Parmesan Pork Chops

Parmesan Pork Chops



1/2 kg pork chops or pork loin
1 egg
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

1. Cut chops or loin into 1 to 1.2 cm thick slices and tenderize with a meat mallet or cut criss-cross on both sides.
2. Mix the egg with the mustard, the cheese with the breadcrumbs.
3. Season chops with salt and pepper, then add egg mixture and mix well.
4. Coat chops with the breadcrumbs mixture and set in fridge.
5. Fry in hot oil. Good served with a tangy salad and mashed potatoes but not fries b/c that'll be too heavy and greasy altogether.

Tangy Tomato Salad

This is actually a bruschetta recipe but if you chop the ingredients like the tomatoes into bigger chunks its good as a salad.

4 ripe tomatoes, finely diced
1/4 cup fresh basil, cut into shreds
2 tablespoon finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Mix everything together, cover and leave in fridge till ready to eat. Pour away the liquid.
2. Serve with toasted bread (or just eat as a salad).


Crusty bread such as ciabatta or French bread, sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
Grated parmesan cheese

1. Mix oil and cheese, spread onto bread.
2. Toast till golden.
3. Enjoy with some chardonnay.

The Best Molten Choc Cake

Yummilicious molten choc cake.

I first ate MCC at the STAR Hotel but was not impressed because there was very little 'lava'. The next one I tried was at Benito's in Jesselton Point. It was good but pricey at RM10.00 for a small portion in a tiny cup. When a new friend and food lover told me about 'lava' cakes, I decided to try a recipe in Nigella Lawson's book 'How To Be A Domestic Goddess,' mainly because her recipe uses less butter and eggs compared to other recipes I've seen but be warned, she uses more choc than anyone! The cake turned out so good, with so much lava, that I've been telling everybody about it! I've reduced the sugar and don't bother with the muffin tins and turning the cakes out. Instead, just use small ramekin cups. This is a good dessert to make if you are short of time because you just mix everything together using a hand whisk and baking time is short. Try it, you'll impress everybody!

Best Molten Choc Cakes

350 g good dark choc (I like Lindt), melted & cooled

4 eggs, beaten

50 g unsalted butter

50 or 60 g fine sugar

50 g cake flour, or all-purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla essence

pinch of salt

1. Set oven @ 200C. Put a baking tray in. Get ready 6 ramekin cups of 3"/7.5 cm in diameter.
2. Cream butter & sugar (with hand whisk) till light & fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, beating all the time, then add the vanilla essence, salt, sieve in the flour and fold in the melted choc.
4. Divide among the cups.
5. Bake 8 to 10 min for 3" ramekins, 10-12 min for bigger ones. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice-cream or just plain, the best way to taste the choc I think.

Note: I've updated this post on 30/1/08 regarding the baking time and ramekin cups size.

Guilin, China

Guilin:

The mountains and Li River of Guilin.

The Li River is one of the must-go as instructed in the book "1000 places to See Before You Die." I was however a little bit disappointed, mainly because we took the beaten path and did what eveybody does when they go to Guilin: the 5-hour river cruise. It was torturous for me because we were stuck in the upper cabin of the boat with 10 other locals, three of them who smoked despite the no smoking signs and even when told not to. The food was simply not fit for eating and the squat toilet-it was like the river banks had burst. I nearly passed out not breathing, and kept thinking: my new Nikes! my new Nikes! Chinese authorities take note: I saw rubbish and leftovers and dishwashing water thrown overboard! Into your beloved Li River! It's a shame! I'd advise travellers to take a short boat ride to see the mountains and the river ("Quilin xhanxhui") and go to a quaint town called 'Yangshou' for a couple of days. I saw a lot of westerners, backpackers lodges and pubs but still it'll give you a real feel of the rustic country living with those old houses and streets and famous jagged hills all around.

The mountains of Guilin as seen from the Li River is so beautiful that it is captured in the RMB20 note. It was very beautiful, the unusual shapes of the limestone hills, the bamboo groves and the clear water. However, December is when the water level of the river is at its lowest, so the scenery may not be as good as, say, in April.

At the 'Liushanje' Park. Or some name like that.


Man with cormorants.

Yes, its hubby doing a good job of balancing the birds on his shoulders. These poor birds have a ring on their necks to stop them from eating the fish that they catch so their owners can have the fish for themselves.


