Pot-Roasted Pork with Madeira

Serve this for a special occasion. A hand of pork is richly flavored and tender cooked with vegetables and fruity Madeira wine. Recipe serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

1 hand of pork, skinned and boned
2 ounces (60 g) butter
2 onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
4 sticks celery, finely chopped
4 ounces (125 g) mushrooms, finely sliced (including stalks)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup Madeira
Chopped parsley, to garnish

Method:

1. Ask the butcher to skin and bone the hand of pork. Remove any fat from the pork. Heat the butter in a heavy saucepan or flameproof casserole and add the onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms. Cook over a medium heat until the vegetables are soft but not brown, stirring often. Place the pork on top of the vegetables, add the thyme and bay leaf to the pan, and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the Madeira, cover tightly, and cook over a low heat for 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender.
2. Remove the meat and keep warm. Discard the bay leaf and puree the sauce and vegetables in a blender, or push through a sieve. Slice the meat and arrange on a heated platter. Reheat the sauce to boiling, taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary, and pour over the meat. Sprinkle with parsley to serve.

Note: Tiny new potatoes steamed in their skins would be good with this, or your family might like buttered rice or noodles.

Rice Noodles with Pork

Rice noodles have little flavor themselves but they have a wonderful ability to take on the flavor of other ingredients. Recipe serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

1 pound (500 g) pork fillet
8 ounces (250 g) dried rice noodles
1 cup broccoli florets
1 red pepper, quartered and seeded
About 3 tablespoons groundnut oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
10 spring onions, trimmed and cut into 2 inch (5 cm) diagonal slices
1 lemon grass stalk, finely chopped
1-2 fresh red chilies, seeded and finely chopped
1 1/4 cups coconut milk
1 tablespoon tomato puree
3 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
For the marinade:
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
2 tablespoons groundnut oil
1 inch (2.5 cm) piece of fresh root ginger

Method:

1. Cut the pork into thin strips, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long and 1/2 inch (1 cm) wide. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl, add the pork, stir to coat and leave to marinate for about 1 hour.
2. Spread out the noodles in a shallow dish, pour over hot water to cover and soak for 20 minutes until soft. Drain. Blanch the broccoli in a small pan of boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water. Set aside.
3. Place the pepper pieces under a hot grill for a few minutes until the skin blackens and blisters. Put in a plastic bag for about 10 minutes and then, when cool enough to handle, peel away the skin and slice the flesh thinly.
4. Drain the pork, reserving the marinade. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan. Stir-fry the pork, in batches if necessary, for 3-4 minutes until the meat is tender. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
5. Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary and fry the garlic, springs onions, lemon grass and chilies over a low to medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the broccoli and pepper and stir-fry for a few minutes more.
6. Stir in the reserved marinade, coconut milk and tomato puree, with the kaffir lime leaves, if using. Simmer gently until the broccoli is nearly tender, then add the pork and noodles. Toss over the heat for 3-4 minutes until completely heated through.

Chinese Stir-fry Pork

The secret of a successful stir-fry is to have all the ingredients prepared before you begin cooking, and then to cook them swiftly so that they reach the table still crisp and alive with color. Recipe serves 4-5.

Ingredients:

1 pound (500 g) pork fillet
1 tablespoon polyunsaturated oil
1/2 teaspoon ginger grated
1 clove garlic, crushed
Pinch Chinese five spice powder
1 cup small broccoli florets
1 cup small cauliflower florets
1/2 green pepper (capsicum), diced
2 medium carrots, cut into matchsticks (julienne)
3 spring onions, chopped
16-20 snow peas
10-12 button mushrooms, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced diagonally
1 apple, cut into slices
1/4 cucumber, cut into slices
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup (sauce)
1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
1 cup chicken stock

Method:

1. Prepare pork fillet by slicing thinly at an angle.
2. Heat oil in a pan until very hot. Add pork, ginger, garlic and five spice. Stir fry for 3-5 minutes.
3. Add broccoli, cauliflower, pepper and carrots. Stir-fry 1-2 minutes, making sure that nothing is allowed to overcook and become limp.
4. Now add the rest of the vegetables and continue stir-frying over high heat for another 1-2 minutes.
5. In a bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, tomato sauce, cornflour (cornstarch) and chicken stock. Add mixture to the chicken and vegetables, bring to the boil, cover, turn down the heat and simmer 2-3 minutes only.
6. Serve on a bed of boiled brown rice.

