TherMe: Braised Pork Rice aka 卤肉饭

The famous Taiwan braised pork rice is one of my faves but those sold commercially tend to be a tad too oily leaving u feeling kinda jerlat towards the end. As a Thermomix advisor, we get to learn a new dish during our weekly meetings so u can imagine my excitement when we were told it's gonna b this dish for the week ;p

Ingredients:

700g of pork belly

Water

1 tsp of salt (preferably pink Himalayan salt / sea salt)

2-3 tbsps of dark soy sauce, depending on how dark u want it to be

1 tbsp of fermented bean paste

1 tbsp of light soy sauce

1 tbsp of organic raw sugar

1 tsp of sesame oil

3 cloves of garlic, ends cut away

10g organic extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

6 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked, drained (retain the water) & sliced

150g of mushroom water

3 pieces of star anise

Directions:

1. Put pork into mixing bowl then add sufficient water to cover pork followed by salt. Par-boil for 20mins / 100°C / Reverse / Spoon Speed.

2. Remove pork then slice to desired thickness. Use a big bowl to marinate pork with dark soy sauce & mix well 1st so that colour will be more even. Add in the remaining seasonings (excluding water) & mix evenly.

3. Pour out the residual water in mixing bowl. Put garlic then set 5s / Reverse / Speed 5. Remove peels & scrap down sides before adding EVOO to sauté at 3mins / Varoma / Spoon Speed.

4. Fix butterfly onto blade then pour in marinated pork including the marinate, mushrooms, mushroom water & star anise & cook for 1hr 10mins / 98°C / Reverse / Spoon Speed. 

5. Lastly, add 5mins / Varoma / Spoon Speed to help thicken the sauce. Pour pork & gravy over cooked rice & hard-boiled egg. Best served warm with some steamed vegetables.

The braised pork can be prepared in advance then stored in individual portions either in chiller (overnight) or freezer (if more than 1 day). Simply cook rice in simmering basket with eggs on top while steaming the required pork portions in the Varoma dish as well as vegs on the Varoma tray & Voila! A quick meal ready in no time at all ~.<

For non-Thermomix readers, you can still tweak & follow the steps but simmer over low heat in a wok or pot on the stove. Stir occasionally but when sauce has thickened, stir more frequently to prevent it from getting burnt.

I'm glad e dish turned out not oily. Meat was well-flavoured & texture was perfect, tender yet not too soft..one word to sum it up, marvelicious!!

TherMe: Pasta with Home-made Tomato Sauce

Adapted from the Tomato Sauce recipe in 'Thermomix The Basic Cook Book'

I've cooked the original tomato sauce as a base for pizzas numerous times & its delish! Was making another batch so decided to prep extra for our pasta dinner.

Ingredients (serves 1 toddler + 2 adults):

150g onions, peeled & halved

1 clove of garlic

60g of organic extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

1kg of fresh cherry tomatoes

1 1/4 tsp of dried basil 

1 1/4 tsp of organic raw sugar

1/2 tsp of pink Himalayan salt

250g of minced pork

150g (pre-cooked) of desired pasta, cooked to al-dente then rinse lightly with room temp water

50g of frozen organic peas

Directions:

1. Add in onions, garlic & EVOO into Thermomix mixing bowl then chop 5s / Speed 5 followed by sauté 7mins / 120°C / Speed 1.

2. Add tomatoes, basil, sugar & salt then chop 15s / Speed 5.

3. Cook 30mins / 100°C / Speed 2. Keep half for future usage (base for pizzas, vegs etc).

4. Pour in minced pork, cooked pasta & peas then cook 3mins / 100°C / Reverse / Speed 1.

For non-Thermomix readers, you can still tweak the prepaprtions by either chopping the ingredients manually or using a normal blender. Follow the steps but simmer over low heat in a wok or pot on the stove. Stir occasionally & when sauce has thickened, stir more frequently to prevent it from getting burnt.

It's been awhile since I cooked tomato-based pasta for BB so he kinda finished his portion in record time..lolz! A keeper for sure <3 

Before having my TherMe, I used to prep the pasta sauce in my Avent Steamer & Blender. Due to size constraints, I'm unable to do larger quantities. Furthermore, this definitely tastes more fragrant due to the sautéing of ingredients as compared to just plain steaming.

TherMe: Kid-friendly Char Siew (Non-Baked Version)

This recipe was highly recommended by one of my cooking chums but I adapted it to be more kid-friendly for my boy.

