The CookMobile » Barbecues

Chinese Barbecued Pork (Char Sui)

Lalaine — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:52:42 +0000

On my neighborhood block, you’ll find two types of Chinese restaurants. One, fancy with crisp tablecloths and napkins, that serves authentic bird’s nest soups and abalone dishes and dimsum and hot tea in dainty tea cups. Then, there is the other, a hole-in-a-wall with holes on its walls, that, for $4.99, will heap on your tray bastardized chowmein and fried rice and barbecued pork and a 16oz Horchata from the fountain dispenser. Yah, Mexican rice drink in a Chinese restaurant. Cool. A clear testament to the seamless merging of cultures here in sunny California.

Char Sui (Char=forked, Sui=roasted) can easily be replicated at home with ingredients common enough in one’s pantry. You can have fun with it over a grill or take it easy using an oven. Prepare more than you need as leftovers can be wrapped and frozen for later use in sandwiches, fried rice, soups and steamed buns. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 lbs pork butt or pork shoulder (with moderate fat)
2 tbsps sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsps honey
a dash or two of red food coloring

Procedure

Cut pork into 6″ long, 2″ wide and 3/4″ thick pieces.

In a bowl, combine sugar, salt and soy sauce. Marinate pork strips in mixture for a few hours or overnight for best results.

Remove pork from marinade and position on a rack. Reserve marinating liquid and combine with honey and food coloring. Liberally brush pork with mixture.

In a 400 F oven, roast pork for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 F.

Turn pork strips over, liberally brush with marinade and roast for another 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to 250 F, turn pork strips and brush again with marinade. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. Slice strips before serving.

Pork and Beef Recipes in The CookMobile Archive:

Nuea Sawan (Heavenly Beef)

Pork Tocino

Filipino BBQ Pork-on-a-Stick

Lalaine — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:29:21 +0000

Punctuality has never been my strong suit. Oh, alright, it is not my suit at all. If you invited me to your party, expect me to get there just when your other guests are saying their goodbyes. Everyday, our morning department head meeting starts at 9:00 AM. Everyday, I arrive at 9:08 AM. Does this explain to you why I am posting a BBQ pork-on-stick recipe in the middle of Fall, just when most supermarkets have cleared their shelves of charcoal?

What? Who needs 100 pieces of BBQ pork-on-a-stick, you say? Please take one bite. You’ll thank me later.

Makes 100 Pieces

Ingredients

6 lbs pork butt or pork shoulder, sliced to approximately 1-inch wide and 1/4-inch thick
2 cups garlic, minced
2 liters 7-up
2 tbsps ground black pepper
4 cups soy sauce
4 cups vinegar
6 cups brown sugar
4 to 5 thai peppers, minced
2 cups oyster sauce
2 cups banana catsup
1/2 cup sesame oil
100 pieces skewers

Procedure

If using bamboo skewers, soak for about 30 minutes to prevent from burning during grilling.

Wash pork strips well, drain and place in a deep bowl. Please, please, do not trim the fat off the meat. Fat is good in this recipe.

In another bowl, combine 7-up, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, black pepper, garlic, thai peppers, and one cup of the oyster sauce. Pour liquid mixture over pork strips. Mix well to incorporate. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least overnight or if possible, 2 days for best flavor. The amount of marinade in this recipe allows the meat to be fully covered and turning meat in the mixture during the marinating time is not necessary.

In a bowl, combine remaining 1 cup of oyster sauce, banana catsup and sesame oil.

Thread 2 to 3 meat slices into each skewer. Over hot coals, grill meat for about 1 minute each side. When meat has lost some of its pink, start basting with oyster-catsup mixture. Continue to baste and turn until meat is done to liking. Remove from heat and serve with a spicy vinegar dip or atchara.

Spicy Vinegar Dip

1 cup white vinegar
3 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/8 tsp freshly-ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Combine ingredients and allow flavors to marry for a few minutes before using as dip.

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Truly Pinoy Recipes in The CookMobile Archive

Giniling na Baboy

Lumpiang Shanghai (Filipino-style Meat Eggrolls)

Kansas City Ribs

Lalaine — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:10:11 +0000

Ever had the urge to gnaw on sweet, sticky, saucy baby back ribs but no desire to haul out the 20-lb plus grill? That was me on the afternoon of Saturday. I found early in the morning at our local meat grocer this tray of already pre-sliced and pretty meaty baby back ribs that I wanted to try the Kansas city rib recipe on, but my man who would have grudgingly done the setting and the cleaning after of the grill was at work. What to do? Make do of the oven.

