Some simple Chinese - Kylie Kwong Style

That's right, we are up to week 44 of the Cookbook Challenge & it's Chinese theme.  Kylie Kwong's Simple Chinese Cooking had to be the book to use, I love the look of it though rarely cook from it, I think this is actually my second look in for the year thanks to the challenge, I will have to keep reminding myself that it's full of great & simple (as the title states) recipes.  I chose a Hoisin pork stir fry with a Chinese style coleslaw to go alongside.  The picture looks a bit bland however it really was a lovely dish.  Hoisin sauce of course gives the pork a sweet flavour & the quick cooking kept it nice & tender.  I used my wok burner which I normally dont use & I'm sorry, it didn't seem to get the temperature as hot as the regular big burner & my pork seemed to stew rather than stir fry nicely.  It didn't seem to affect the overall flavour though as you can see it ended up a very unappealing greyish color.  Back to the big ring next time I think.  The coleslaw was lovely & fresh though for the life of me I couldn't get Chloe to eat any of it, carrot, cabbage, cucumber, all on her list of no's despite the fact that she is a pretty good eater, oh well a night without veggies occasionally shouldn't cause too much harm.  All in all a nice midweek dinner though not for every day, even though it's all pretty simple, there is a lot of chopping & pickling & making sauces, etc so it actually took a while to prepare.

Stir-Fried Pork Fillets with Hoisin Sauce - Kylie Kwong - Simple Chinese Cooking

600g pork fillets, cut into 5mm slices
1 small cucumber
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon light soy sauce

Marinade

3 garlic cloves, finely diced
1/4 cup hoisin suace
2 tablespoons malt vinegar
2 tablespoons shao hsing wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon five spice powder
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Combine pork with marinade ingredients in a large bowl, cover, and leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Using a vegetable peeler, finely slice cucumber lenghtways into ribbons, set aside.

Heat oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly.  Add half the pork and stir fry for 30 seconds.  Remove from wok with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Add remaining pork with all the marinade and stir fry for 30 seconds. Return reserved pork to the wok with soy sauce and stor fry for a further minute or until pork is just cooked through and lightly browned.

Serve with reserved cucumber

Celery, Carrot and Cabbage Salad - Kylie Kwong - Simple Chinese Cooking

1 small cucumber
3 small carrots, peeled
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 sticks celery, sliced on the diaganol
1/2 cup malt vinegar
2 tablespoons white sugar, extra
2 1/2 cups finely shredded savoy cabbage
2/3 cup sping onion, julienne
1 1/4 cups fresh bean sprouts
1/2 cup mint leaves
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
pinch Sichuan pepper & Salt (basically Sivhuan peppercorns & Sea Salt, dry roasted & then pounded to a fine powder)

Using a vegetable peeler, finely slice cucumber and carrots lenghtways into ribbons.  Set cucumber side and cut carrots into a fine julienne.

Combine carrots in a bowl with sugar and salt, mix well and leave to stand for 15 minutes.

Add celery to a small saucepan of boiling salted water and blanch for 30 seconds.  Drain, refresh under cold water and drain again.  Set aside.

Combine vinegar and extra sugar in a small heavy based saucepan and stir over heat until sugar dissolves.  Simmer, uncovered for about 1 minute or until slightly reduced/  Set aside to cool before stirring through pickled carrot.

In a bowl combine reserved cucumber, pickled carrot mixture, celery, cabbage, spring onion, bean sprouts and mint.  Pour over combined soy & lemon juice & mix well.  Arrange in a bowl, sprinkle with Sichuan pepper & salt & serve immediately.