Bo Ssam - Korean Roasted Pork Belly

  

A Friday that starts with a 10k run and a bowl of oatmeal should end with Bo Ssam and beer... And if that's not written into law somewhere, it should be. Cheers and have a delicious weekend guys. x

Bo Ssam - Korean Roasted Pork Belly
adapted from here
Serves 4 - 6

1kg boneless pork belly, skin on

For the Braising Liquid:
8 cloves garlic, slightly crushed with the flat of a knife
8 spring onions, roughly chopped
Thumb-sized knob of fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and cut into wedges
2 tablespoons doenjang (Korean miso)

For the Pickled Carrot:
4 medium carrots, peeled and julienned
4 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean red chilli pepper powder)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the Wet Rub:
2 tablespoons doenjang (Korean miso)
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons grated ginger root
1 teaspoon gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)

For the Bo Ssam Sauce:
2 tablespoons doenjang (Korean miso)
2 teaspoons grated onion
2 teaspoons roasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons roasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon grated ginger root

To Serve:
Lettuce leaves
Steamed white rice
Cucumber batons

Braise the Pork Belly:
Place the pork belly and all the braising liquid ingredients into a large Dutch oven or heavy casserole dish. Add enough cold water to cover the pork belly and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 2 hours, or until the pork belly is very tender. Remove the pork belly from the liquid and leave to rest on a baking tray. Discard the liquid. Once the pork is cooled enough to handle, remove the pork skin and discard. Set aside.

Make the Pickled Carrots:
Put all the pickle ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat the carrots. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.

Make the Wet Rub:
Preheat the grill (broiler) to high. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set aside,

Mix all the the wet rub ingredients in a bowl to make a smooth paste. Smear the paste all over the top of the pork belly (the side that you removed the skin from). Place the pork on the prepared tray and grill (broil) until the rub is caramelised. Remove from the grill (broiler) and slice into bite-size pieces. Set aside.

Make the Bo Ssam Sauce:
Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Set side.

To Serve:
Set all the components in the centre of the table so that everyone can make their own little parcels of deliciousness. Take a lettuce leaf and open it out in your palm. Put small amounts of rice, pickles, pork belly, Bo Ssam sauce and a baton of cucumber in the middle of the leaf, then wrap it all up into a neat little package, eat, repeat.

Korean Meatballs and Quick Kimchi Rice Bowls

Our Christmas tree is up at last. The pressure finally got to me. I've been getting some not-so-subtle hints from the boys for about a week about not having a tree. So today, while every one was out at work and school, I jumped in my car, drove to the tree place, selected the perfect tree, wrestled it into my car, drove it home, wrestled it out of my car, trimmed the base, wrestled it inside, constructed the stand, erected the tree (making sure it was straight from all angles and that the "good side" was facing out - not that I have OCD or anything), placed the tree in its rightful place, found the lights and decorations, untangled the lights (even though I made sure they were untangled when they were put away last time), made sure the lights worked, put the lights on the tree (which always sounds like a really nice job until you're actually doing it), cleaned up all the pine needles and waited for the boys to come home from school, They decorated the tree with baubles and tinsel while I made these Korean Meatballs and Quick Kimchi Rice Bowls for dinner... It's the least I could do.



Korean Meatballs and Quick Kimchi Rice Bowls
adapted from here
Serves 4


For the Quick Kimchi:
500g white cabbage, finely shredded
1/4 cup salt (I used pink Himalaya)
2 1/2 cups boiling water
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1cm piece fresh ginger root
1 shallot, peeled and roughly sliced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar (I used panela)
1 teaspoon Korean chilli powder
2 tablespoons gochujang (fermented red pepper paste)
1/2 apple peeled and cut into chunks
1 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds


For the Meatballs:
1kg ground beef
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons salt
3 spring nioons, roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled
4 tablespoons of sugar (I used panela)
1 tablespoon sunflower oil, for frying

For the Simmering Sauce:
5 tablespoons soy sauce
90ml water
90ml unsweetened apple sauce
6 tablespoons sugar (I used panela)
2 tablespoons honey
10 cloves garlic, peeled
1cm piece of fresh ginger root
3 spring onions, roughly chopped

To Serve:
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1 cup julienned carrots
4 cups cooked Japanese rice, hot

Make the Kimchi:
Put the cabbage into a heat-proof bowl. Dissolve the salt in the boiling water and pour it over the cabbage. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Put the garlic, ginger, shallot, fish sauce, sugar, chilli powder, gochujang and apple into a blender and blitz until smooth.

Rinse and drain the cabbage. Add the paste to the cabbage along with the toasted sesame seeds and mix thoroughly. Adjust seasoning and set aside.

Make the Meatballs:
Put the beef into a large bowl.

