Braised Sliced Pork Shoulder

This is a variation of the typical Chinese braised pork belly recipe. It is delicious and very simple, especially accompanied by rice and vegetables.

Honestly I was not planning in using sliced pork…I actually did not pay attention to the label when buying it…thinking that it was chunks of pork shoulder. You can imagine my face when blanching the pork and found that it was all sliced…well, I did not let the cut of the pork intimidate me and went ahead to make what I was planning…at the end it was so tasty, each slice was exploding with flavor.

– Mistake turned to be a new finding…

Now I love cooking braised pork using sliced pork as turned out that cooks much faster and yes, infused with all the seasoning…so good!

– Let’s take a look at the recipe

Ingredients:

1.25 lb pork shoulder sliced
3-5 ginger, slices
2-3 green onion
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon Chinese 5 spices
½ tablespoon cooking wine
5 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon chili flakes (optional)

Method:

Blanch the sliced pork by bringing a pot of water to boil and blanching the pork for a couple of minutes. Remove the pork and rinse in cold water.

In a small bowl mix cooking wine with soy sauce, set aside.

Over low heat, add oil and sugar in the pan. Melt the sugar until lightly brown and bubbly. Add the mix of cooking wine and soy sauce. Add the Chinese 4 spice, ginger, onion, chili flakes (it desire) and the blanched pork.

Increase the heat to medium until boiling. Lower the heat and cook until the slices of pork are tender.

Serve with rice.

– Interested in more Asian dish?

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Garlic Bread

Using your leftover French or Italian bread you will be able to create these aromatic, flavorful garlic bread. These are great just with your salad, pasta or just as an appetizer.

Before going to the recipe I hope you all had a great time with your family and loved ones…right after the New Years we took off to Cancun…where we had a great time and enjoy our “together” time, therefore my “silence” for a couple of weeks…we are now back to routine and yes, looking forward to a wonderful year ahead…

Okay, now back to the recipe…today I am sharing with you a simple recipe to make tasty garlic bread…using left over baguette or Italian bread. It is so good when just out of the oven…buttery and garlicky…perfect with salad or a bowl of soup.

I often store sliced leftover baguettes in the freezer and when I feel like making this garlic bread/toast, I make the mix of butter/garlic and in no time we are ready to savor this garlic fragrant bread…oh so good!

Ingredients:

small loaf of stale French baguette or Italian bread

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon olive oil

Method:

There is no secret and almost no recipe…just mix together butter, parsley, garlic, olive oil and salt.

Spread the butter garlic mix on slices of baguette, approximately 2cm (¾ inch) and take to pre-heated oven of 350F for approximately 15 minutes of until golden. Just keep you eye on it, as you do not want the garlic to burn.

Serve hot or warm.

Next time you have some leftover French or Italian bread make sure to try this…

Garlic is native of central Asia, and contains many nutrients such as manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C. Some studies suggest that garlic might have cardiovascular benefits due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Sous Vide Steak

Have you ever used sous vide cooking method? Well, this is my first attempt and I am loving it…the steak came out perfect! No fuss and no mess…I already can tell you that sous vide cooking will be on my list of favorite gadgets.

Well, after considering carefully all the aspects of sous vide cooking I finally decided to try. What I mean by considering is the fact that sous vide method uses cooking in a water bath under vacuum in an accurate regulated temperature, and in order to cook under vacuum the food has to be in contact with plastic, which I am very skeptical about it…after reading a lot about the sous vide method I could not resist a perfect cooked piece of steak. Moreover, since the temperature used in sous vide is much lower than the normally used, I assume (please do not quote me on this) that chemical would not be released from the plastic from heat since the temperature used in this method is not that high.

There are many options for sous vide cooking, from DIY to very fancy professional ones. I decided to go with the ANOVA cylinder one. You mainly stick the cylinder in a pot of water, set the desired temperature and cooking time. Once the desired temperature is reached, place the prepared food and place into the water bath and let it cook. Yes, the one that I have has a bluetooth, which you can set all the parameters from the phone or tablet. It will beep once the water has reached the desired temperature alerting you that it is time to place the food in the water bath.

You can find plenty of information by searching the internet for sous vide. With all this said, I am sharing with you my first recipe using sous vide method and it was based in this recipe. Again this is a “no-recipe” post. I generously coated a New York steak with fresh grinded salt and pepper, both sides. Placed the steak into a 1 gallon freezer quality plastic bag and added a dry bay leave and a little olive oil. To create a vacuum in the bag, carefully place the bag with your ingredients into the water-bath, make sure to immerse the bag until near the seal, this will create a vacuum, then seal the bag.

For a medium rare-medium 1½ inch New York steak, I cooked for 1½ hour at 56C degree. Once the cooking time is up, remove the bag from the water bath. Discard the juice from the steak. Heat a cast iron skillet with butter, sear both sides of the steak in high heat. Once seared, remove from the heat and serve. There is no need to rest the steak.

