 1 lg. clove garlic
• 2 lb. minced meat (half pork and half beef, or lamb, etc.)
• 2 tsps dried mint, rubbed
• 1 tsp oregano
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup pureed tomatoes
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 heaped tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup grated Halloumi (or other dry, hard) cheese

For the white sauce:

• 8 cups milk scant
• ½ c. corn flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp breadcrumbs
• zest of 1 lemon

Preparation

Macaroni:

Grease a shallow baking dish (15x13"). Break the macaroni in half (this will enable you to arrange the cooked pasta better in the baking dish later). Add macaroni to a large pan of boiling water, together with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt and 1 vegetable stock cube (optional). Boil, uncovered, until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain well and put aside in a bowl. Add 1 tbsp butter to the pasta, 3/4 cup of your grated cheese, the beaten egg and 1tsp dry mint. Mix well and set aside.

Meat Sauce:

Heat the rest of your oil in a large frying pan; add your chopped onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add the mince and cook until well browned. Add the pasata and the tomato paste, the sugar, oregano, dried mint, cinnamon, the stock cube dissolved in 1 cup of hot water, the salt and the freshly ground black pepper. Towards the end, add the parsley and remove from the heat.

White sauce:

Dissolve your corn flour in 1 cup of milk, then and1 tsp salt. Add the egg (lightly beaten), and the finely chopped parsley and lemon zest. In a big non-stick pan add the remaining 7 cups of milk and bring almost to the boil. Gradually whisk the dissolved corn flour and egg mixture into the hot milk, stir well over the heat until the mixture boils and thickens; mix until smooth and remove from heat.

Next steps:

Add half of the macaroni into your greased dish. Top the macaroni with the meat sauce and spread evenly. Add rest of the pasta over meat sauce. Pour over ¾ of the white sauce and use a fork to make sure that some of the white sauce goes through the pasta to the base of the dish. Now add the rest of the white sauce and smooth the surface, then sprinkle the breadcrumbs and the remaining grated cheese on top. Spread several knobs of butter equally along the surface of the dish.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until golden brown. Leave to stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. vegetable oil
• 3 stalks lemon grass, sliced thin
• 3 large shallots, chopped
• 8 sprigs fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• 3 tbsp. fish sauce
• 4 c. chicken broth
• 2 14 oz. cans coconut milk
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• ½ lb. white mushrooms, cut into 1/4" slices
• 1 lb. pork tenderloin, halved lengthwise, sliced into 1/8" thick pieces
• 3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 2 tsp. red curry paste

Preparation

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add lemon grass, shallots, cilantro, and 1 tbsp. fish sauce; cook, stirring frequently, until just softened, 2 to 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and 1 can coconut milk; bring to simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes. Strain broth, return to pan.

Return pan to medium-high heat. Stir remaining can coconut milk and sugar into broth mixture and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms, and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add pork and cook, stirring constantly, until no longer pink, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove soup from heat.

Combine lime juice, curry paste, and remaining 2 tablespoons fish sauce in small bowl; stir into soup.

Ingredients

• 1 pint shucked oysters with their liquor
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup chicken stock or milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Hot sauce
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small eggplant, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ounces finely chopped tasso (about 3 tablespoons)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 ounces Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese, grated (1⁄4 cup)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish and set aside. Pour the oysters into a bowl and check for bits of shell. Strain the oyster liquor through a fine sieve into a small bowl and set aside. Set drained oysters aside in a small bowl.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and whisk in the flour. Whisk in the reserved oyster liquor and stock. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Whisk in the cream. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, stirring from time to time, until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, hot sauce, and nutmeg. Remove the pan from the heat and cover to keep the sauce warm.

Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onion, tasso, garlic, sage, and rosemary. Cook until the eggplant is tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the eggplant mixture into a colander to drain for 5 minutes. Stir together the crumbs, parsley, melted butter, oil, and cheese in a small bowl and set aside.

To assemble the gratin, spread about one-third of the oyster liquor sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spoon the eggplant mixture into the dish. Arrange the oysters in a single layer over the eggplant mixture and drizzle with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the entire dish. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Epicurious

Ingredients

• 3 green onions (we’ll use only the green parts)
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 lb. (907 g) pork belly block
• Water for cooking pork belly
• 4 boiled eggs
• ¼ cup (60 ml) sake
• ½ cup (120 ml) water
• ½ cup (120 ml) mirin
• ½ cup (120 ml) soy sauce
• ¼ cup (50 g) sugar

Preparation

We will only use the green parts of the green onions (use the white parts in miso soup to go with this dish). Cut the green parts in half. Peel the ginger and slice it thinly.

