BBQ Steam Buns

I'm become addicted to these buns. They are so good. You can get them at Chinese bakeries and they are pretty inexpensive. The one that I go to whenever I'm in Chinatown sells them 3 for $2.00. They also have buns with bbq pork, hot dogs, tuna, cheese etc that they sell for 3 for $1.00. Now me being a natural glutton I always get a vast selection of buns when I go. I was there late last week, I was looking for fake knives for the show I'm working on. I didn't find the knives in Chinatown but I did get my self a "meat pie" filler. I'm planing on using it when I make my ravioli and perogies.

I ate most of the buns on the first day, I think I had 2 steam buns left. One I had for breakfast the other I thought about all day. I was on the train home and trying to curb my massive craving, it was bad. I decided that I would make my own steam buns. That way I'm not on the mercy of Chinatown. I looked at several recipes online, I even spoke to my friend Natalie. You know what I found out! You can use Oyster sauce and Hoisin sauce interchangably. You can also add seasme oil to the dough when you are mixing it or brush some of it over the dough before you add you filling. Also I keep forgetting to take pictures of stuff after it is made. So the next time I make these I'll add a picture of what it looks like steamed.

You will need for 20 medium sized buns

2 tablespoons yeast

1 1/2 cup lukewarm water

4 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons sesame seed oil optional

20 wax paper squares, about 3"x3"

1) Add yeast to 1 cup of warm water, let rest for 5 minutes until foamy.

2) Add 1 cup of flour to the yeast mixture and mix to combine. Let rest for 1 hour.

3) Mix the sugar, and oil together, add to the yeast and flour mixture.

4) Mix in the remaining flour, knead for 10-15 minutes until smooth. Let rest for 2 hours or until double in volume.

5) Divide the dough in two. Roll each peice into a log and cut into 10 peices.

6) Roll the dough in 3 inch circles

7) Add 1 tablespoon or so of the BBQ Pork. Bring the dough together at the top to seal it. Make sure it is completely sealed or filling will leak out while steaming.

8) Place on a wax paper square and let rest for 30 minutes.

9) Using a bamboo steamer or a vegetable steamer, steam the buns for 15-20 minutes. I used a pot with 2 inches of water with a vegetable steamer ontop. I steamed 4 buns at a time.

ENJOY!

To re-heat, steam the buns of 10 minutes or so.

BBQ Pork

2 tablespoons oil

1 green onion -chopped

1 clove garlic- minced

1/2 pound pork cut into small peices

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce or hoisin

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons

1) In a pan heat the oil add the green onions and sautee for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

2) Add the pork and cook for 2-3 minutes.

3) Add the soy, oyster sauce and sugar. Stir everything together and cook for 1 minute.

4) Add the cornstarch and water. Cook until the sauce becomes thick. If it gets to thick add some water or stock to thin it out.

5) Set aside and let cool before filling the buns.

ENJOY!

Crispy Pork Chops

This is a simple recipe there are only 4 ingredients really...well 5 if you count the oil I used to cook it in. I found that these where a perfect picnic food, they transport really well and are super easy to make. You can change up the way it taste by using pre seasoned bread crumbs or adding your own herbs and spices to it. Feel free to experiment. I used pitas to bread these, but you can use bread crumbs, crackers or just plain flour.

You will need
2 pork chops

1 pita, slip in half and toasted.

1/4 grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg beaten

2 tablespoon oil- for cooking

1) Pre-heat the oven to 350.

2) Using a food processor make bread crumbs out of the pitas.

3) In bowl or plate spread the bread crumbs out, add the cheese and mix to combine.

4) Dip the pork chops in the beaten egg, then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture. Set aside

5) Heat the oil in saute pan, you may need to do two batches depending on the size of you pan.

6) Add the pork chops and cook on each side until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.

7) Remove from the pan and place on a cookie sheet, cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until cooked.

ENJOY!

Happy Canada Day Goulash!

Today is Canada Day and in celebration I made a very unCanadian dish, Goulash. About 5 year ago I went to Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. I remember going out to dinner one night and having Goulash. I kind of forgot all about it until recently when my friend Jelena and I where talking about her upcoming trip to the Czech Republic. I've had Goulash on the brain ever since. Jelena has come and gone from the Czech Republic and with her return came a photo of a very curious Goulash. A Boar Goulash to be exact. When I saw that picture I knew I had to make Goulash.