Makes 1 Serving

Ingredients

4 to 5 individual baby back ribs, around 1 pound
1 onion, quartered
1 orange, cut into quarters
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp whole coriander seeds ( I used dried cilantro)

Marinade

3 tbsps butter
1 medium onion, chopped
4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
15 oz tomato sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Procedure

Prepare ribs by trimming excess fat. Place in a sauce pot with onion, orange, peppercorns, coriander and enough water to cover.

Heat to a boil, removing any scum that aggregate on top. Reduce heat to low and partially cover. Cook until ribs are fork-tender, around 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare barbecue sauce. In a saucepan, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Saute chopped onions and minced garlic until softened, around 5 to 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent from burning.

Add tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer sauce until thickened, around 40 minutes. Stir occasionally. Proportions make around 3 cups of sauce, which is pretty plenty for the amount of ribs I used. Amount is enough for around 3 slabs or racks.

Remove ribs and arrange on a baking sheet. Brush liberally and richly with sauce. Bake in a 375 F oven until marinade on meat “dries” and clings to ribs, around 10 minutes. In between, brush liberally with sauce again. Increase temperature to “broil” and cook ribs for an additional 2 to 3 minutes to allow a slight caramelization. Serve with an additional brushing of barbecue sauce, if desired.

Grill Method
Prepare charcoal fire or preheat gas grill for covered direct grilling over medium heat. Rub grill surface with a cut onion.

Place whole slab of simmered ribs on hot grill rack. Cover grill and cook ribs until browned, around 8 to 10 minutes, turning over once.

Brush ribs liberally with barbecue sauce and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, basting regularly with sauce and turning frequently.

To serve, cut ribs following bone into 1-rib portions and arrange on a platter.

Barbecue and Grill Recipes in The CookMobile Archive:

Angus Beef Burger with Bacon, Swiss Cheese and Baby Bella Mushroom Sauce

Chinese Barbecued Pork (Char Sui)

Bacon-wrapped Hotdogs, Fruited Coleslaw and Bacon-Potato Salad

Lalaine — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:11:03 +0000

Have I already mentioned that my birthday is this month? I have already discussed my personal feelings about getting old, yes? Can I tell you again the things I am starting to forget? Where I laid my keys, where I placed my purse, what whatchamacalit’s name is, etc.. Just last night I threw away cashier’s checks in the trash. They were in a blank envelope, which I mistook to be empty and which I swooped down when I cleared our kitchen counter. I had to go through our community dumpster while my husband and daughter shined a flashlight on me! I found the envelope in a garbage bag, amongst the leftover pasta we had last Saturday, the close-to-rotting bananas we had in our fruit bowl, and other unmentionables from our bathroom trash. True story, I tell you. Wait. This is not forgetfulness and really has nothing to do with getting old. Just Lalaine being Lalaine~at whatever age.

I took these pictures at our 4th of July celebration at work as I was meaning to share the recipes here. If a firecracker, probably a neighbor’s leftover from yesterday’s fireworks, did not explode with a bang outside our window, I would have forgotten all about these hotdogs! Oh well, better late than never. Our Independence day menu was pretty simple~hotdogs, fruited coleslaw and potato salad. This is not a recipe, per se, but more of a combination of ideas.

Hotdogs
We wrapped the hotdogs with bacon, which we secured on with toothpicks. We then grilled them until both bacon and hotdogs were cooked. We served the bacon-wrapped hotdogs on buns with sauteed green bell peppers and onions and condiments such as catsup, mayonnaise and mustard. Delicious!

Coleslaw
We used shredded cabbage and carrots, raisins, and finely-chopped fresh pineapples. We put the fruited coleslaw together with a blend of mayonnaise and strawberry yogurt as dressing. Very good!

Potato Salad
We did our potato salad with the usual works of finely-chopped onions and celery, chopped boiled eggs, boiled potato cubes but we added interest with chopped crisp bacon. We also mixed in buttermilk along with the mayonnaise. Creamy!

