Category Archives: pork

mexican hamburger

Mexican Corn Jalapeño Burger

5 Replies

mexican hamburger

Say Hola to the new Mexican Corn Jalapeño Burger. Yes, we are very excited about our Mexican Corn Jalapeño Hamburguesa. Wowsa…..
I basically put all my favourite ingredients in one place. Organic good quality meat, a 50/50 mixture of pork and beef. Taco seasoning and ground tortilla chips instead of breadcrumbs, and then topped with the best corn salad of your life! It’s made in minutes and can be eaten anytime.
I could easily have a bowl of this corn salad for dinner on it’s own it’s that good (and a little addictive if you ask me). It also adds an amazing crunch.
Off course there’s Avocado and Bacon involved, and cheese obvi. Melted cheese…
So lite up your barbacoa and grill some Mexican Corn Jalapeño hamburguesas.

Prep Time :10 mins
Cook Time :10 mins
Total Time :20 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients;

• 1 lb / 500 gr ground beef/pork mixture
• 2 tsp. taco seasoning
• A dash of liquid smoke if you have it (optional)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup natural tortilla chips, ground fine
• 1 clove of garlic, grated
• 1 or 2 slices jalapeno from a jar, chopped (these babies are hot!)
Corn Salad:
• 2 ears of corn or one can, drained
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• Salt and pepper
• 3 green onions finely sliced
• Squeeze of lime (just a little)
For the Burger:
• 2 Avocados, sliced
• 4 lettuce leafs
• Sliced tomatoes
• 8 slices grilled bacon
• Salsa for the buns
• 4 buns
• 8 slices sharp cheddar cheese

mexican hamburger

Instructions;

1. If you are grilling outside, place the corn in the husks on the grill, close the cover and grill for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, or until kernels are tender when pierced with a paring knife. Otherwise grill on a griddle pan indoors or use a can of corn, drained.
Remove the husks and let cool a little before removing the kernels with a sharp knife by putting the corn in an upright position and sliding your knife down the sides.
Place kernels in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients for the corn salad. Mix and set aside.
For the burgers, place the meat in a bowl and add the ground tortilla chips, seasonings and egg yolk. Mix with your hands and form 4 patties.
Grill on medium high heat for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side until cooked through (you are using pork which cannot be consumed rare). Place two slices of cheese on each burger after the first flip.
Split the hamburger buns in half and toast lightly.
Spread salsa on both sides of the bun, place lettuce leaf on top, tomato slices, avocado, the burger, bacon slices and top with as much corn salad as you can. Place the top of the bun on top and insert skewer to hold it together.
You’re going to love this Burger, I promise but….Warning! Do not serve on a first date ’cause in can get a little messy.

Enjoy!
Myra XO

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chinese-dumplings

Chinese Dumplings

2 Replies
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Hello friends,

Let me tell you about these amazing dumplings. I just love these so much, I don’t think I can ever live without them again. I don’t want to and I don’t plan to. And by that, I mean having a portion or two in the freezer ready to steam at a moments notice.

I do have to confess, that I am not the greatest dumpling shaper, but as longs as the little package is closed, who cares. The flavor of the filling is the best ever. You can use this dumpling recipe to make wonton soup, pot stickers, or even deep fry them and serve them as wontons.

They do take a little time and patience, but it’s worth the effort. Just take your time.

I used to watch my mom make these as a kid, and she would sit at the dining room table with a glass of Sherry, and make it an “afternoon thing”. She would make tons for parties and we loved them big time. It has always been one of my favourite snacks.

Now I have them as dinner because they’re just too good to just eat a few.

This filling is inspired on her recipe but with my own twist.