On the pressure cooker, press the “Sauté” button on your Instant Pot and heat the oil. Cook the pork belly. You can skip this part to cut down the cooking time, but this process will render more fat and make the dish tastier.

Pour water to cover the meat, then add the green onions and sliced ginger. Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the steam release handle points at “sealing” and not “venting”. Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button on the Instant Pot to stop cooking. Press the “meat/Stew” button to switch to the pressure cooking mode. Cook under pressure for 35 minutes. If you’re using a stove-top pressure cooker, you won’t have the buttons to press. Just cook on high heat until high pressure is reached. Then reduce the heat to low to maintain high pressure for about 30 minutes.

When it is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to a “Keep Warm” mode. Slide the steam release handle to the “Venting” position to let out steam until the float valve drops down, OR let the pressure release naturally (takes about 15 mins). Unlock the lid and drain the cooking water and discard the green onion and ginger. Rinse the pork belly under warm water.

Put the pork belly back in the Instant Pot and add water, sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar. Mix the seasonings a little bit and add the boiled eggs. Press the “Sauté” button on the Instant Pot and press “Adjust” once to increase the heat. Bring it to simmer to let the alcohol evaporate. Once the alcohol smell is gone, press “Keep Warm/Cancel” button to turn off the Sauté mode. Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the steam release handle points at “sealing” and not “venting”. Press the “meat/Stew” button to turn on the pressure cooking mode. Press the “minus” button to decrease the cooking time from the preset 35 minutes to 10 minutes.

When it is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to a “Keep Warm” mode. Slide the steam release handle to the “Venting” position to let out steam until the float valve drops down and unlock the lid. If you have time (this is optional), press the “Sauté” button and simmer on low heat until the liquid in the cooker has reduced by half.

Serve the rice in a (donburi) bowl and pour the sauce on top. Place the pork belly and egg (add blanched green vegetable if you have any). Pour additional sauce over the meat and serve immediately.

Just One Cookbook

Ingredients

• pork belly
• 1 cup warm water (105-115°F), divided
• 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons sugar plus a pinch
• 2 tablespoons nonfat dried milk
• 3 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• Canola oil for greasing and brushing
• hoisin sauce; thinly sliced cucumber; chopped scallions cucumber scallions (for serving)

Preparation

Stir together 1/4 cup warm water with yeast and pinch of sugar. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.) Whisk in dried milk and remaining 3/4 cup warm water.

Stir together flour and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a bowl, then stir in yeast mixture (do not add baking powder yet) with a fork until a dough forms. Knead dough with your hands in bowl until all of flour is incorporated. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, dusting surface and hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth but still soft, about 5 minutes. Form dough into a ball.

Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

Punch down dough, then transfer to a lightly floured surface and flatten slightly into a disk. Sprinkle baking powder over center of dough, then gather edges of dough and pinch to seal in baking powder. Knead dough with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking until baking powder is incorporated, about 5 minutes. Return dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then let dough stand 30 minutes.

Cut 16 (3- by 2-inch) pieces of wax paper.

Form dough into a 16-inch-long log. Cut into 16 equal pieces, then lightly dust with flour and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Roll out 1 piece of dough into a 6- by 3-inch oval, lightly dusting surface, your hands, and rolling pin. Pat oval between your palms to remove excess flour, then brush half of oval lightly with oil and fold in half crosswise (do not pinch). Place bun on a piece of wax paper on a large baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Make more buns with remaining dough, then let stand, loosely covered, until slightly risen, about 30 minutes.

Set a large steamer rack inside skillet (or wok) and add enough water to reach within 1/2 inch of bottom of rack, then bring to a boil. Carefully place 5 to 7 buns (still on wax paper) in steamer rack (do not let buns touch). Cover tightly and steam over high heat until buns are puffed and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer buns to a plate with tongs, then discard wax paper and wrap buns in kitchen towels (not terry cloth) to keep warm. Steam remaining buns in 2 batches, adding boiling-hot water to skillet as needed.

Return buns (still wrapped in towels) to steamer rack in skillet and keep warm (off heat), covered.

Brush bottom half of each bun with hoisin sauce, then sandwich with 2 or 3 pork slices and some cucumber and scallions.

