Hong Shao Rou, or Red Braised Meat is one of my favourite Chinese dishes. My mom makes an amazing version and the recipe works with any protein from chicken wings to pork belly. The Fiance and I have been hounding my mom for her recipe but like most moms, she wings it and doesn’t measure ingredients. This recipe has the right ingredients and makes a savoury, authentic dish, but we’re still tweaking the ratios.

Hong Shao Pork Belly

2015-02-01 20:41:53

Serves 4

Authentic recipe for Hong Shao Pork Rou, can easily be adapted for chicken

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 10 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 10 min

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 lb pork belly
2. 1 cup water
3. 2 tbsp dark soy saace
4. 1 tbsp cooking wine
5. 2 tbsp sugar
6. 1 tbsp rock sugar
7. 5 cloves of garlic
8. 5 slices of ginger
9. 2 star anise
10. 1 tbsp cooking oil
11. salt to taste

Instructions

1. Boil the pork belly for 5 minutes
2. Remove from pot and cut into one inch square/rectangular pieces (cut perpendicular to the layers of meat and fat)
3. In a large pan or dutch oven, over medium heat, add cooking oil and sugar, cook until the sugar browns
4. Add in the pork belly pieces and fry for 5 minutes, flipping each piece to be charred on all sides
5. Add cooking wine, dark soy sauce, water, star anise, cover and bring to a boil
6. Once the soup is boiling, add green onion, ginger and garlic, cover and simmer on low heat for 60 minutes (if the soup reduces too much, add water as needed)
7. Add rock sugar and cook on high for 10 minutes

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble ingredients

Boil pork belly for 5 minutes

Cut pork belly into one inch pieces

Be sure to cut perpendicular to the layers of meat

Over medium heat, cook sugar in oil until brown, add in pork belly pieces

Add cooking wine, soy sauce, water and bring to a boil, then add remaining ingredients and simmer on low heat for 60 minutes

The original recipe called for 6 cups of broth, we only have 4 so we substituted with 2 cups of water. This was not the best idea and at first the soup was too watery and didn’t come together. We ended up having to simmer the soup on the stove top for an extra hour. The original recipe also called for a cup of yogurt, which would also have helped thicken the soup. Without the yogurt, 4 cups of broth is enough liquid for a nice thick soup.

Curry Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

2014-06-26 18:53:36

Serves 8

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 10 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 10 min

Ingredients

1. 1 butternut squash
2. 2 large or 3 medium onions
3. 1 head of garlic
4. 4 cups beef broth
5. 1 bayleaf
6. 1 tsp brown sugar
7. 1 tsp curry powder
8. 1/2 tsp dried oregano
9. 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
10. 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut open the butternut squash and remove the seeds. Peel the onions and quarter. Cut off the top of the whole head of garlic, wrap in aluminum foil and place along with vegetables on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-60 mins or until the squash can be pierced with a fork. Our squash was a touch under ripe and we roasted the vegetables for 80 mins.
3. Remove the flesh of the squash and add to a blender or food processor. The cloves of garlic should squeeze out of each sleeve easily, add to the squash along with the roasted onions. Puree the ingredients until smooth, if needed add in 1/4 cup of broth at this point to help the blending process. Transfer all the contents to a large pot.
4. To the soup, add the remaining broth, bay leaf, brown sugar, curry, dried oregano, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer for 10-20 minutes.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Adapted from allrecipes.com

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble ingredients

Roast vegetables

Puree the vegetables and simmer on stove top to finish

Cooking goat or lamb has always been daunting for me. While I love the eat the gamey protein, it is still a foreign ingredient in my kitchen. This stew recipe, adapted for a slow cooker from allrecipes was a great first step into cooking goat with minimal risk of screwing it up. Also, it’s delicious.