Ingredients:

650g of pork belly

3 cloves of garlic

5 tbsps of brown sugar

2 tbsps of light soy sauce

1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp of homemade peanut butter

3/4 tbsp of Simply Natural organic blk bean sauce (thick)

2 tsps of dark soy sauce

150g water (Note: can increase to 200g cos sauce abit thick)

Directions:

1. Chop garlic at 5s / Reverse / S5.

2. Marinate pork with all seasonings, except water, & place it in chiller for at least 4hrs.

3. Add marinated pork with sauce & water into Thermomix mixing bowl then cook for 45mins / 120°C / Reverse / Spoon Speed.

4. Slice to desired thickness, pour gravy over & serve warm.

For non-Thermomix readers, you can still follow the steps & simmer on low heat in a pot over the stove but u'll need to stir occasionally & when sauce has thickened, stir more frequently to prevent it from getting burnt.

As this is a non-baked version, you don't see the charred parts normally found on char siew which I feel makes it healthier actually. However, the meat is tender, flavourful & u can taste the fragrant of the roasted peanuts. It may not taste like its commercially-sold counterparts but both my parents enjoyed it tremendously & it definitely deserves the thumbs up given by my boy d(^.^)b

Best part of this is all that I need to do is put the marinated meat in, set the time, temperature & stirring speed & Thermomix will do its magic! No more watching of fire, stirring constantly to prevent burnts etc & I'm free to do anything while it's been cooked ~.<

Organic Penne in Creamy Pork with Portobello Mushrooms Sauce

After we came home from our second trip to the library today, I needed to whip up a quick luncheon & I knew just what to cook as I've been having this craving since the bottle of Bulla cream has been siitting in my fridge...hee! I had wanted to prepare this dish much earlier, however, due to unforseen circumstances (almost an entire pack of shiitake mushrooms turned mouldy), I wasn't able to cook it last week :(

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler & 1 adult):

100g of Alce Nero Organic Penne Rigate

100g of Australia corn fed minced pork

6 medium-sized portobello mushrooms, sliced

1 medium-sized purple onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

150ml of Bulla Thickened Cream (red label as shown in picture below)

100ml of pasta water

1 big handful of frozen peas

3 tbsps (sauce) + 1 tbsp (topping) of shredded organic cheddar cheese

Some freshly ground black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Directions:

1. Bring water to boil for pasta & cook in simmering water till it's almost cooked.

2. Simultaneously, heat up some EVOO in a pan then add garlic. When it starts to brown, add in the onion followed by mushrooms & black pepper then sauté till the mushrooms start to shrivel & 'sweat'. 

3. Add in the pork to stirfry then pour the cream & pasta water into the pan & mix well.

4. As soon as pasta is ready, add the pasta, peas & cheese to the pan. Toss around to evenly coat the pasta with the sauce & let it simmer a while for the pasta to absorb the goodness.

5. Top with more cheese & serve immediately.

Burp! Absolutely satisfying meal but super fattening. Well, I'm sure it's alright since we don't eat cream everyday, not even once a month in fact. &, I know most people would tell me that I can afford to put on some extra kilos..lolz! This is so good that I think I'm going to tweak the recipe slightly to make a creamy mushroom soup one of these days. Thus, do stay tuned & happie grubbing!

Beneficial Combinations:

Garlic + Onion = Detoxification & anti-cancer effects

Garlic + Pork = Eliminate fatigue, improve attention & help enhance immunity

Peas + Pork = Diuretic (promotes the production of urine), stop diarrhoea & aid digestion

Pepper + Pork = Favorable for digestion & absorption of nutrients

My Mummy's Bestest Wantons, Ever!!!

These are without a doubt my favourite wantons in the whole wide world. As people always say "Mummy knows best!" Regardless fried or soup, hot or even cold, they will still taste so gooooooood! Anyone who has had the privilege of savouring them would certainly attest to it. Well, at least to me they will & would always be ;P" 

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler & 1 adult): 

240g of Australian corn fed minced pork

5 prawns, shelled & diced

8 water chestnuts, skinned & diced

Generous amount of chopped spring onions (missing in mine as I've forgotten to ask my hubby to buy when he did the groceries)

1 tbsp of Bob's Red Mill All Natural Cornstarch

1 tbsp of sesame oil

1 pack of wanton skins

360ml of thawed salmon stock

A dash of freshly ground black pepper (can replace with a few slices of ginger)

3 stalks of organic xiao bai cai 

Pot of water

Directions:

1. Marinate the pork with cornstarch & sesame oil for at least an hour.

2. Add in the prawns, water chestnuts & spring onions then mix evenly.

3. Put a tsp of the mixture onto the centre of a wanton skin (the side with more flour facing outside), fold it half & slightly press the edge of the filling to close it up properly. 

(Note: May have to wet the wanton skins slightly if they've dried up & hardened.)