Pork Tango

This is a favorite recipe. The brandy loses its alcohol during heating but rounds out the lovely fruit sauce. Leave it out if you prefer. You can substitute half a cup of crushed pineapple for the apricots, but remember to reduce the water to half a cup. Recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup dried apricots
1 tablespoon dried currants
1 pound (500 g) pork scotch fillet, trimmed of fat
1 beaten egg
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or minced (optional)
2 tablespoons mango chutney
1 tablespoon brandy
1/4 cup canned evaporated skim milk

Method:

1. Pour boiling water over apricots and currants in a bowl, and stand for half an hour.
2. Roll pork first in egg and then in a mixture of sesame seeds, breadcrumbs and garlic until well coated.
3. Place in roasting pan and bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 45 minutes.
4. While meat is cooking, heat apricots in a saucepan with the currants and the water in which they were soaked.
5. Simmer gently until water is almost absorbed.
6. Add chutney and brandy and stir until the sauce returns to the simmer.
7. Pour evaporated skim milk in a heat-resistant bowl and gradually stir in the hot apricot mixture (this method will prevent the milk curdling).
8. Return to saucepan and reheat without boiling.
9. To test if the meat is cooked, pierce with a skewer. Juice should be clear.
10. Cut meat into eight slices, arrange two slices on each serving plate and spoon sauce over, distributing apricot halves equally.

Pork with Broccoli

A colorful stir-fry combination of vegetables and pork. Recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

7 ounces (220 g) carrots
10 ounces (315 g) broccoli
3 1/2 ounces (100 g) mushrooms
1/2 inch (1 cm) fresh root (green) ginger
1 pound (500 g) pork fillet
Salt to taste
Freshly milled black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon cornflour
1/4 cup sunflower or corn oil
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
Pinch of caster sugar
3 tablespoons snipped fresh chives

Method:

1. Cut carrots into very thin slices. Separate broccoli into small florets. Thinly slice broccoli stalks.
2. Wipe mushrooms with absorbent kitchen paper and trim stalks. Thinly slice. Peel ginger, slice thinly and finely chop.
3. Cut pork into thin slices against grain. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cornflour. Rub well into pork with finger tips.
4. Heat oil in wok until hot, but not smoking. Add pork. Stir-fry briskly for 1 minute. Remove with draining spoon on to rack or absorbent kitchen paper.
5. Add carrots, broccoli and mushrooms to remaining oil in wok and stir-fry for 1 minute. Crush garlic directly into the hot oil. Add ginger. Sprinkle with soy sauce and stock and mix in sugar. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Return pork to wok and mix thoroughly with vegetables. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chives.
7. Serve with curry-flavored rice.

Coconut Pork

An easy and deliciously creamy pan-fried pork fillet dish with a hint of curry spices and coconut. Recipe serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

13 fl oz (375 ml) can evaporated milk
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1 pound (500 g) pork fillets, trimmed, cut into 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick slices
1 large onion, peeled, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon each cumin and paprika
1 teaspoon salt
14 ounce (440 g) can unsweetened pineapple pieces
2 red dessert apples, cored, cut into thin wedges

Method:

1. Place coconut in a food processor. Bring evaporated milk to boiling point, stirring constantly, over a moderate heat.
2. With the motor running, pour hot milk over coconut. Blend for 1 minute.
3. Strain the mixture over a bowl, pressing out as much milk as possible. Set aside, reserve coconut.
4. Melt butter in a large frying pan. Fry pork, onion, spices and salt over a high heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.
5. Stir in pineapple pieces until boiling. Reduce heat, simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Stir in apple wedges, 3 tablespoons reserved coconut and the milk. Simmer a further 3-4 minutes.

