DRUNKEN CHILLED PORK LEG

This is my first try and I am happy with it.  My youngest girl, Joanna, asked me to buy chilled pork leg so she can eat when she comes back for the CNY.  And I thought why not give it a try.  So I searched for a recipe online and I bumped into this link:  TO INDULGE ONESELF (Thanks to Alfred & Janet for sharing)

I swapped the steps given in the recipe.  Instead of soaking the pork leg in the wine first, I cooked the pork leg in boiling water with few star anise and cloves plus some salt.  It took about 30min to cook and then I took it out and let it cool before putting it in a container with Shaoxing wine (about 1 1/2 half lit.) to soak.  After 3 days, I took it out and removed the bandage, cut into 3 portions, wrapped in aluminum foil and kept in the freezer for the Chinese New Year.

This has a strong wine taste (children may not like this) and I am going to try another one without the wine, which is more to the original taste.

25 Jan 2011

CHILLED PORK LEG

This is another pork leg I tried out without soaking in the wine.  You will notice it is a whole front leg. The center bone is removed but the hoof remains and the skin is still intact which makes it easy work. 

I seasoned the pork leg inside out with Szechuan peppercorn salt and left it in the fridge overnight.  The next day, I cut off some of the access meat and pushed it right inside, filling the space at the hoof end.  Then sealed the opening by sewing (with double strength cotton thread) the skin together while pushing all the meat inside to make it tight.  Then bandaged it tightly to prevent the skin from bursting open during the cooking.  I used a cotton gauze bandage.  It is not only cheap but safer to use as it is not elastic and fully cotton.  I just soak the whole roll in water and squeeze out the water before using it (sort of wash it) but do not unroll it as it will be impossible to use once unrolled.  I learned from my mistake.

I boiled it for 30 min (will take longer for bigger ones) in a pot with water to cover the whole leg.  I added a few star anise and cloves to the water and also some salt.

 

 

After cooling, chill it before cutting.  I splitted it into 3 portions and freezed them for CNY.  For the hoof, you can just eat it or make soup with it by using the broth from the pork leg. 

Besides eating chilled pork leg with pickled ginger, it goes well with chilli salt, garlic and lime juice. 

CHILLI SALT

I like trying different chilli paste and this time I did a chilli salt.  Just as it is called, I chopped up a small bowl of small chillies (seeds removed to lessen the hotness but it is still hot as I was sneezing and coughing as I was preparing it) and dry fried it with sea salt (1part chilli to 1part salt). Cool it before storing in a jar.

Add minced garlic and lime juice to the chilli salt and it goes well with meat especially pork.

2011 KICK OFF!

6 January 2011

We started off sharing a family dinner with Rv Jason and his family, and with Sheerah's card-buddy, Marlene, on the FIRST MONDAY OF 2011. 



The first invited guests to our home in 2011



DINNER MENU:

Spaghetti with Leggos Cheese Tomato Mozzarella

Macaroni with Leggos Alfredo sauce

Baked chicken breast with vegies

"Deviled eggs"
Drink: Orange juice + Sprite + Lemon slides + ice cubes
Dessert: "Si-Mi-Lu" (It is made with honeymelon juice + ideal milk + sago beads + agar2 + honeymelon cubes and top up with ice cream)
Fruit: Mini Mandarin Orange (from Marlene)
 

Spaghetti with LEGGOS Cheese Tomato Mozzarella


















The LEGGOS sauces 

    


Baked chicken breast with vegies - healthy eating (Sheerah's recipe)

 


"Deviled eggs" (my very first try)




I like this pic...see the contrast in their expressions?
















 

Sheerah prepared a door gift for our guests by putting some biscuits and chocolates in a Starbucks used plastic cup and a ribbon tied to both sides to handle it.  Nice thought :) 

If you would like to try out the Deviled Eggs, you can go the link for tips to making just nice hardboiled eggs and a variety of recipes which you can try out.  I did this for the first time and I personally love it and will be trying out some more...haha...for our next guests.  Yes, we plan to do this more often (maybe bi-monthly), that is, inviting family friends to our home to have fellowship over dinner or a light meal or maybe some new ideas we may work out along the way. That is our 2011's goal!

HAVE A BLESSED YEAR AHEAD!

Lily's Story

This for Lily, my gan-jie(sister but not biologically).  There is a story to our relationship. I will write about it another time.

I have here her pics which, recently, I got them all out to scan to give her all the soft copies because she has lost all her precious pics of memories in the fire many years ago.




24 February 2011
Here is our story.... (I am not much of a writer but I will try my best)

Lily used to stay with her brother's family who was teaching in a Chinese primary school which was five mins' walk from my house.  Lily was also studying in this school and helping out her sis-in-law with alot of the house chores.  I think she was at that time around 11-12 yrs old when she came from Sibu to join her brother at Marudi.

During those days we had time to play, and I used to go to play at this school's compound in the afternoon.  So we often met and at times we may play together.  Then one afternoon I realised she was laughing at my poorly spoken mandarin as I was from a English school and I did not pronounce my words correctly.  From then on, I just disliked her so much, so we were not really friends then. 

After our primary level, we both went to the same secondary school which was right next to the Chinese primary school where Lily was staying with her brother at the teacher's quarter.  Marudi is a small town so there was no other choice of secondary school unless we went to the only private one (there was one then).  So we crossed each other's path now and then, but we did not talk.

I would say God is humourous as how he made our relationship happened.  One afternoon, a Christian teacher came to share the gospel with us at our home.  That was when I commited my life to Jesus and it was my final year at secondary school.  I did it together with my mum, we both prayed to have Jesus into our lives. Guess where I ended up?  I went to a Chinese church with my mum and there I was, same church with Lily!  So what should I do?  Well, we just gave each other a courtesy smile :) 

One day, as I was boarding an express boat to Miri I heard someone calling me. It was Lily's brother and know what?  He brought Lily to me and asked me to take care of her because she was going to Miri as well.  What was I to do?  Were we that close?  That is what you call a small town church where you are taken for granted when help is needed. So that was how it all happened.  She was put in my care...coming to Miri...staying with me...caring for her all the way.  Funny isn't?  That's how relationship happen....through caring even when it started off with dislike.  God changed me and we became good friends after that.  

Shortly after that relationship happened, my family moved to Miri.  I cannot remember when but she did come to Miri for a period of time teaching in a school in the outskirt of town.  She stayed with my family and my mum took care of her, cooking her breakfast and packed her lunch every morning.  She ended up calling my mum her "gan-ma" (mother) and so we are like sisters now.

When God is in our lives, He makes a difference.