Nexpresso Pork Chops

This is quite an interesting recipe - using coffee to marinade pork chops! The coffee taste is not as strong as I had expected but quite a tasty recipe.


Ingredients


6 pieces boneless pork chop
2 tbs minced garlic and shallot
4 tbs Nexpresso coffee (or you can use instant coffee)
pinch of salt, pepper and sugar
Parsley (optional)


Sauce
6 tbs white vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
5 tsp sugar
4 tbs ketchup
8 tbs water
1 tsp pepper


Method 


1.  Make coffee and let cool. Add minced garlic and shallot to coffee.
2.  Pound pork chops. Marinade pork chops in coffee mixture for at least 2 hours.
3.  Remove pork chops from marinade and mix with salt, sugar and pepper.
4.  Add little oil to pan and fry pork chops until golden brown on both sides. Add sauce and cook for 3 mins. Dish up and garnish with parsley. Serve

Chiu Chow Style Cold Crab

This is one my favourite crab dish because it's so easy to make and very tasty. The key is to use fresh 花蟹 and make sure you do not buy ones that has little meat but lots of water.  When you buy the crab, pick ones where the claws are pink and when you press the back of the crab, it should feel very hard. If the claw is very transparent, it means the crab has lots of water and not much meat.  


Ingredients


2 花蟹
1 big pot of water 
1 tbs Chinese tea leaves (can use any kind)
1 tbs rock sugar


Method


1. Wash the crabs and put them in the freezer for 30 mins (so that the crabs die).
2. Boil big pot of water. Add the tea leaves and rock sugar.
3. Remove crabs from freezer and put into boiling water. Boil for 25 mins.
4. Remove crabs and drain. Let the cooked crabs cool until room temperature. Refrigerate the crabs for at least 1 hour. Serve with vinegar (I usually add some minced ginger to the vinegar).

Skinny Mocha

Ingredients


1 part coffee 

2 parts skim milk
1.5 tbs good quality chocolate / cocoa powder (I used Amarni chocolate...very yummy and rich)


Method


1. Boil half of the milk and add hot chocolate. Add to chocolate  powder. Mix until chocolate has melted.  Use frother  ( I cheated by using my Nexpresso frother) to froth the remaining portion of the milk (if you do  not have the Nexpresso frother, you will need to boil the milk and use a frother).


2. Make 1/3 cup of coffee. Pour hot chocolate into coffee. Serve.

Fried Minced Pork with Mixed Vegetables

Ingredients

6 pieces of bak choy (cut into half)

1 cup of minced pork 

5 water chestnut (diced)

3 tbs mixed vegetable (diced)

1 tbs minced garlic

1 tbs minced shallot

Sauce

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 tsp light soya sauce

some pepper and sesame oil

Method

1. Marinade pork with light soya sauce, sugar, pepper, corn starch and little oil for 30 mins.

2. Blanch bak choy. Drain and place it around the plate in the shape of a flower.

3. Heat wok with oil, add shallots and garlic. Fry until fragrant. Add the minced pork. Fry until 1/2 cooked. Add the water chestnut and mixed vegetable. Fry for 30 seconds. Add sauce and fry until the pork is fully cooked. Dish up and place the pork in the centre of the bak choy (as indicated in the above photo).