The gingko trees of Guilin. And us.

This is where they shoot movies when the gingko leaves turn yellow. My niece and her hub took a day off to drive us hours to this area where gingko is grown. However when we got there we were told rain came 4 days before that and the lovely yellow autumn leaves have all fallen. Even the fallen leaves were gone because all had been gathered to make gingko pills, something I should take because its supposed to improve my memory. It is said that as long as each family has a gingko tree they are rich.


The lone tree that still had leaves.


Gingko seed.


Girl selling hand-knotted 'prosperity' knots.


Veg and fruits pickles.

They love their pickles, those Guilin people. Now I know why Mom loves pickles-she studied in this city.


Guilin products.

The bag of yellow stuff (top left) is dried 'guihwa,' flowers from a tree grown for its fragrant flowers that is used to flavor desserts and cakes, like vanilla. The city, named after this flower, is planted with this tree and you can smell it everywhere. The balls are 'lohanguo,' a fruit that 'cools' your body if you eat too much fried food. At the bottom left is another famous Guilin produce, gingko seeds.


Firepot dinner of native chicken with herbs soup.

This was a really good meal. It was cold out (5 C), the firepot was warming and comforting. It was also very tasty, the chicken being 'native' or wild. The shopowner was horrified when we asked for a bowl of plain Guilin meefern/rice noodles which we dumped into the soup. She told us that's not the way to eat firepot, but we told her we just love the noodles, and she concluded that we are from Taiwan. We also enjoyed a wonderful firepot lunch of native chicken gingko soup at the gingko growing village. Don't be put off by the chicken head, butt and a few small feathers in the soup!



This meal was excellent, full of spicy flavor, and cost only RMB80, for 4 people. And all the food wasn't on the table yet.







This was the BEST bowl of Guilin noodles. Situated at the entrance of the ancient town, the restaurant is run by this lady and her son who make the most delicious bowl of noodles, better than any I have ever tasted. Apparently only the locals know where to find it. And it only costs RMB2.50 (less than US$0.35) a bowl. I noted down the topping: boiled pork slices, pickled long beans, deep-fried soybeans, preserved veg, chili paste, spring onions-only to be told the soup is made from 72 secret ingredients! How's that KFC? If I ever go back to Guilin, I'll eat this noodle everyday of my stay . Although the noodles look like the Penang laksa noodles, they are different in taste and texture. Freshly made, the noodles are moist yet el dente and slippery-smooth and full of the fragrance of freshly-cooked rice. Traditionally Guilin noodles are served with thin slices of horsemeat (we did try that, but the meat was too paper-thin to be of any taste and my niece said its unlikely to be the real McCoy because horse meat is rare and expensive).




The young people have left for the city and the old folks stayed behind, opening their houses to tourists (some charge, some don't) and selling whatever knick knacks from their homes. So few people come that the folks don't bother to stay by their stalls.


This grandma was very friendly. She was having a simple firepot lunch of chinese cabbage and pork. It looked yummy. The firepot is very popular in China in the winter.


Making sausages.

This lady was making pork sausages which would be cured in the winter wind. She wasn't very happy with us dropping by. The stove of charcoal at her feet is to keep her warm.


WW1 vehicle?

I half-expected soldiers and gunfire when this vehicle suddenly appeared!


Curing meat in the winter sun.

Drying homemade sausages, pork belly strips and--rats! What's China without some dried rats eh?!

To Mom and Dad's Home Province

Guangzhou & Guilin
Dec 2006

This was a very last minute trip as it was almost Christmas and Yi was coming home for the holidays. We were invited to go for my half-bro's youngest son's wedding. I had never been there before and never met most of my relatives. To go or not to go? MAS helped make our minds up because they were promoting China for Enrich members and we had enough points for two.

Frankly we didn't see much of GZ because we stayed half an hour away in a newly developed area called Punyi. We also took off to Guilin for 3 days. All-in, it was a wonderful trip meeting relatives, listening to them talk about the hard times when the country was in reform, and seeing all of them doing so well now. I cherish the stories my cousins told of my Dad and his brother. Like a lot of overseas Chinese, they worked very hard to send money back so their relatives (not just their immediate family, but their uncles, aunties and cousins too) can have decent food and housing. What impressed me the most was how highly the older generation regarded education and when I look at how sucessful my nieces and nephews are now, I can see its because their grandparents and parents sacrificed to make sure they all got a university education. Chinese are nerds because its a Darwinian instinct.

Meeting all my cousins, half-sibs, nephews, nieces and their families was a very emotional moment for me. And meeting The First Wife. TFW is an amazing woman of energy, strength and quick wits, and I'm convinced the present generation of Ngs in Pingnan and GZ would not be where they are now if not for her. She did not join Dad, who had to flee when the Commies took over as he was a Guomintang planning officer, because she had to stay back to take care of Dad's parents and, get this, his dead brothers' families. She was locked up and almost killed for building a house with money Dad and 1st Uncle had sent her (considered too bourgeois). She survived by eating hot chilies she'd pick out in the fields when the soldiers took her,shackled, for nature calls. To this day, she loves chilies, and her skin is tight and smooth.

Guangzhuo:

The Ng Clan; wish Dad could have been there.


Famous Chinese saying: A man who doesn't fear his wife won't prosper." This guy will, greatly.


On BBQ Street.

There's this street everybody must go to when in GZ to eat bbq everything, especially oysters. This was one of my most memorable feast. Everything was delicious: the lamb steaks and kebabs, the brinjals and chives (the latter strung on wooden skewers or stir-fried at the table), and best of all the garlic-chilies oysters which were only RMB20 for a dozen. They were fresh, plump and good-sized too, not too big like those Pacific oysters in Vancouver. Most of the food was cooked Xinjiang-style, with lots of ground coriander, cumin and other spices. Everybody sits in the street, closed to traffic, and bands of singers will come round to sing at your table for free. A dozen bottles of beer later, and you'll want to delay your flight home.


Bbq oysters with chilies and garlic, bbq Xinjiang spicy brinjals and fried flat rice noodles.


Seafood feast.

A home-cooked seafood spread cooked for us by my niece, Haiwu. That's Shanghai hairy crabs (the best crab in the world! Its flesh is juicy and delicate and the roe-oh, the roe- is creamy and tasty), praying mantis prawns, river shrimps and 'guiyu,' a freshwater fish that's very fine textured and considered 'high class' fish.


Xinjiang mixed nuts cake.

I almost caused a scene buying this. The guy said,"Che dou xao, mai dou xao" and I didn't really quite get it. The small block he gave me weighed like a ton and he asked for RMB80+, which I knew was way out. I had to buy it though because his, em, comrades surrounded us. The worst thing was, he called it 'he tao bing" (walnut cake) but when we got home, it was 95% peanuts and molasses. Don't buy it, even if you feel sorry for them, which was why I bought it in the first place.


Fine china.

If you are in GZ, you must visit the astounding wholesale kitchenware centre, where hundreds of shops sell locally-made fine china for ridiculously low prices. We spent 6 hours there and only managed to check out about 15 shops. The place is so big it'll take days to cover every shop. It is the biggest wholesale kitchenware centre in the world and Kappa Bashi in Japan is child's play.

Super Yummy Soy Sauce Duck

This is such an easy and fantastic way to cook duck I wouldn't bother to cook it any other way. My friend Wendy gave me the recipe years ago and I've forgotten the exact ingredients. I'm not sure if its called Teochew duck. Anyway, I cooked it twice recently and both times my diners were raving about it, so here goes:

1 whole duck, cleaned
1/2 ricebowl (about 200ml) light soy sauce
1/2 ricebowl (say 150 g) sugar
3/4 ricebowl (300 ml) water
6 to 7 thick slices of ginger
4 Tbsp canola or veg oil

1. Put the oil in a cold wok, add the sugar and ginger and then switch on the fire to medium. Stir till sugar is melted and slightly golden but not too much or it'll be bitter.

2. Add the duck, turning over to sear the skin all over. It'll be a beautiful golden brown.

3. Add the soy sauce and the water, stir, then cover and simmer 1 hour or till tender but not too soft. Do check on the sauce level and stir once in a while so the duck doesn't stick to the wok or burn.

4. Take duck out to cool. If the sauce is thin, increase the heat and let sauce reduce, uncovered, till it becomes thick. Bear in mind the sauce will thicken further when it is cold. Skim off oil.

5. Chop duck into small serving pieces and serve the sauce either separately or pour it over the duck.