Asian Pulled Pork with Cabbage Slaw

First BBQ of the year broke last years record of sunny bbq days, but I had known all week that this "drought" we have in Sarf East London was going to continue unabated, cold and wet. So plans changed, instead of a bbq we were going to have a floor picnic instead. And picnics need pork. Lots and lots of pork.

So.....pulling on my thinking boots, I decided that slow cooked pork would not only taste good (as we know anything porcine tastes amazing) but would double as a heat source for the house. Brilliant (if I might say so myself).

After a few hours bubbling away in the slow cooker, Hussyband liked this so much he wanted to cancel the soiree.

Apologies for the lack of real pics with this post - Hussyband ate them too.

Pulled Pork

2kg pork loin (you could also use pork shoulder in which case go for about 3kg)
Chinese Five Spice
Salt
2 large yellow onions, peeled and cut in 2cm slices
350ml of char siu sauce (I picked mine up from a local Chinese supermarket)

Cabbage Slaw
1/2 head white cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
Bunch of coriander, coarsely chopped
Bunch of mint, coarsely chopped
Bunch of thai basil, coarsly chopped (best chance of getting this at an Asian supermarket, otherwise use normal basil - but it will change the taste as normal basil is sweeter and less fiery)
Fried shallots
100ml fish sauce
Diced birds eye chilies (optional and to taste)

To Serve
Chinese pancakes (like they use for Peking duck) or fresh baguettes


How To Make Pork Heaven

Line the slow cooker with the onions. Season the pork shoulder with a little bit of salt and lightly rub in a light coating of chinese five spice, place on top of the onions. Warm the char siu sauce and pour over the pork, using a pastry brush to coat it evenly. Cook on low overnight of on high for about 5 hours.

In large bowl, combine the cabbages, coriander, mint, basil and toss to mix. Season with the fish sauce and allow to marinate for about 2 hours before serving - the slaw will let off a heap of liquid, so just make sure you drain it well before serving. (Note: the leftovers the next day were amazing - so you could make this a day ahead quite easily.)

When the pork is cooked use tongs or forks to shred the pork into a large bowl. I poured off the juices from the slow cooked into a separate bowl and popped into the fridge, the fats solidified and I spooned those off, leaving a marvelous sauce that we used to keep the pork moist and as a sauce.

To serve, place a spoonful or three into the pancake and top with some slaw. Fold it up like a spring roll or taco and stuff into your mouth so nobody steals it from you. Repeat until you fall over into a pork coma and make sure you keep paper towels handy to wipe the juices from your chin, arms and cleavage.

Slow Roasted Lamb and Red Wine Pie - 2 Ways

Hussyband is on call this week, which is probably a good thing considering what a crazy birthday party I had last weekend for my 40th, and the dinner we have planned this week at Nobu on my actual birthday/4th wedding anniversary.

Being confined close to home has its advantages - I made a HUGE batch of passata with tomatoes and basil from the garden that has reduced down for most of the afternoon. And first thing this morning after watching the Wallabies beat South Africa in the Rugby World Cup, I dug out my trusty slow cooker and prepared it for duty.

First off I sliced up 2 onions, 6 cloves of garlic, 4 eschallots and 2 carrots and put them into the base of the slow cooker on top of which I gently rested a shoulder of lamb and a couple of sprigs of rosemary, then poured a bottle of red wine and some really good grinds of salt and pepper. The lid went on, switched on low and forgot about for the next ohhhh 8 hours or so.

Drain the meat and vegetables by tipping them into a colander resting over the top of a bowl or saucepan - you want to keep all the juices, then allow to cool. Then roughly shred the meat with your fingers it will just fall apart into luscious lamb-ie strips.

Once at room temp, put the juices in the fridge for an hours so that the fats solidify, then scoop them off carefully with a slotted spoon. Then I reduced the juice by half, and added a couple about 1/2 a cup of the passata (use a good jar from the supermarket if you dont have a surplus of tomatoes simmering all day!) Return the meat and vegetables to the sauce and stir well to combine.

Hussyband was in the mood for potatoes, so I divided the meat between two enamel pie tins - one I topped with roughly piped mashed potato, and bunged into the oven at 180C until crispy on top. The moans of happiness from He Who Supposedly Must Be Obeyed were testament. The meat was tender and the gravy just unctuous enough to hold it all together, and the mash was soft with crispy edges.

Version 2 was topped with a polenta shortcrust pastry. It is dead easy to make, 200grams of plain flour, 50grams of uncooked polenta, 125grams of cold butter (cubed) all get popped into the bowl of a food processor and pulsed until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then slowly add a couple of tablespoons of ices water until the dough starts to ball together, then remove and gently need together into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 mins. After it has chilled, roll out to 3-4mm thick between two sheets of plastic wrap of grease proof paper

Cut two long strips and use these to edge the pie dish. The carefully place the remaining pastry over the top of the pie and trim to slightly larger than the dish. Using a fork, press the pastry into the edging working your way around the pie. Slice a cross into the centre to allow steam to escape, you can also insert a pastry crow to help this along (and they look so pretty!) Use any left over pastry to decorate the top of the pie as you see fit. Brush the pastry with a mixture of beaten egg and milk and bake for 20 mins at 180C until the pastry is brown and crispy.

Hussy will be eating potato topped pie for a few days, and the pastry topped one is going into the freezer for a few weeks until another cold miserable day when I cant be bothered cooking!

PS: The diet is going really well - lost 15kgs so far, but gee I miss blogging!