If you go to your average Chinese takeaway in Australia and order sweet and sour pork, you will be served battered pieces of pork coated in an atomic red sauce. It's a bit like the British version of chicken tikka masala. However, in the June 2016 edition of Gourmet Traveller, there is a beautiful Cantonese recipe for sweet and sour pork that is nothing like the Chinese takeaway version. I couldn't wait to make it.
I was so glad that I did - it was rich, spicy and flavourful, and no atomic red sauce in sight. I served this gorgeous dish with brown rice to ensure that all of that wonderful sauce was soaked up.
To make this Cantonese sweet and sour pork by Tony Tan, you will need:
250g fresh pineapple
1 small onion
1 firm tomato
1/2 red capsicum
1/2 green capsicum
1 spring onion
2-3 long red chillies, deseeded
2 cloves garlic
oil for deep frying
75g potato flour + 1 tspn extra
65g rice flour
steamed rice to serve
Pork
1 teaspoon five spice powder
2 tspns light soy sauce
2 tspns Shaoxing wine
1 tspn ginger juice (squeezed from 2 tbspns finely grated ginger)
1 beaten egg
500g pork neck
Sweet and sour sauce
185ml chicken stock
125 ml tomato sauce
1 tbspn sugar
1 tbspn rice vinegar
2 tspns light soy sauce
1/2 tspn dark soy sauce
1/2 tspn sesame oil
For the pork:
Mix all of the ingredients other than the pork together in a bowl.
Cut the pork into 3cm pieces, toss in the marinade in the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate for at least 15 minutes.
For the sauce:
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
For the rest:
Cut the pineapple into bite sized pieces, cut the onion and tomato into wedges, thinly slice the capsicums and chillies, cut the spring onion into batons, finely chop the garlic; set aside.
Heat the oil in a wok. Combine the flours in a bowl, add the marinated pork and toss to coat, then deep fry the pork in batches until browned and crisp. Drain the pork on paper towels.
Wipe the wok clean and add 1 tbspn frying oil. Once heated, add the garlic, chillies and onion, and stir fry until the onion starts to colour. Add the capsicum and pineapple and stir fry for 20 seconds.
Add the sweet and sour sauce, bring to the boil, then add the spring onion and tomato, and stir fry until warmed through.
Combine the extra tspn of potato flour with 1 tbspn cold water and stir into the sauce to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Return the pork to the wok and warm through. Serve over rice.
Today is Bastille Day, also known as French National Day, and celebrates the start of the French Revolution in 1789. To join in the celebrations, I have made a French specialty from The Alps region - Walnut Cake or Gateau aux noix.
The recipe that I used is from Taste Le Tour by Gabriel Gate. This is fitting, because the Tour de France is currently on, and this book contains recipes from Gabriel's TV program showcasing recipes from the regions through which the Tour de France is held.
I wasn't really sure what to expect when I made this cake, and the "icing" in particular baffled me. This cake is a flourless walnut cake topped with caramel and decorated with walnuts. I had no idea what I was doing with the caramel and was scared that I would ruin the cake by putting it on top. However, I needn't have worried - the cake itself was soft and nutty and delicious, and the caramel on top adds a touch of sweetness.
To make this cake, you will need:
160g walnuts
150g butter
140g sugar
grated zest of one lemon (I skipped this)
4 eggs, separated
3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
a pinch of cream of tartar
Topping
50ml water
100g sugar
2 drops red wine vinegar (I used balsamic - no problems)
10 walnut halves
Preheat your oven to 150°C. Grease and line a 22 cm cake tin.
Grind the walnuts to a coarse meal in a food processor.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, lemon zest and half of the sugar together until pale and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and mix well between each addition. Fold in the breadcrumbs and walnut meal.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar to form stiff peaks, then whisk in the remaining sugar until the mixture is no longer grainy.
Add a third of the egg whites to the nut mixture and fold in using a rubber spatula, then fold in the remaining egg whites.
Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top of the cake, then bake in the pre-heated oven for 1 hour.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the topping, mix the water, sugar and vinegar together in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook to a light brown caramel. Pour the topping slowly onto the centre of the cake and spread it out evenly over the top of the cake. Decorate with walnut halves.
Here is the first slice of cake:
I was amazed at how good this was - definitely a repeat.
Happy Bastille Day!
For Eating with Ellie this week, Margaret has asked us to Eat Your Greens. I am happy to do so. As a child, I hated most vegetables with a passion, and I doubt that ate too many greens. Now, I feel deprived or as if the meal is not complete if there are no veges, including greens.
The recipe that I chose is Ellie's Green Bean and Walnut Salad, which can also be found online here.
Mustard, red wine vinegar, parsley and red onion are combined with chopped walnuts and cooked green beans to make a delicious side dish that would go with just about anything.
To see what the others made this week, visit the LYL section of the EwE website.