Put the soy, sesame oil, salt, spring onions, garlic and sugar into a blender and blitz until smooth. Add to the ground beef and mix thoroughly with your hands until fully incorporated. Roll the mixture into walnut-sized balls.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the meatballs in batches until they are browned. Remove from the pan after each batch is cooked. Wipe out the pan and add all of the simmering sauce ingredients to the pan. Bring to boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce the heat to simmer and add the meatballs back to the pan. Cook until the sauce is thick and syrupy and there's only a small amount left to coat the meatballs and the bottom of the pan.

Assemble the Rice Bowls:
Divide the rice among four deep bowls. Top with kimchi, meatballs and some shredded carrot, Pour over any remaining simmering sauce and sprinkle with sliced spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Meatball Banh Mi

I know I should be baking Christmas treats, but I thought you would forgive me for sharing these utterly addictive parcels of juicy meatballs, punchy pickles, spicy sauce and soft bread. You do forgive me, don't you?


Meatball Banh Mi
slightly adapted from here
Makes 8

For the Meatballs:
500g ground pork
4 spring onions, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 teaspoon white pepper
2cm fresh ginger root, grated
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the Asian Pickles:
2 carrots, julienned
5-6 red rashides, julienned
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the Sriracha Mayo:
1/2 cup Japanese mayo (Kewpie)
1 tablespoon Sriracha

To Serve:
1/4 cup coriander leaves
8 Vietnamese style baguettes
Pickles jalapenos

Make the Meatballs:
Put all the meatball ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands, squeezing the mixture until it is sticky. Wet your hands and roll the mixture into walnut-size balls. You should get about 24 balls. Put them on a lightly oiled baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Make the Asian Pickles:
Put all of the Asian Pickle ingredients into a bowl and mix. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour (no longer than 6 hours).

Make the Sriracha Mayo:
Put the Mayo ingredients into a small bowl and mix well. Set aside until needed.

Assemble the Banh Mi:
Split the baquettes down the middle, but not all the way through. Smear the insides with a generous helping of the Sriracha Mayo. Stuff with meatballs and the drained Asian Pickles and top with pickled jalapenos and coriander leaves.

Roasted Chicken with Salbitxada Sauce

I don't know what it is about a chicken roasting in my oven that makes me feel like a domestic goddess, but it does. I feel like I've channelled Nigella Lawson and I'm faffing about in my gorgeous kitchen, with my gorgeous hair and gorgeous cheekbones. Then I catch my reflection in the oven door and think "Oh no, it's just me... in my yoga pants."




Roasted Chicken with Salbitxada Sauce
slightly adapted from here
Serves 4

For the Chicken:
1 1.5kg chicken, back bone removed and slashed in a few places to allow for even cooking
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 red chilli
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
Sea salt
125ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons orange juice
Freshly ground black pepper

For the Sauce:
3 tomatoes, seeds removed
1 red capsicum, roasted and peeled
30g toasted natural sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
125ml extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Roast the Chicken:
Preheat the oven to 220C.

Place the chicken on a baking tray. Open out like a book, skin-side up, and press down with your palms to flatten slightly.

Put the garlic, chilli and coriander seeds into a small food processor and blitz to chop finely. Transfer to a heat-proof bowl. Heat the oil in a saucepan to hot and pour it over the garlic mixture. Add the salt, vinegar, lime and orange juices and pepper. Mix to combine and pour it over the chicken. Leave the chicken to marinate in the fridge for an hour.

Roast the chicken in the oven for about 50 - 60 minutes. The chicken is cooked when the juices run clear when pierced with a sharp knife through the thigh.

Leave the chicken to rest in a warm place for 20 minutes before carving. Serve with copious amounts of Salbitxada Sauce.

For the Sauce:
Put the tomatoes, capsicum, almonds, chilli flakes, paprika, garlic. lemon zest, parsley and vinegar into a heat-proof bowl. Heat the oil in a saucepan to hot and pour it over the tomato mixture. Transfer to a small food processor and blitz until roughly chopped. You still want it to have some texture. Season with salt and pepper.

Sea Scallops with Miso Mustard Sauce

Remember the dumpling scene from Kung Fu Panda? Yeah, that was pretty much us with these scallops.



Thanks to Seafood Industry Victoria, AB Hunter Fishing and LEFCOL (Lakes Entrance Fishermen's Cooperative Limited) for providing the sea scallops for this post.



Sea Scallops with Miso Mustard Sauce
adapted from here
Serves 4

30 fresh sea scallops (without coral)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Plain flour, for dusting
1 - 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 tablespoon white wine
2 tablespoons white miso
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons cream
1/2 cos lettuce, shredded
Fresh finely grated Parmesan

Pat the scallops dry with paper towel. Season well, with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Dust with flour.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry both sides of the scallops briefly. They should be golden on the outside and still rare on the inside. Remove the pan from the heat and spoon the scallops onto a plate.