Gourmet, October 2007

Ingredients

• ½ pound ground pork, not too lean
• ½ pound fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined and roughly chopped in 1/4-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon sweet rice wine, such as Shaoxing rice wine (or use sherry)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon spicy Chinese bean paste, also called chili bean sauce (or use chile paste)
• 2 serrano chiles, finely chopped
• 1 ½ cups chopped Chinese garlic chives (or use 3/4 cup chopped scallions, green and white parts)
• 36 wonton skins, about 3 by 3 inches, available at Asian markets and many grocery stores
• 1 small egg, beaten
• Cornstarch for dusting
• 8 ounces baby spinach leaves
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 8 cups good chicken broth, hot, salted to taste
• Red pepper oil (optional)

Preparation

Put pork and shrimp in a chilled mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix briefly with chopsticks, wet hands or wooden spoons. Add rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, bean paste, serrano chiles and garlic chives. Mix well to incorporate. Pan-fry a small flat patty in a small amount of oil to check seasoning; taste and adjust. Transfer mixture to a small container, cover and chill at least 30 minutes, or longer if you have time, up to 24 hours.

To prepare wontons, remove a few wonton skins from package and lay them on dry work surface. Put 1 teaspoon filling in the center of each square skin. Paint edges of square lightly with egg. Gently fold one side over the other, pinching edges together. You should a have a folded rectangle. Now pull the lower corners in toward each other and pinch together to make the traditional curved wonton shape. Place wontons 1 inch apart on a baking sheet or platter. Dust lightly with cornstarch and refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to cook.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, put a small handful of spinach leaves and about 2 tablespoons cilantro in each person’s deep wide soup bowl. When water is boiling, drop about 10 wontons into pot and cook for 2 minutes. Remove with wire bamboo spider (or a large fine-meshed sieve with a handle) and divide among bowls. Repeat with remaining wontons. Pour about 1 1/2 cups hot broth over each serving. Drizzle with red pepper oil if desired.

New York Times

Ingredients

• 1 large shallot, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/3 c. light brown sugar
• 1/4 c. fish sauce
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. pepper
• 4 1/4"-1/2" thick bone-in pork chops
• 3 firm red plums, cut into 1/2" wedges
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 small chile (pref. red), thinly sliced
• 2 c. mixed herbs (basil, cilantro, mint, etc.)
• 1/2 c. bean sprouts
• 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• lime wedges

Preparation

Blend shallots, garlic, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, oil, and pepper in a blender. Pour into a ziploc bag with the pork. Toss and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 12 hours. Prepare a grill for medium-high heat. Remove pork chops, season both sides with salt, and grill until lightly charred (about 2 min. per side). Meanwhile, toss plums, scallions, chile, herbs, bean sprouts, and vinegar in a bowl. Season with salt. Serve pork with salad and lime wedges.

Bon Appetit, June 2016

Ingredients

• 4 medium-thick pork chops, bone-in or boneless
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 8 chiles de árbol
• 3 plum tomatoes
• 1 small onion, peeled and thickly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• ½ cup raw, hulled, unsalted pumpkin seeds
• ⅓ cup unsalted peanuts
• ⅓ cup hulled sesame seeds
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice (or 2 allspice berries)
• 1 canned chipotle pepper
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil, lard or chicken fat
• 1 cup chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Preparation

Make the sauce: Remove the stems from the chiles de árbol, and gently roll the chiles between your fingers to remove the seeds. Discard seeds. Set a bare skillet over high heat for 5 minutes, then add the chiles. Toast until they are darkened and fragrant, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Place them in a bowl, cover with 2 cups boiling or very hot water, and set aside to soak.

Return the skillet to high heat. Add the tomatoes, onion and garlic, and cook, turning occasionally, until charred, approximately 10 minutes. Put the vegetables on a plate, and set aside to cool, then slip the skins off the cloves of garlic.

Return the skillet to medium-low heat. Place the pumpkin seeds, peanuts and sesame seeds in the skillet, and cook, stirring and shaking the pan continuously, until they are toasted and fragrant, approximately 2 to 4 minutes. Put the seeds and nuts in a bowl, and stir in the cinnamon, cloves and allspice.

Put the chiles and soaking liquid in a blender with the tomatoes, onion, garlic, the nut-seed mixture and the chipotle. Purée until smooth. Add the oil, lard or chicken fat to a large, heavy-bottomed pot, and heat over medium heat until it is nearly smoking. Add the purée. It will sputter a lot. Lower the heat, and stir, cooking the mixture down to a thick paste. It will continue to sputter and pop. Add the broth to the paste, and stir, then season with the salt, sugar and vinegar, and cook for another 15 minutes or so, until it resembles a thick, creamy soup. Lower heat to a bare simmer.

Make the pork chops: Season the pork chops aggressively with salt and pepper, and dust them with the flour. Add the oil to the skillet, and heat over medium-high heat until nearly smoking. Add the chops, and let them cook undisturbed, in batches if necessary, until crisp and well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Set them aside to rest for 5 minutes or so. Serve a chop per person on a generous amount of sauce, with tortillas to mop it up. Extra sauce can be used to braise chicken, lamb or more pork, or as a topping for enchiladas.

The New York Times