I discovered that making this dish is very similar to making my Beouf Bourguignon. It has very similar ingredients and is almost the same preparation....well with the expectation of the dumplings. I will be making this again, hopefully in the near future. I think next time I'll add some root vegetables. I know the ingredient list looks like a lot but really the majority of it is spices. The most labor you will ensue will be browning the meat. Once you have done that your everything else is easy.....well beside the wait. I woke up this morning and wanted Goulash, I'm very impatient when I want something. However in this instance the wait was worth it. A traditional Goulash is served with bread dumplings. I've included the recipe for them below.

Just a little side note. This recipe calls for Paprika. I used Hungarian Paprika, feel free to use whichever on you have at home. If your buying Paprika for this I would get Hungarian or spicy Paprika.

You will need
2 pounds or so stewing beef or pork diced
4 cups sliced onions
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon caraway seeds, toasted and ground
1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
3 bay leaf
1 small can tomato paste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 cups stock (chicken, beef, vegetable whichever you like)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (If using table salt use 1/2 teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1) Dry your meat. Heat a saute pan with the oil. Brown the meat in batches. Set aside.
2) Add the onion to the saute pan. Sprinkle the sugar over top. Turn the heat down and let caramelize. Stir occasionally. This should take anywhere from 20-30 minutes.
3) Add the ground caraway and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
4) Add the Paprika cook for another minute.
5) Add the thyme, bay leaves and marjoram. Stir to combine.

6) Add the can of tomato paste and stir for 1 minute.
7) Add the vinegar and stock, stir until everything is combined.

8) Season with salt and pepper.
9) Bring to a boil. When it has reached the boil, reduced the heat and allow to simmer for 1 1/2 hour or so.

Bread Dumplings

You will need
2 cups stale bread cubed
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

1) Mix the eggs and milk together in a large bowl.
2) Add the baking powder and salt to the flour and stir to combine.
3) Slowly add the flour mixture to the milk stirring to combine.
4) When the batter is smooth add the stale bread.

5) Wet your hand. Form the dough into one or two loafs.

6) Bring a pot of water to the boil.
7) Add the loaf(s) cover and let cook for 10 minutes. Flip the loaf(s) over and let boil for a further 10 minutes.

8) Using a piece of dental floss cut the bread into 1/2 inch slices.
ENJOY!

Herb roasted pork tenderloin with a truffle mustard cream sauce

                                              
For some reason Mother Nature is very angry today. It has been snowing and windy for most of the day, and what is the best thing to do when the weather outside is frightful?.....cook! A couple of weeks ago I was at Denninger's (the most amazing European food store) when I saw a bottle of something called Truffle Mustard. I had never seen this before so natually I had to have it. I didn't end up getting it, mostly because it was $9.00 a bottle. I kept thinking about it and how much I wanted to try it. I looked it up online to see what other people thought about it and overall it was pretty positive. This past Saturday I finally caved in and bought a bottle. When I was trying to decide what to make I decided that I wanted to do something with either lamb or pork. I had a pork loin in the freezer so making a pork dish was a lot easier then going out and buying some lamb, but I think this would go nicely with a rack of lamb. Originally I wanted to smear the mustard over the tenderloin and cover it in a herb crust, but when it came down to cooking it I forgot to smear the mustard on it. So I added it to the gravy. I made a mushroom risotto and a kale and mango salad to go with it. I'll blog about both of these later. Now I tend to only cook for Adam and myself and measurments reflect that. But this is a simple recipe, so just adjust the amount of parsely, garlic and green onions to suite the amount of meat you are cooking.

You will need
1 1/2- 2 pound pork tenderloin
1 cup parsley
2 cloves of garlic
2 green onions
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

For the Sauce
2 tablespoons brandy
1/2 cup stock
1 tablespoon truffle mustard
2 tablespoon cream

1) Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. On the stove top melt the butter in a oven proof saute pan (I used my handy-dandy cast iron pan).
2) Pat dry the tenderloin, make sure it still has some dampness if it is to dry the parsley will not stick.
3) In a food processor or blender combine the other ingredients and blend until minced.
4) Rub the parsley mixture all over the tenderloin and place in the pre heated saute pan. Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 after the first 10 minutes, then lower again to 300 for the final 10 minutes.
5) Take the tenderloin out of the oven, place the saute pan on the stove top and turn the heat on to medium. Remove the tenderloin from the pan and place on a plate to rest, cover with foil.
6) Add the mustard to the saute pan, whisk to combine with the cooking juices. Add the brand and the stock, whisk to combine. Let cook until the liquid has evaporated to about 1/4 cup. Add the cream and whisk to combine.
7) Done!

Enjoy!