As the years have passed so has our traditional Christmas feast. Gone are the days of turkey and stuffing, and over full bellies, a lot of dishes and stress (on my mothers part). Into a knew era where stress is kept to a minimum and as much time outside as possible. Christmas day's menu is divided between families and brought to one venue. It actually works very well, as we all make a main dish with some form of protein, a salad or two and a dessert. I am from a large family, who all love their food, so you could imagine the sheer quantity of food involved. If you had to do the food alone, it would be like a catering job. My husband (Simon) and i share the preparation.
This year our menu consists of (not at all traditional):
CARAMELISED PORK BELLy with Chinese coleslaw (Kylie Kwongs dish)
PRAWNS WITH MOJO VERDE BLACK FOREST GATEAU HOMEMADE ELDERFLOWER CHAMPAGNE
This is just our contribution, there is another five families to add on to this list...it will be delicious.
This Pork dish is absolutely amazing, the pork is soft and moist. The flavour from the poaching stock, seeps through the meat and the fat and then the slightly citrus caramel finishes off the dish perfectly. A satisfying and well balanced dish. Great for any time of the year.
CARAMELISED PORK BELLY serves 6
600g female pork belly, cut into 2.5 cm cubes or in a large piece
220g brown sugar
3 limes, juice only 2 Tablespoon fish sauce
Red braising stock 625ml Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
220g brown sugar 6 garlic cloves, coasley crushed
90gm ginger, thinly sliced
4 spring onions, trimmed and halved length ways
5 star anise
2 cinnamon quills
3 pieces of orange rind, removed with peeler
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Sichuan pepper salt 1 Tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns, crushed 30g sea salt flakes
Method: Place pork in a large saucepan and cover with cold water, bring to the simmer over medium heat and simmer to remove impurities (5 minutes) Drain, rinse pork under cold running water and set aside. For red braising stock: combine ingredients in a large saucepan, bring to the boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low and simmer to infuse (40 minutes). Add pork and simmer until tender (45 minutes-1 hour). Set aside.
To make Sichuan pepper salt: combine ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
caramel
Remove pork from stock, pat dry on absorbent paper and set aside. Combine sugar and 250ml water in a saucepan, cook over medium heat,stir to dissolve sugar, then simmer until caramelised (10-15 minutes). Remove from heat and add lime juice and fish sauce.
If using a large piece of belly pork, now is the time to cut it into the desired size. Add pork belly, toss to combine and serve scattered with Sichuan pepper salt, with extra caramel drizzled over and serve with either steamed white rice or chinese coleslaw.