Barbecues and Grills in The CookMobile Archive:

Filipino BBQ Pork-on-a-Stick

Hawaiian-Style Spareribs

Korean BBQ Short Ribs (Kalbi)

Lalaine — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 05:00:22 +0000

An update: This korean BBQ short rib recipe is one of my earlier entries but I think, ribs as good as these deserve a re-introduction. So, here they are at the spotlight again and just in time for grilling season. You can actually cook them any way you want, as they are perfect pan-fried, grilled or broiled!

I found the ribs on sale that Saturday in November at the asian market I frequent in Cerritos, CA. They were a very good deal at $1.99/lb when they normally run around $3.99+/lb. I would have stocked up but the store had a limit of 5 lbs per family. After I got helped with my meat, I went in search for ready-made korean BBQ sauce. Hmmm, the store was making up on the sale of the ribs through the price of the marinade-$4.99 for a 16 oz bottle. Not even enough to fully cover 2 lbs of meat. I read the ingredients on the label: pear juice, soy sauce, garlic, onions, sugar, salt, and pepper. Yep, the marinade was easy enough to replicate in my kitchen!

I marinated them that night, pan-fried them the next day, and they transformed to bare bones before I could set up the table for dinner. My daughter and husband took turns grabbing as one rib after another left the pan. Couldn’t blame them-the one piece I was fortunate to score away from this greedy duo was addictingly delicious!

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

5 lbs korean-style short ribs
1 cup pear juice (you can substitute pineapple juice)
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1 large onion, minced
1 head garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Procedure

In a processor, pulse onions and garlic until they are almost pureed. You can also mince onions and garlic by hand.

In a bowl, mix juice, soy sauce, sugar, onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Add in ribs. Marinate overnight in refrigerator.

Pan-fry, grill or broil until browned on both sides and cooked to desired doneness.

Recipes with an Asian Flair in The CookMobile Archive:

Hibachi Steak

Kung Pao Chicken

Honey-Glazed Pork Chops

Lalaine — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:57:05 +0000
Whoever coined the term “terrible twos” is gravely mistaken as it is at seventeen when the real test of parenthood begins. At times, it is difficult to find the fragile balance between how far we let go and how tight we hold on. My 17-year old daughter was on spring break from college last week and spent the majority of that seven-day vacation cooped up in her room. This is actually pretty normal as she is a very self-contained individual and aside from occasional outings with close friends, prefers to keep to herself. What peaked my concern was that everytime I entered her room she would minimize the computer screen and my questions of “what are you doing, anak?” only elicited “nothing, ma”. Should I probe or should I step back?

I know her internet activities consist mostly of graphics, banners and other cutesy, girly stuff over at MySpace but there is such an alarming number of world wide web horror stories that I think a peek over her shoulder once in a while is warranted. I do trust her capacity to stand alright out there. It is what’s out there for her that I am afraid of. As parents, we have to assume we raised our children strong and well enough to protect themselves but making too wide of such assumption can be a costly mistake. Afterall, the world ain’t too friendly sometimes.

Last Sunday, I found out what she has been keeping mum and keeping from mom about this whole week. She “google-lized” my The CookMobile by making a dozen seasonal logos. To welcome spring, I now have flowers and a very busy butterfly on my header. As time has a habit of whizzing by unnoticed, it won’t be long before I’ll be unveiling my “summer” banner (sun and bouncing beach ball, how cool is that?) and with that comes BBQ season! Let me get a headstart by sharing this easy and delicious honey-glazed pork chop recipe. It was a mighty fine day Sunday but why mess with a full-size grill for four pork chops when I have a convenient “mock” grill that works on the stove top?

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

4 bone-in center cut pork chops
2 tbsps olive oil
4 tbsps honey
2 tbsps brown sugar
1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 tbsps dijon mustard
juice from one orange
salt and pepper

Procedure

In a non-reactive bowl, combine olive oil, honey, brown sugar, juice from orange, dijon mustard and ginger.

Season pork chops with salt and pepper to taste. Marinate in honey-glaze mixture for at least 3 hours or overnight for best results. Remove and set marinade aside. Boil marinade for around 5 minutes to destroy bacteria from meat.

Cook pork chops over hot grill for around 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Brush pork chops with marinade, turning frequently until cooked to desired doneness.

TIP:
To prevent pork chops from “curling” during cooking, make a small score on the outer fat layer.

Barbecues and Grills in The CookMobile Archive:

Broiled Tanigue (Broiled King Mackarel Steak)

Korean BBQ Short Ribs (Kalbi)