So…were I able to tempt you to give sous vide cooking method a try?

I will be back with more sous vide experiments as I already cooked fish, and it came out delicious!

Update…Since I made this perfect steak I used sous vide in so many more recipes…please check it here.

Did you know that “sous vide” is “under vacuum” in French? This method cooks food in a sealed plastic bag under vacuum in a controlled temperature.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Coconut Mochi Rolls

If you like soft and slightly chewy mochi you must try this recipe. It is so much fun and colorful. great for dessert or just as a snack.

Mochi? I love mochi! Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made with glutinous rice flour…the texture is soft and chewy, I mean chewy…mochi can be made sweet or savory and can be mold into various shape. The same glutinous rice flour is used throughout Asian cuisine.

I made these rolls for a potluck party, and it was well accepted, so if you care for mochi you will enjoy this simple and easy recipe and the fun part is that you can color with whatever color you feel in the mood for, especially for making party or holidays theme…they sure make a great snack. Oh! In case you care, these are gluten free…

These rolls stay soft and fresh for a couple of days if kept in an airtight container at room temperature. I learned coloring the rolls from here.

Ingredients:

100 g glutinous flour
15 g tapioca flour (omit for softer texture)
70 g sugar
160 g coconut milk

2 teaspoons rose water
3 drops red food coloring (or green, or blue, or purple, or orange, or black…)
Unsweetened coconut flakes

Method:

Grease a 8 x 8 inch tray with vegetable oil such as canola or corn oil, set aside.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the coconut milk and stir well until all combined.

Pour the batter on the prepared greased tray, make sure that the batter is spread evenly. Steam for 12 to 15 minutes.

In the meantime mix the 2 teaspoons of rosewater with the red food coloring.

Remove mochi from the steamer and brush with the red coloring. Let the mocha sit for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

With the help of a spatula or a knife release all the side of the mochi from the tray. Roll the mocha into a cylinder and gently remove from the tray, by placing on a flat plate. Let it cool.

Gently roll the mochi roll on a plate with coconut flakes and coat it evenly.

Cut the roll into approximately ½ inch.

If you enjoy this recipe using glutinous flour, you might want to check on a savory version…Mochi Cheese Balls (Brazilian Pão de Queijo) recipe.

Did you know that glutinous rice is known as a sticky rice? The word “glutinous” comes from the Latin “glue-like” due to its stickiness. Like all the rice, glutinous rice does not contain gluten.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Ciabatta with Semolina

This is a easy recipe for making ciabatta in the bread machine. The dough for ciabatta is very wet therefore very difficult to handle, that is when the bread machine comes very handy.

I love baking bread…not only the smell of the bread baking in the oven as well as watching the dough changing its form and texture as it rises. This is a very simple recipe for ciabatta. The only difference from the ones that I had baked before is the addition of semolina flour. Semolina flour as you might know is commonly used for making pasta. The addition of semolina flour gives the ciabatta a slightly chewier texture and intense color.

The dough might be harder to manage since it is pretty wet, but all well worth it! The ciabatta turned out great, the crumb was loaded with different sizes of air pockets, and the texture was chewy…delicious.

Ingredients:

Biga Starter

½ cup bread flour
Pinch of yeast
¼ cup water at room temperature

Dough

¾ cup bread flour
¼ cup semolina
¼ teaspoon yeast
2/3 teaspoon salt
½ cup water at room temperature
All the biga prepared above

Method:

Biga

Mix all the ingredients for the biga in medium bowl. Cover with plastic and leave at room temperature up to 24 hours or overnight

Dough

Place all the ingredients of the dough in the bread machine and the biga. Turn on the bread machine to the kneading setting and let it mix/knead by occasionally scrapping the side of the mixing bucket.

The dough will be moist, after kneading for a while the gluten will form and the dough will not stick so much at the walls of the bucket.

If the dough does not pull away from the wall of the mixing bucket add ½ tablespoon of bread flour.

Once the cycle ends, place the stretchy dough in a very well oiled bowl. Make sure that the bowl is big enough because the dough will triple in size.

Cover with plastic wrap or kitchen towel. Let rise until triple.
Dust flour onto a surface and gently scrape the dough. Dust more flour on top, form a rectangle by pushing the sides of the dough.

Flip the dough on a cookie sheet with a parchment paper lightly dusted with flour. Top the dough with some more flour and cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until double of its initial size.

An hour or so before baking, put the baking stone into the oven on the lowest rack and preheat to 475 degrees. Place a pan or tray underneath it on the floor of the oven to preheat with the stone.

Slide the parchment paper to the stone and add ice cubes to the empty tray. Close the oven door and let if bake for 5 minutes, then turn the temperature to 450 degrees and bake for another 20 minute, rotating the stone once in between the baking time.

Once done with the baking time, turn off the oven and at the end of cooking turn off the oven and leave the loaf for 5 minutes with the door slightly open.

Let the loaf cool on the rack and serve warm.

If you enjoy this recipe for ciabatta you might want to take a look at No-Knead French Baguette recipe.

Did you know that semolina flour is high in gluten? Pasta made with semolina have a firm texture and hold its shape well. Since semolina is made from durum wheat, people that are sensitive or allergic to gluten should avoid eating semolina

Have a wonderful week and thank you so much for visiting Color Your Recipes!

Bacon, Cheddar and Chive Biscuits

I wanted to make these biscuit for a while since I tasted in a local restaurant. I searched the internet for the recipes and ended up collecting lots of them. After reading a few of them, I decided to do my usual mix and match…

These biscuits are very simple to make, somehow bacon, cheddar and chives go very well together. In this recipe, I used the bacon bits that I had made and stored in the freezer, which is very practical. Actually I cut the bacon in small pieces and let it fry in medium-low heat at the stove attached to the BBQ. It is convenient and I do not have the whole house smelling grease. Once the bacon bits are golden brown, I scooped them to a paper towel, let the paper absorb the excessive fat and stored in an air tight container in the freezer. Every time I want to enhance dishes or when the recipe calls for bacon bits, I am ready for it without much fuss.

Ingredients:

¼ cup of bacon bits
1¼ cup bread flour
½ tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 stick of butter divided into 3 small pieces
¾ cup cheddar cheese
¼ cup of finely chopped chives
½ cup of buttermilk (½ tablespoon of lemon juice and milk enough to make ½ cup)
Pinch of salt

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 400F and prepare the baking sheet by lining the parchment paper or the silicone mat.

In the food processor, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and the butter. Pulse a few times until the butter incorporates into the flour but still in little chunks, kind of grainy.

Place the flour mix into a bowl and add the cheddar, bacon and chive. Mix gently, add the buttermilk. Mix until a ball forms.

Make small balls and bake in a pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Did you know that” biscuit” term can also be used as a baked product which is hard and crispy?

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Panko Crusted Panela Cheese

If you already are amazed by the large quantity of Costco products you will be speechless once you see the sizes of the cheeses, meat, and produce at their Business Center.
Well, I came back with a huge piece of panela cheese and I knew that we would not be able to finish the cheese before it started to turn bad, and decided to prepare it in a way that could be stored in a freezer…this was sure an experiment, but luckily it worked great.

First, I need to admit that I was a little nervous since I never froze this kind of cheese, so I prepared an extra batch just to be frozen. After a few days, I pan fried the panko crusted cheese and voila, I could not tell the difference from the freshly prepared ones, so I went ahead and prepared all the remaining cheese.

I like this cheese because it has a similar texture to paneer. Once you cook it, it holds its shapes, not like mozzarella which will, in this case, “leak” out of the crust. Moreover, you can serve it as an appetizer or as a main dish, paired with salad.

Ingredients:

Panela Cheese
Flour
Panko + dry oregano to taste
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water
Oil for pan fry

Method:

Slice the panela cheese into approximately ½ inch thick and 2 ½ by 1 inch size rectangles. Coat with flour and dip into the egg mix. Then cover with panko mix. At this point, you can pan fry with a little oil, until the panko crust turns golden or freeze for future use.
Serve hot/warm.

To freeze the cheese, place the cheese coated with panko in a tray, single layer. After a couple of hours in the freezer, remove the frozen cheese from the tray and store in freezer bags.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe using Panela cheese.

Panela cheese or queso panela is used in many Mexican dishes. When fresh, it has a similar texture to mozzarella, but once cooked, it carries a very different texture, since it does not melt like mozzarella cheese.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes!

Navy Bean with Sausage

This is a very simple and easy recipe for soup. It is comforting and hearty, and it makes a great one meal dish. I use the pressure cooker to cook the beans, therefore the cooking time was very short. This soup is so simple therefore makes a great weekday dinner.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup navy bean
1 bay leave
½ tablespoon olive oil

½ tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion chopped
3 stalks celery
3 medium carrots
2 large Kielbasa smoked sausage

Sal and pepper to taste

Mozzarella cheese

Method:

Wash and soak the navy bean in water overnight. Place the navy bean into the pressure cooker with 3 cups of water, bay leave and ½ tablespoon olive oil. Cook in high heat until the pressure start, then turn to low and let it cook for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, sautee the onion with ½ tablespoon olive oil, add the sausage, the carrot and then the celery.

Add the sausage to the cooked navy bean, add salt and pepper to taste, cook for another 1~2 minutes.

When serving garnish with grated mozzarella cheese.

I hope you enjoyed this simple recipe

Did you know that beans are rich source of fiber and contain iron, potassiun, selenium, acid folic and vitamin B6? Moreover, Brazil is the top producer of dry bean.