For this week's Tuesday with Dorie, I have chosen to make the Cornmeal and Berry Cakes. These are simply little cakes made with cornmeal and olive oil, and hide berries in their heart.
I decided to make cupcake-sized cakes instead of 4 mini bar cakes (because I don't have the tins). I also used frozen mixed berries instead of fresh raspberries in the centre because it is the middle of winter here.
These cakes were surprisingly light, and the cornmeal adds a little texture. The berries are a nice surprise in the centre, especially if you don't know that they are there.
To see what the other Dorie bakers made this week, visit the LYL section of the TWD website.
I recently acquired two of The Hairy Dieters cookbooks and have been making a few recipes from them. Recently, I made the Lamb, Potato and Spinach Curry from The Hairy Dieters - How to Love Food and Lose Weight. You can also find the recipe online here.
Although less calorific than your standard curry, it is full of rich flavours so that you don't feel like you are missing out. It also has the convenience of being a one pot dish, as your meat and vegetables are cooked in the same pot.
This curry was quick, easy and tasty, and not so heavy on the calories - a winner all round.
On a rather cold, wet Saturday a couple of weeks ago, I made my way to Seddon to attend a Beginner's Comprehensive Cookie Decorating Class at Miss Biscuit. Miss Biscuit's new premises have only been open for a month, so they are bright and fresh and new:
Miss Biscuit, Julia Day, sells decorated cookies, decorating supplies and homewares at the front of her premises. Here are some examples of the gorgeous decorated cookies that you can buy at Miss Biscuit for ~$5 each:
In the beginner's class, there are places for 12 students. The class runs from 10am to 3pm, and includes morning tea (tea/coffee/juice/water and cookies) and lunch (wraps, fruit, chocolates). You learn to decorate 9 different pre-made cookies. The price of the class (currently AUD$225) includes all materials, a leaflet with three cookie recipes (including a fabulous "no chill" vanilla cookie dough), a royal icing recipe and a piping tip guide covering three different brands of tips.
Here is the class attentively listening to Julia's tips on rolling out the cookie dough evenly:
Here is Julia demonstrating how to put a wing on her bird cookie design - see how much fun she's having:
On the day, we learned how to decorate 9 different cookie shapes with Julia's designs. Here is my completed set of cookies:
I think that all of the cookies are cute, but my favourites are the bird:
and the icecream:
I bought cutters for both of these from the Miss Biscuit shop, which also sells everything used in class. I am lucky in that I already have a fair collection of equipment from my own adventures in cookie decorating. I have made flooded cookies before - see these Lovebird Cookies, these crazy hearts, and these butterflies. However, I learned some new tips and tricks from Julia that I know I will find invaluable. I especially like how she creates definition in her cookies by sectioning and layering.
I highly recommend Julia's class. It was well organised, there was no mad rushing to complete the tasks, and everyone had enough equipment at their own bench - there was no Lord of the Flies type behaviour that I have experienced in some classes in vying for scarce equipment. Julia is also very approachable and friendly, and was not hung up about how you held your piping bag and whether or not you did a perfect job. In an adult education class, this is just as it should be. If I ever practise enough to become more skilled, I would definitely go back to Miss Biscuit for the advanced class.
65a Charles St
Seddon VIC 3011
Last night, four members of the Melbourne Cake Club met on a cold wintery night at Milton Wine Shop in Malvern to enjoy Sensational Savoury Cakes.
Our venue, the Milton Wine Shop, was a beacon of cosy warmth and comfort. We had a lovely table beside the fireplace in the back room:
I had to arrange the venue for the first time this month, as Dalya, our usual host, is on holidays. The Milton Wine Shop were hospitable from the start - they were quite happy for us to bring our cakes and eat them at the shop, and provided us with plates and forks and serviettes. Thanks to The Milton Wine Shop staff!
On to the cakes. Lindsay, fresh from a holiday in the UK, brought a Goats Cheese, Sultana and Walnut Cake, adapted from this Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe:
The sultanas added just the right amount of sweetness and moistness to the cake.
Abi made a Savoury Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese and Feta Icing, adapted from a recipe in the same Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall article:
The icing was superb and really made the cake.
Sue made a spectacular nine-layer Tortilla Cake from a recipe in her own collection:
Here's a peek inside the layers:
This was so delicious - just the right amount of spicy, and a slice would make a perfect meal.
Here's my slices of cake, ready for me to dig in:
I made an Olive Cheese and Onion Cake from this recipe:
It was deliciously cheesy (I just used a pre-grated cheese mix) and surprisingly light. Here's a peek inside:
We enjoyed our savoury cakes - they surprised me at their variety and deliciousness. We also took a group shot holding a sign wishing Dalya a happy birthday to post on social media, with the assistance of the lovely Milton Wine Shop Staff.
All in all, it was another terrific evening with the Melbourne Cake Club. If you are in Melbourne and would like to join The Melbourne Cake Club, you are most welcome to - just look for us on Meetup.com or Facebook.