Irish Goat Stew

2014-06-26 18:50:06

Serves 8

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Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

4 hr

Total Time

4 hr 30 min

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

4 hr

Total Time

4 hr 30 min

Ingredients

1. 1 pack of bacon (~1lb)
2. 3lbs of goat belly (shoulder cut will also work, belly makes the stew very fatty)
3. 4 medium potatoes, diced
4. 2 onions, cubed
5. 1 onion, minced
6. 3 carrots, diced
7. 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
8. 3 gloves of garlic, minced
9. 1/2 tsp salt
10. 1/2 tsp black pepper
11. 1 tsp thyme
12. 2 bay leaves
13. 2 tsp white sugar
14. 4 cups of beef broth
15. 1 cup of white wine
16. 1/2 cup of water (if needed)

Instructions

1. Cut up the bacon and cook in a pan until crispy, set the bacon aside and leave the oil in the pan.
2. Place your goat pieces in a large bowl, add in the flour, salt and pepper and coat each piece evenly. Once coated, brown the goat in the bacon oil until the outside is crispy and set aside.
3. In the same pan, sautee the minced garlic and onions until the onions soften. Deglaze the pan with water and transfer all the drippings to your slow cooker.
4. Add the browned goat pieces, cooked bacon and beef stock to the slow cooker and set on high for 2 hours.
5. After the 2 hours, add in the wine, thyme, bay leaves, diced onions, carrots and potatoes and set to high for another 2 hours.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Adapted from allrecipes.com

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble ingredients

Bacon and goat pieces cut into pieces by the butcher

Chop up the bacon

Cook the bacon and set aside, saving the fat

Bacon, diced potatoes and onions

Flour the goat

Brown each goat piece

And set aside

Saute the minced garlic and onions, add the bacon, goat and broth to the slow cooker, cook on high for 2 hours before adding the remaining ingredients

Adding the final ingredients, cook on high for another 2 hours

Secret ingredient, a can of cream of chicken.

Bison Shepherd's Pie

2014-06-21 15:19:02

Serves 8

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Prep Time

40 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

1 hr 5 min

Prep Time

40 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

1 hr 5 min

Filling

1. 1 lb ground bison
2. 1 medium carrot diced
3. 1 small onion diced
4. 1/2 cup of frozen peas
5. 1 tbsp butter
6. 1 tbsp olive oil
7. 1 tsp dried thyme
8. 3 cloves of garlic
9. 4 tsp tomato paste
10. 1 can of cream of chicken
11. salt and pepper

Potato Topping

1. 4 medium potatoes
2. 1 green onion
3. 2 cloves of garlic
4. 2 tbsp butter
5. 1/3 cup of milk
6. 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
7. salt and pepper

Filling

1. Dice the vegetables, add salt and pepper to the ground bison and mix.
2. Heat up pan with half the butter and brown the bison until cooked then set aside. At this point you can drain the meat, I didn't because our bison was very lean.
3. With the remaining butter and olive oil, cook the carrots and onions for about 10 minutes. Add in the thyme and garlic and cook for another minute.
4. Add the cooked ground bison back into the pan along with the can of cream of chicken. At this point the filling will be very thick, add in up to 1/2 can of water as needed.
5. Stir in the tomato paste and frozen peas.
6. Pour the filling into your baking pan and set aside.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Potato Topping

1. Cut the potatoes into smaller cubes or slices and boil until soft.
2. Start mashing and add in the chopped garlic, parmesan cheese, butter and milk as you continue to mash. Once the potatoes are creamy, stir in the green onions.
3. Gently place scoops of the mashed potatoes onto the filling and spread into an even layer.
4. Bake for 25 minutes.

Adapted from Slice of Feist

Adapted from Slice of Feist

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos – Filling

Assemble the ingredients

Dice carrots

Dice onions

Mix the salt and pepper into the ground bison

Brown the bison with 1/2 the butter and set aside

With the rest of the butter and olive oil, cook the carrots and onions until translucent, add the bison back in, stir in the rest of your filling ingredients and add water as needed

Pour filling into a baking pan and set aside

Assemble the potato topping ingredients

Cut the potatoes into smaller pieces

Chop the garlic and green onions

Once the potatoes are soft, begin to mash

Add garlic, grated parmesan and green onions to the potatoes and continue to mash

Add in milk and mash until creamy

Gently scoop the potatoes onto the filling and spread

Cover the entire surface with an even layer of potatoes

Bake in oven at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes