Thai BBQ Pork Neck

Hello my lovelies.

Long-time no write. I keep saying that I will do better but we all know how lazy I can be when it comes to writing my own recipes. My October-month resolution will be to do better.

So here I give you the gift of life, and whilst we still have a bit of sun, and if you feel like squeezing in the last of your BBQ use, this recipe is for you! Thai BBQ pork neck served with Jaew.

Now let’s talk about pork neck, if you have a butcher near you, then you are sorted, as they should easily be able to get it cut and prepped for you, I usually give my butches a 48 hours’ notice.

If you are one of the unlucky ones and you don’t have a local butcher, you may use the shoulder for this recipe.

For this recipe you will need:

• 450 g pork neck – slice into 2-inch strips
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
  1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce

For the Jaew (spicy dipping sauce):

• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup Thai fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp finely chopped green onions
• 1 tbsp dried red pepper powder
• 1 tbsp dried chilli flakes.

Firstly, you will need to make the marinade for the pork, and I would highly advise to let the pork marinate for 24 hours at least. In a big bowl, add the sugar, white pepper, oyster sauce and fish sauce. Mix the ingredients until combined and add the pork meat. Cover and keep it in the fridge for 24 hours.

Just before the meat is ready to be cooked, you will have to prepare the Jaew (the dipping sauce). This dipping sauce is amazing with chicken or pork, so if you have any left-over sauce after making this dish, please do yourselves a favour and save it!

Mix all the Jaew ingredients In a bowl, and adjust the taste as required. The sauce should be mainly salty and sour.

Now, the best part, if you have a BBQ at home and feel like going through the trouble of using it, then I’d suggest you go for it. However, if you want a quick fix, then I’d say there is no harm in using a griddle pan. Heat up a pan and lightly oil it. When the pan is slightly smoking, carefully add in the meat. Lower the heat and grill each side for about 3-4 minutes (depending on the thickness). Once it’s done remove and set aside to cool for 5 minutes to let it rest before cutting. Cut the meat into thin slices at an angle and enjoy.

I hope you try this out and feel free to ask me any questions if you need.

Courgette Fries

I’m terribly sorry I have not posted anything for the past 10 months. Life has changed a lot and there’s no excuse because I’m obviously still cooking.. just not writing down the recipes and posting them on my beloved blog. 

I’ve got a new job which I’m in love with, lucky to work close from home and doing a bunch of traveling this year! 

Anyway let’s get to why we are here! Courgette fries! I went to Granger and Co last week with some friends and had courgette fries there… however.. they were undercooked.. but I’m always too damn nice to send my food back, so I just chewed through tough rubbery fried disks.

I had some baby courgettes in the fridge during this weekend, so decided to make it at home. 

For this beautiful recipe: 

• 8 baby courgettes (cut lengthwise in quarter)
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch 
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup milk 
• 1 egg

I am lucky enough (or not… depending if you’re a doctor or not haha) to have a deep fryer at home, turn your fryer to 180C. 

In a bowl, mix all of your dry ingridrients (flour, cornstarch, seasoning), slowly add the milk to the dry mix, making sure to whisk well, then add the egg. Make sure the batter is well combined. 

Dip the courgette in the batter and fry it until golden brown. If you don’t have a deep fryer, use a pan deep enough to fry your courgette fries. 

Once the fries are ready to come out of the oil make sure you use kitchen towel to drain any excess oil. Season with sea salt to taste. 

Fantastic on its own, or with a tangy dip. 

Ribeye and Courgette Salad

 

Day before payday… I decided to treat myself for some steak.. Ribeye steak hmmm! Good thing about living in my area is the millions of butchers.

My favorite of the area is Baldwins Butcher!

I could seriously eat this dish everyday! I love this courgette salad that goes with it!
I bought an amazing tool for peeling vegetables! I got the Benriner and if I could use it in all vegetables I would, I mean I am a real pasta/noodle fan, so anything in pasta or noodle shape will do for me. This little tool is so easy to use and clean.. I definitely recommend it.

For the courgette salad, I used chilli powder, fresh garlic, truffle salt, ground black pepper and a big splash of toasted sesame oil! This automatically gives more of an Asian taste to the salad.

For the steak, I usually have mine medium rare or rare – This will usually depend on if I forget the steak in the pan and I’m doing something else.. like chatting away with my housemates!

I hope you get the chance to try the salad at least!

  Ana x