In a small bowl, whisk the wine, miso, mirin,, soy sauce, caster sugar, water and mustard together. Return the pan to a medium heat and add the miso mixture, stirring until it comes to the boil. remove the pan from the heat and the add the mustard and cream and stir to combine.

Place a thick bed of shredded lettuce leave into a serving plate. Top with the scallops and drizzle with the sauce. Sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan cheese to taste.

Chicken and Leek Gratin

This is the kind of food I want to eat when I'm tired and cranky. Sit me on the sofa, put the TV on, tune it into the Food Channel, give me a bowl of this, then walk away, It's good advice.

Chicken and Leek Gratin
adapted from here
Serves 6


For the Topping:
1/2 loaf of good bread (I used sourdough), cut into large dice
4 cloves garlic
2 handfuls parsley leaves
1 teaspoon coarsely chopped rosemary leaves
60g unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup coarsely grated parmesan

For the Chicken:
45g unsalted butter
4 leeks, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt and
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup cream

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Make the Topping:
Throw all the topping ingredients into a food processor and blitz until it's a course crumb. Set aside.

Make the Chicken:
Heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced leeks and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes until softened, but not brown. Remove from the heat and add the cream. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and toss to coat.

Spread the leeks over the base of an oven-proof baking dish. Lay the chicken over the top of the leeks. Cover with the topping mixture and bake for about 1 hour, until the chicken is cooked and the top is golden and crunchy.

Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Tomato and Kiwi Salsa and Yoghurt Lime Crema

My youngest son was home from school yesterday with a cold. He had just come off three weeks in Japan, followed by a cross-country race and straight after that, spent four days sleeping rough with a bunch of other kids at school camp. He has recently walked hundreds of kilometers around Tokyo, Hakone, Takayama, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka. He's walked up a mountain in Miyajima. He's lead his parents around Tokyo Disneyland for days. He's sprinted for 3 kilometers across country in the rain. He has been rafting, abseiling, hiking, swinging from a giant ropes course and flying on a flying fox in the back of beyond with his school friends. No wonder his little body is saying "enough". But he still had the energy to powder-down a few fish tacos at the end of the day. That's my little soldier.

Thanks to Lakes Entrance Fisherman's Co-operative and Seafood Industry Victoria for supplying the delicious *Yellow Eye Mullet for these Tacos.

* Yellow Eye Mullet are a delicious, sustainable and underrated fish and the same species as the famed Coorong Mullet in South Australia. They are absolutely perfect in this dish. If you can't find it, ask your fish guy or gal to recommend something similar.

Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Tomato and Kiwi Salsa and Yoghurt Lime Crema
Serves 4 - 6

For the Cabbage Salad:
1 small head white cabbage, shredded
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup roughly chopped coriander leaves,
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1/2 lime

For the Tomato and Kiwi Salsa:
1 cup cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
1 kiwi fruit, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons coriander leaves, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon agave
Salt and pepper

For the Yoghurt Lime Crema:
1/2 cup thick Greek yoghurt
Juice and zest of 1 lime
Salt and pepper

For the Beer Batter and Fish:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ancho chilli powder (or your favourite chilli powder)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
300ml beer (any sort)
1/4 cup sunflower oil
12 small fillets of fish (I used *Yellow Eye Mullet)

To Serve:
Twelve warm flour tortillas, lime wedges, hot sauce and plenty of cold, cold beer.

Make the Cabbage Salad:
Put the cabbage, onion and coriander into a large serving bowl. Spritz with lime juice and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Toss gently and set aside.

Make the Salsa:
Put the lime juice, agave, salt and pepper into a serving bowl and whisk until thoroughly mixed. Add the tomatoes, kiwi fruit and onion and toss. Sprinkle with coriander leaves, toss again and set aside.

Make the Crema:
Put all the ingredients into a small serving bowl, stir and set aside.

Make the Batter:
Put the flour, cumin, onion powder, smoked paprika, chilli powder, salt and garlic powder into a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Pour in the beer and whisk to mix. The batter should be the consistency of pouring cream.

Fry the Fish:
Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Once the surface of the oil starts to shimmer, dip the fish fillets into the batter, coating them completely, and fry them for about 2 - 3 minutes on each side until they are golden and crispy. Cook the fish in batches until they are all cooked, leaving them to drain on a wire rack set over a baking tray as you remove them from the pan. Keep the fish warm in a low oven until all the fish is cooked.

To Serve:
Put a piece of crispy, golden fish into a warm flour tortilla. Add some cabbage salad, tomato and kiwi salsa and top with a dollop of yoghurt lime crema. Add an extra squeeze of lime and a drizzle of your favourite hot sauce and apply to face.