Make ‘em, Love ‘em and thank me later (;

Chinese dumplings

Juicy and tender dumplings, better than take out. (Can be frozen)

Ingredients Chinese Dumplings:

  • 200 gr. / ½ lb. finely chopped raw shrimp
  • 300 gr. / ½ lb. ground pork
  • 1 cup shredded white cabbage
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 tsp.  freshly grated ginger
  • 1 tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 tsp. sambal oelek
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 40 won ton wrappers (store bought) cut into 4 or home made,
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or more, as needed

Instructions:

  1. In a large bowl, combine shrimp, pork, cabbage, garlic, green onions, ginger, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sambal oelek, and egg. Season with pepper.
  2. To assemble the dumplings, place wrappers on a work surface. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the pork mixture into the center of each wrapper. Place the dumpling in your hand and using your finger, rub the edges of the wrappers with water. Fold the dough over the filling to create a half-moon shape, pinching the edges to seal.
  3. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add dumplings in a single layer and cook until bottoms begin to brown, about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup water, cover and cook/steam for about 4 minutes; uncover and cook until the liquid has evaporated completely and the bottoms are crisp and golden brown, about 2 more minutes. Repeat with remaining dumplings, adding more vegetable oil as needed.
  4. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Ingredients Dipping sauce:

  • 2 tbsp. soy sauce
  • 4 tbsp. sweet chili sauce
  • 2 tbsp. water
  • Add some sliced chili Mix together

Mix together in a small bowl.

Ingredients Wonton wrappers:

  • 4oo gr. plain flour
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • About 200 ml. / a little less than 1 cup water
  • Corn starch

Instructions;

Mix the ingredients in a bowl until it comes together. Don’t add all the water at once but see how it goes. Add a little flour if it’s too wet or a little water if  it’s too dry.

Knead for about 10 minutes.

Form a ball and leave, covered with plastic, to rest for about 20 minutes.

Roll out the dough onto a floured surface. Shape into a square and cut into smaller squares.

Roll into small balls.

Again roll out each ball into a disk, using enough corn starch so they don’t stick.

Enjoy!

Myra XO

Five Spice Slow roasted Pork Belly

11 Replies

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I Couldn’t wait to share this with you. A great change from all things turkey.
I think Asian is pretty much the opposite of turkey and I really needed that. I love the holidays and everything about them, but it’s time for something completely different.
This five spice slow roasted pork belly is going to drive you mad with delight once you’ve tasted it.
Tender as can be with and a super crispy skin, aka crackling!
And best of all, this piece cost me around € 6, 50 is weighs around 1.3 kg. / 2.8 lbs and you could easily serve six people from this piece. Hallelujah to that.
It’s important that you dry the skin very very well, then make cuts in it with a Stanley knife but not all the way thru to the meat, just the fat.
I’ve marinated it overnight in a plastic zip lock bag, skin side facing up so that that part is not in the marinade.
Then the next day, bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes, then on slow for 2 1/2 hours. This may seem like a long time and it is, but you want to render away as much fat as possible.

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Ingredients;
1 pork belly, without bone  about 1.3 kg / 2.8 lbs.
1″grated fresh ginger, (don’t bother peeling it first)
1 garlic clove, peeled and grated
1 tsp. Chinese Five Spice
1 tbsp. Pure Sesame Oil
2 tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
1 tbsp. Honey
1 1/2 tbsp. Soy Sauce or tamari  (gluten free)
1 tbsp. Conimex Ketjap Manis

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Method;

Mix the marinade in a bowl.

Place the pork in a zip lock bag, skin side down , pour and rub all the marinade over the meat, close the bag and carefully turn the skin side up.
Place the bag on a plate and leave to marinade for at least 8 hours or preferably overnight.

The next day,  Pre heat the oven to 220°C / 430°F

Remove the pork from the fridge an hour before cooking.

Remove the meat from marinade and discard the bag and juices.
Dry thoroughly with kitchen paper.

Take a sharp Stanley knife and make cuts all over the skin side of the belly diagonally, a third of an inch apart if you can.  All the way thru the fat but not yet touching the meat. This is important!

Rub with some salt and place in a roasting tin that has been lined with a double layer of foil.
Place in the hot oven and cook for about 20 minutes.
Lower the heat to 160°C / 320°F and cook for an other 2 1/2 hours. Cover loosely with some foil if the skin gets to dark, the foil does have to be tented to keep the crispyness.

Remove from oven. Let rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve with rice noodles, Bok Choy and some hoisin sauce. Or any other vegetable of choice. Leftovers are heavenly and it also freezes well, but you do have to remove the skin because this can get a little chewy after freezing.

If you try this recipe let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #thecookingspoonblog  on instagram! You’ll make my day.

Not quite what you’re looking for? How about Sticky Shrimp & Pineapple with Jasmin Rice.

Clementine Cranberry Roast Pork

21 Replies

…with crème fraîche mashed potatoes.

 

Roast Pork is the best deal to feed a crowd. If you’re on a budget and have a lot of people coming over for Christmas, skip the Turkey, skip the Beef and go for roast pork, it’s the way to go, really.

And imagine what you can do with all the leftovers, we had this roast the other day obviously, and my daughter ate a huge baguette the next day with  thinly sliced pork and sate sauce, which was pretty awesome. But there are tons of other things you can make, like taco’s, enchiladas, ragú. I always look forward to left overs, it’s almost even better the next day.

I like to serve it with my crème fraîche mashed potatoes and lots of vegetables.

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Serves 6

Ingredients Spice mix;

  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1/4 tsp. ground Coriander
  • 1/4 tsp. ground Black Pepper
  • 1/4 tsp.dried Thyme
  • 1/4 tsp. Onion Powder
  • 1/4 tsp.  Simply Organic Garlic Powder Certified Organic, 3.64-Ounce Container
  • 1/8 tsp. Allspice
  • 1/8 tsp. Ground Cloves
  • 1/8 tsp. Cinnamon

Ingredients Roast;

  • Boneless pork Shoulder or Butt 2.8 – 3  lbs
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 3 celery sticks, cut into pieces
  • 3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 2 onions, peeled and quartered
  • 2 garlic bulbs
  • 4 Clementines
  • 3 bay leafs
  • 2 C. red wine
  • 1/4 C. Cranberry jelly
  • salt and pepper

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Method;

Take your pork roast out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for an hour. Preheat the oven temperature to 320°F./ 160°C.

Place all the seasoning and spices in a little bowl and mix.

Dry the pork roast thoroughly with kitchen paper and tie up with kitchen rope if necessary. Season the pork roast all over.

Heat a frying pan of high heat and add two tablespoons of butter and two of olive oil., When hot add the roast and sear all over until you have a nice dark brown crust, this takes about 15 minutes. Rotating the roast to brown evenly.

Meanwhile cut up our vegetables and place in the bottom of a roasting tin, cut the tops of two garlic bulbs and place in the tin along with the vegetables. Cut two clementines in half and place in the tin as well. Season the vegetables generously with salt and pepper

Place the roast on top of the vegetables with all the juices from the frying pan, squeeze over the juice of two clementines and add 2 cups of red wine and  three bay leaves. Cover with aluminum foil and roast for two hours, checking after an hour to see how the liquid is doing, add some water if necessary.

After two hours, remove foil and cut away the kitchen twine if you have used it and spread the cranberry jelly over the roast. Return to oven and roast uncovered for an other half hour.

When an internal thermometer reads about 71° C /160° F, it should be just done.

Take the roast out of the oven and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.

Tip: Use this resting time to finish off your other side dishes and make the gravy.

To make the gravy, pass all the ingredients from the roasting tin through a sieve, heat the gravy and taste , add some cranberry jelly if you like and thicken with a teaspoon of corn starch diluted in some cold water.

Crème fraîche Mashed Potatoes;

  • 2 lb.  russet or Yukon gold potatoes
  • 1/4 C. butter
  • 3/4 C. hot milk
  • 1/4 C. Crème fraîche

Peel and cut the potatoes in half add to a pot of cold salted water, cook for about 20 minutes until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain and mash with 1/4 cup butter. Add the hot milk and the crème fraîche season with salt and pepper. Mash until desired consistency, I like my mash a tiny bit chunky but that’s personal.

 

If you try this recipe let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #thecookingspoonblog on instagram! You’ll make my day.