Cooking with and for family and friends always brings back memories of cooking with my mother and sisters and how much fun we had in the kitchen! I love creating food memories and it doesn’t have to be a big production. The secret is to make a big splash with the table layout so when guests arrive, they’re already impressed. I learned a lot of these tricks from my mom who was absolutely brilliant entertaining at home.
My British friends visiting were craving seafood and after scouting seafood restaurants with exorbitant prices, I decided to have a hand at preparing some surf and turf for them. My efforts came out handsomely and it was very rewarding to see my friends enjoying their dinner. The best part was getting some serious time together reminiscing about old times and having good laughs.
Anne Marie Cruz‘ Honey Pecan Almond Cheesecake Sammy Bites at Sandwich Surprise
Eleanor Hoh’s Surf and Turf at Be a Wok Star
Grace Hwang Lynch‘s Zha Jian Mien at HapaMama.
Jill Warren Lucas‘ Pickled Corn Beef at Eating My Words.
Linda’s Vegan Pumpkin Pie at Spicebox Travels
Lisa‘s No Ordinary Meatloaf at Monday Morning Cooking Club
Lucy’s Sweet Potatoes with Cane Syrup at A Cook and Her Books
Pat‘s Thai Red Curry Noodles at The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook
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Stir Fry Veggies, perfect with hoisin pork
Three different stir fried veggie side dishes with grilled hoisin pork bistec done in half an hour surprised me too, so I wanted to share!
Pork ‘Bistec’ is spare rib steaks with lovely marbling but thinner not chunky chops so they cook much faster, perfect for quick weeknight dinners. I really had a craving for hoisin and used same 3 seasonings for my signature Hoisin Spare Ribs, you can get how to make the marinade here.
While the hoisin pork bistecs were grilling, I prepared my veggies. I decided I didn’t want all my veggies in one dish. So, it was a matter of frying them separately which I do anyway so as not to lower the heat of the wok and cause veggies to sweat and become soupy (a very common mistake!)
Chinese eggplant & red bell pepper went together, then Shanghainese Bok Choy & scallions and last I blanched some ready chopped kale left from a soup I made.
When you can smell yummy grilled pork, it’s time to turn them over & grilled till sauce looked cooked and slightly crispy edges. Not too long cause chops are thin. Get your butcher to get these chops for you if you don’t see them, they’re the answer to quick, tasty dinners! I switched off grill and let them sit till I finished stir frying. They were perfectly done, tender & juicy. I hate ‘tenting’ which is covering your meat with foil to let it continue cooking, it never works for me, it’s too scientific.
Hubby and I shared one chop with a spare chop for our lunch, yippee. Another tip: always cook more to save time and effort! Enjoy.
Stir Fry Veggies, perfect with hoisin pork
Three different stir fried veggie side dishes with grilled hoisin pork bistec done in half an hour surprised me too, so I wanted to share!
Pork ‘Bistec’ is spare rib steaks with lovely marbling but thinner not chunky chops so they cook much faster, perfect for quick weeknight dinners. I really had a craving for hoisin and used same 3 seasonings for my signature Hoisin Spare Ribs, you can get how to make the marinade here.
While the hoisin pork bistecs were grilling, I prepared my veggies. I decided I didn’t want all my veggies in one dish. So, it was a matter of frying them separately which I do anyway so as not to lower the heat of the wok and cause veggies to sweat and become soupy (a very common mistake!)
Chinese eggplant & red bell pepper went together, then Shanghainese Bok Choy & scallions and last I blanched some ready chopped kale left from a soup I made.
When you can smell yummy grilled pork, it’s time to turn them over & grilled till sauce looked cooked and slightly crispy edges. Not too long cause chops are thin. Get your butcher to get these chops for you if you don’t see them, they’re the answer to quick, tasty dinners! I switched off grill and let them sit till I finished stir frying. They were perfectly done, tender & juicy. I hate ‘tenting’ which is covering your meat with foil to let it continue cooking, it never works for me, it’s too scientific.
Hubby and I shared one chop with a spare chop for our lunch, yippee. Another tip: always cook more to save time and effort! Enjoy.