Serve with boiled rice, fried poppadoms, cashew nuts, chutney and sliced bananas tossed in lemon juice.

Pork, Rice and Lentil Salad

This high-protein salad is easy to make, and you cook it in just one pot, so there is hardly any cleaning up. Recipe serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

3 cups water
1 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 strips lemon zest, 2 inches (2 cm) long by 1/4 inch (5 mm) wide
1/2 cup long-grain white rice
1 cup frozen green peas
6 radishes, halved and thinly sliced
4 ounces (125 g) cooked pork, cut into thin strips
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, bring the water to the boil. Add the lentils, garlic and lemon zest. Cover and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the rice, cover and simmer for 17 minutes, stirring occasionally with a fork. Add the peas, cover and simmer for a further 3 minutes or until the rice, lentils and peas are tender.
2. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the radishes, pork and lemon juice. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Will keep, refrigerated, for 2 days.

Pork with Mushrooms

Look for dried cloud ear mushrooms in Asian or Oriental food shops for this simple stir-fry. Or if preferred, use other dried mushrooms instead. Recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 ounce (30 g) dried cloud ear mushrooms or other dried mushrooms
Boiling water
1 pound (500 g) pork fillet
Salt to taste
Freshly milled black pepper to taste
4 teaspoons cornflour
5 ounces (155 g) fresh spinach leaves
5 ounces (155 g) fresh bean sprouts
1 medium onion
1/2 ounce (15 g) fresh chives
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup sunflower or corn oil
1 tablespoon blanched almonds, cut into slivers

Method:

1. Rinse mushrooms. Put into bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave for 30 minutes to soak. Tip into sieve. Rinse under cold, running water. Drain thoroughly and cut into small pieces.
2. Cut pork into 1/2 inch (1 cm) strips across the grain. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons cornflour and rub well into flesh with fingers.
3. Wash spinach leaves thoroughly to remove grit. Drain well and tear leaves into strips.
4. Rinse bean sprouts under cold, running water. Drain.
5. Peel and finely chop onion. Snip chives into small pieces with kitchen scissors.
6. Mix remaining cornflour with soy sauce, vinegar and stock in small bowl until smooth.
7. Heat oil in wok until very hot, but not smoking. Add pork. Stir-fry briskly for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Add almonds. Stir-fry with pork for further 1 minute. Remove pork and almonds from wok with ladle and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.
8. Add onion, spinach, bean sprouts and mushrooms to remaining oil in wok. Stir-fry over moderate heat for 4 minutes. Return pork and almonds to wok. Add cornflour mixture and bring to boil, stir-frying continuously. Simmer for 2 minutes over low heat. Mix in chives. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve with rice or pasta.

Pork Spareribs Chinese-Style

Spareribs are one of the most popular Chinese dishes and this is a very simple and good recipe. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

1 side pork spareribs
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium-sized piece of fresh ginger
2 tablespoons brown bean sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour
2 or 3 spring onions, finely chopped

Method:

1. Chop spareribs into 1 inch (2.5 cm) portions and trim excess fat.
2. Mix brown bean sauce, garlic and ginger into a sauce. Bring oil to medium/high heat in a wok, blend in sauce and quickly add spareribs. Continue to stir-fry for about 1 minute.
3. Add sugar and water and bring immediately to boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Mix cornflour with 1 tablespoon of water and add to wok, stir-frying with a little more heat to glaze contents all over. This should take only 1 or 2 minutes. Serve immediately on heated dish, garnished with spring onions.

Pork Stir-Fried with Green Snake Beans

This easy pork stir fry is extremely quick to prepare. Once cooking begins it should be ready in 5 minutes. Serve with steamed Jasmine rice. Recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

12 ounces (375 g) pork fillet, thinly sliced
8 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound (500 g) green snake beans, cut into 1/2 inch (1 cm) lengths
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar or palm sugar
1 teaspoon freshly chopped chili
1 tablespoon lime juice
Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wok or fry pan. Cook garlic and chili until garlic begins to brown. Add pork and cook 1 minute.
2. Add beans and cook for 2 minutes. Add fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and pepper. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Serve immediately.