4. Repeat till all the wanton skins have been used up.

5. Bring the pot of water to boil & add in the wrapped wantons to cook.

(Note: By not cooking them in the stock, it will ensure that your soup won't have a strong ghee taste.)

6. Meanwhile, add the pepper to the salmon stock & bring it to boil in another pot. Form meatballs with the remaining mixture (I actually kept about 100g of it for his dinner as the portion was a bit too much for both of us) & cook them in the stock. Add in the xiao bai cai when the meatballs are almost cooked & cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

7. Remove the cooked wantons & put into a bowl. Top with the salmon stock & xiao bai cai then serve immediately.

The efforts in prepping this dish is definitely worth the while. Trust me on this. My boy finished everything in his bowl & even asked for more which I gladly refilled with more meatballs & soup. The salmon stock which I've frozen previously really came into good use too. With all the preparations required for the wantons, I'm glad that I didn't have to prepare seperate ingredients for a broth to go with them. Especially when you've a clingy BB for the day. One thing I will like to improve on is the skins as they're not homemade. My only consolidation is at least they don't contain preservatives. Maybe I'll be more advantageous & up to the 'challenge' one day. But, not today..hee ~.^ Let's wait a few more months till my boy can be Mummy's lil' helper in the kitchen.

Beneficial Combination:

Pepper + Pork = Favourable for digestion & absorption of nutrients

My 3 Dishes & Arrowroot with Black-Eyed Peas Soup for Dinner

Arrowroot with black-eyed peas soup: Skin & cut 1 arrowroot into big chunks. Add them with 280g of blanched pork bone meat & 50g of black-eyed peas to 2 litres of water & bring to boil. Then, simmer in low fire for 3 hours.

The following were cooked simultaneously in my Techno 3-Tiers Electric Steamer.

Organic brown rice: 1 cup of organic brown rice soaked for at least 7 hours in water to remove the phytic acid. Pour away the soaked water & rinse a couple of times before adding 1.5 cups of water. Steam for 35 minutes.

Steamed fish with red dates & wolfberries: Top fish with 6 red dates (seeds removed & diced), 3 tbsps of wolfberries & some ginger strips then pour 1 tbsp of organic extra virgin coconut oil over it (Optional: add 2-3 tbsps of water for more 'broth'). Steam for 10 minutes.

Steamed probiotics fed chicken with organic green kiwi: Peel off the kiwi's skin & dice it. Top 1 chicken thigh & 1 drumstick with the kiwi & steam for 25 minutes.

Steamed organic ladies' fingers (okra) & tomato: Top 5 lady's fingers & 15 organic cherry tomatoes (cut into quarters) with 1 tbsp of organic extra virgin coconut oil & 1/8 tsp of dried basil. Steam for 10 minutes.

Slurpilicious soup! Another addition to my small growing collection \(~.^)/ First try using kiwi in my cooking as my mummy told me that it'll help to tenderise meat. Very refreshing taste when eaten with the chicken but the gravy is a tad too sour for me. I think golden kiwis will be the way to go as they're sweeter in nature. My husband, on the other hand, finds it 'just nice'. He also gave thumbs up for the fish as he likes the combined sweetness from both the red dates & wolfberries. Added a mental note to myself to add a bit of water next time so that there'll be more of the light 'broth'. As usual, my lit' food lover happily gobbled everything up..lolz!

Beneficial Combinations:

Ginger + Kiwi = Clear heatiness & stop vomiting

Pork + Tomato = For healthier stomach & digestion as well as invigorate spleen & replenish qi

Pork & Creamy Tomato Spaghettini

Woohooooo! I finally got down to cooking a creamy tomato sauce-based pasta. This idea struck me just before CNY but I wasn't able to try it then as I ran out of plain pasta & was left with only the vegetable pasta of which some actually contained spinach. With the knowledge that consuming spinach with cheese would affect both the digestion & absorption of calcium, I had no choice but to wait until I re-stocked my pantry. 

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler & 1 adult):

100g of Alce Nero Organic Spaghettini

100g of Australian corn fed minced pork

1 glove of garlic, halved

2 purple onions, quartered 

9 big organic cherry tomatoes, halved

5 stalks of organic French beans, quartered

1 bay leaf

5 fresh basil leaves (can replace with 1/8 tsp of dried basil)

1 sprig of rosemary, stalk removed (can replace with 1/8 tsp of dried rosemary)

1/8 tsp of dried oregano

4 tbsps (sauce) + 2 tbsps (topping) of organic cheddar cheese

1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta in a pot of simmering water till al dente. Drain & leave aside.

2. Steam the remaining ingredients, except cheese, French beans & tomatoes, for 10 minutes (I'm using my Avent Combined Steamer & Blender).

3. Add in the tomatoes as well as French beans & steam for another 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf, add in 4 tbsps of cheddar cheese then blend to desired consistency. Pour over cooked pasta, top with remaining cheese & EVOO & serve warm.

Omzg!!! It was goooooooood (^.~)b With the addition of herbs, it tastes like bolognese but creamier & cheesier too. It was our first take on spaghettini & both of us enjoyed it tremendously. Much faster to cook than spaghetti but yet not too thin like angel's hair.

Beneficial Combinations:

French Beans + Garlic = Sterilise & detoxify as well as improve the taste

Garlic + Onion = Detoxification & anti-cancer effects

Garlic + Pork = Eliminate fatigue, improve attention & help enhance immunity

Pork + Tomato = For healthier stomach & digestion as well as invigorate spleen & replenish qi

My Sister's Signature Lasagne!

Can you imagine how much we've been craving for this signature dish of my sister's since we last had it more than 1.5 years ago? She last did it while I was having my confinement so I didn't manage to savour it then T.T She finally relented & promised to cook it for us after CNY. Upon witnessing the entire process, I finally realised why she has been putting it off for so long. It is indeed a long & tedious one. From the preparation of the meat & cream sauces, to the 'construction' & finally the baking, it takes almost 3 hours. Here's the recipe if u're up for the challenge ^.*

Ingredients for meat sauce:

100g of minced pork collar

1 tsp of minced garlic

3 medium tomatoes, mashed (I only used one but it turned out a tad too dry as no tomato purée was used for BB's portion)

1 tbsp of diced capsicum

2 tbsps of diced celery

2 tbsps of diced yellow onion

4 tbsps of shredded carrot

10 to 12 basil leaves

1 sprig of rosemary

1 piece of bay leaf

1/8 tsp of McCormick Italian seasoning (optional or you can add a dash in if you've any of the following dried herbs: marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savoury, sage, oregano & basil)

2 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

100ml of water (can substitute with 1 can of tomato purée if it's for adults as shown in the bottom picture below)

Directions:

1. Stir fry garlic, onion & celery in EVOO for 5 minutes. Add in remaining ingredients & simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes (1 hour for adults' version) till all are softened.

Ingredients for white cream sauce:

3/4 cup of milk

1 small piece of bay leaf

3/4 cinnamon stick

1 clove

3 black peppers

15g unsalted butter

2 tbsps of plain flour

1/4 cup of cheddar cheese

A dash of freshly grounded pepper

Directions:

1. Bring milk to boil then remove from fire. Put bay leaf, cinnamon stick, clove & black pepper in a coffee bag then add into the milk to infuse (optional if you're cooking just a single BB portion).

2. Melt butter over a small fire then sieve in the flour & whisk well.

3. Next, remove the pan from fire. Add in 1/4 cup of milk each time & whisk till smooth. 

4. Put pan over fire again & bring to boil.

5. Lastly, turn off the fire, add in the cheddar cheese & pepper then mix well.

Additional ingredients for construction:

5 lasagne sheets

1 tsp of EVOO

1 tbsp of Parmesan cheese

2 tbsps of cheddar

2 tbsps of mozzarella

2 tbsps of thickened cream

Directions:

1. Oil the bottom & sides of the aluminium tray then line it with half the lasagne sheets, ensuring some space between them as they'll expand during baking.

2. Top with half the meat sauce & some dollops of white cream sauce sparingly.

3. Add another layer of lasagne sheets & meat sauce.

4. Drizzle evenly with thickened cream followed by topping generously with cheddar, mozzarella & Parmesan cheeses.

5. Cover tightly with a piece of aluminium foil then bake for about 35 minutes.

6. Remove the aluminium foil to check that the lasagne sheets have softened & are cooked. Put it back into the oven for another 5 minutes or till the cheese has browned nicely.

This is heavenly <3 I'll definitely do it again but it's especially worth the effort if you are serving up a bigger portion. For a portion that would serve 2 adults & 1 toddler, please multiply all the ingredients by four. Bon appetit!

Beneficial Combinations:

Celery + Tomato = Strengthen stomach & helps digestion as well as lower blood pressure & lipids

Garlic + Onion = Detoxification & anti-cancer effects

Garlic + Pork = Eliminate fatigue, improve attention & help enhance immunity

Pepper + Pork = Favourable for digestion & absorption of nutrients

Pork + Tomato = For healthier stomach & digestion as well as invigorate spleen & replenish qi

Harmful Combinations:

Carrot + Onion = Easily lead to goiter (enlargement of thyroid)