Char Siu Pork

You know that really delicious, sweet and tender pork you had a dream about the other night?  No?  Just me? OK.  Well, this char siu pork is definitely dream worthy, and I thought everyone should have the recipe.  It’s an amazing Vietnamese marinade – garlic, honey, hoisin, five spice, etc. – and can be used in oh so many ways.  On sandwiches, in soups (like pho!), rice paper wraps, or pretty much anywhere, really.  It’s more than fine all on it’s own too.

Char Siu Marinade

The longer you can let this marinade, the more delicious it will be.

Then, bake @ 475 F for about 30 to 35 minutes, flipping and basting the pork in the marinade every 10 minutes.  Don’t dump it all on right away, because the sugar will burn.  But if you just put it on a bit at a time, it will help form a nice sticky glaze.  MMMMmmmmmm sticky glaze…

Char Siu Pork

Here is one potential serving option:  on rice, with a bean salad on the side!

Char Siu and Bean Salad

Or sliced up and used in pho…

Pho with Char Siu

 

Or buried under a bunch of other toppings to make up rice paper wraps!  This will very likely blow your mind.

Char Siu Rice Paper Wraps

Char Siu Pork Recipe

2 1/3 pounds boneless pork shoulder (tenderloin works well too)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 ½  tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
2. Cut the pork into strips about 6 inches long and 1 ½ inches thick.
3. To make the marinade, take a large bowl and whisk together the garlic, sugar, five-spice powder, hoisin sauce, honey, wine, soy sauces and sesame oil.  Add the pork and use a spatula or tongs to coat evenly.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours, turning the pork 2 or 3 times.
4. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, line up pork on top and reserve the marinade.
5. Roast, basting every 10 minutes, for 30 to 35 minutes.  The pork is done when it looks glazed, is slightly charred and registers about 145 Fahrenheit on a meat thermometer.
6. Let the meat stand for about 10 minutes to finish cooking and seal in the juices.

From:  Into the Vietnamese Kitchen

Veggie Rice Paper Wraps

These are highly addictive.  It’s the peanut sauce’s fault, really.  That, combined with crunchy veggies, vinegar tossed vermicelli noodles and fresh basil, mint and cilantro is extremely good news for your taste buds.  Some sort of marinated and grilled meat (like char siu) can only improve the situation, so don’t be afraid to add some if you aren’t of the vegetarian persuasion.  You can (and I have) eat a ton of these in one sitting, and still walk away from the dinner table feeling satisfied but not over-stuffed.  I love that quality in a recipe!

So in the spirit of the new year, and in the interest of trying to make up for  a little bit of the holiday gorging that went on the last few weeks,  this recipe is both delicious and healthy.  I’ve fed them to my large family a few times and they always disappear.  Serve them with Pho Bo  for an impressive feast!

The list of ingredients is flexible, and they’re a great way to use up extra veggies, too.  MMMMMmmmmmmMMMMMM!

Rice Paper Wrap Prep

Dip one of the wraps in some hot water until it becomes soft enough to wrap and eat. Then pile on your toppings of choice!

If you do serve these to a big group, get a few pie plates and scatter them around the table.  Add a few centimeters of water to each.  Boil the kettle and bring it to the table with you so you can add hot water to the pie plates whenever they start cool off.  This will make soaking the wraps much easier.  And it’s kinda fun too!  Doesn’t take much, I know.

Loaded Veggie Rice Paper Wrap with Char Siu Pork

One time I made these and added BBQ’d steak.  This was a good decision.

And yes, I like to put my peanut dipping sauce straight onto the wrap.  That way no bite is without peanut sauce!

Another Loaded Rice Paper Wrap

Wrap it up and take a bite.

Rice Paper Wrap exposed

If at all possible, have it along side some pho and red wine 🙂

Vietnamese Dinner Party Feast

These are a guaranteed hit for potlucks too!  After you assemble them, just line a tupperware with a damp tea towel to keep the rice paper moist while you transport them.  Then just slice them in half to serve, and watch them disappear!

Pot Luck Rice Paper Wraps

Rice Paper Wrap Recipe

Specific amounts of the following ingredients aren’t really necessary since nothing is actually cooked together.  Just use whatever you need for the amount of people eating.

Rice paper wraps
Vermicelli rice noodles
Red pepper, thinly sliced
Carrots, thinly sliced
Cucumber, thinly sliced
Bean sprouts
Romaine Lettuce, ripped into roll sized pieces
Fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, mint)
Peanut Dipping Sauce
Rice Vinegar
Granulated sugar
Marinated and grilled steak or pork tenderloin (optional)

1. Cook vermicelli noodles according to package directions, then toss with rice vinegar and sugar, to taste.
2. Add hot water to pie plate or deep, round dish, and soak rice paper wraps for a few minutes until pliable.
3. Top with vermicelli noodles and other toppings of choice, then wrap and roll it all together.

Birthday Celebration Food!

I rarely pass up an opportunity to celebrate something by eating delicious food.  My birthday is no different.  And although I forgot to take pictures of my birthday dinner with friends at Ceylonta (it was great by the way), I took lots of pics of my birthday celebration dinner with my family.  Recipes to come!

There was all kinds of deliciousness, starting with a cocktail called “The Sunburst” from the Fall 2011 Food and Wine magazine from the LCBO.  I wish I’d gotten a picture that showed the star anise better – it was such an unique garnish, and was a great compliment to the other flavours.  But what can I say, I was more focused on consuming than photographing in this case.  My older brother did a great job of whipping these up – unusual ingredient alert:  Apricot Jam! They were so good, I’ll definitely be making them again.

Note the awesome moustache glasses – I picked these up off Etsy last Christmas!

The Sunburst

Let’s take a look at the whole spread.  Such a colourful table!  MMMMMMM  Pho Bo!

Hungry family digging in!

Don’t forget the wine!

Birthday Feast

There were rice paper wraps to satisfy my never-ending craving!  There are just so many fresh flavours and textures in these.  And putting peanut sauce right on the wrap is also a must.   DO NOT FORGET THIS STEP!!  The rice paper can be tricky, but the trick is to dunk them in warm water right before you use them.  Otherwise they get tougher to work with, and don’t taste as good.

Rice Paper Wraps

And then there was pho of course!

Delicious Dinner Pho Sho!

Don’t forget about the cake!  My younger brother, Drew, killed this one.  He made buttered almond cake which is definitely my favourite cake of all time. Yup, favourite.  It’s sweet, smooth and nutty flavour put it above all other cakes for me!  (I promise to post the recipe soon.)  Check out this thing of beauty:

Buttered Almond Cake

It was a double decker!

Double Decker Buttered Almond Cake

Happy Birthday to me indeed!