White Cut Dipping Sauce

 I'm not sure if "white cut" meat is a Chinese, Taiwanese or Cantonese thing but IT'S SO GOOD. You can get white cut meat in the form of chicken, pork belly, pork cheek or my favorite, goose.

I need to get the dipping sauce recipe off my mind before I forget it!

Dipping Sauce:
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp Chinkiang black vinegar
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp chopped green onion

Italian Roast Pork with Salsa Verde

 
I have been making this recipe for over ten years. For the longest time, I had just a paper printout of the recipe but when I went to make it last week, IT WAS GONE. I panicked. Luckily, I remembered enough key words from the "story" that was part of the post that I was able to find it again online.

Now that I've found it again, I've learned my lesson and have to blog about it so that I never lose it again. I'm also scared that the website will shut down or something, and then I'll also lose it!

This recipe is SO GOOD. I reduce the fennel from 1 Tbsp to 1 tsp since I don't like a super strong fennel flavor. And make sure to make double the salsa verde because it's so delicious. My adaptation below is for double the original recipe. Trust me on this. I also baste every 45 min.

Final tip. Make sure the wine is at room temp when you pour it into the glass Pyrex, and please do it slowly so it doesn't shock the glass. I guess at some point, I had a Pyrex that had a nick in it or something because when I poured the wine in, the entire glass exploded into pieces!

Again, this recipe is low and slow, at least 4-6 hours of time. It's definitely a weekend, or a work from home recipe.

Italian Roast Pork with Salsa Verde
Serves 6-8

Adapted from We are Never Full

4-6 pound bone-in pork shoulder (sometimes called pork butt)

• 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary
• 2 Tbsp fresh sage
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp fennel seed
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• pinch of peperoncino
• 1 cup white wine (I usually use vermouth)

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbsp rosemary
• 2 Tbsp sage
• 2 Tbsp chives (optional)
• 1 cup parsley
• 5-6 anchovy fillets
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
• 
  
• Add herbs, fennel seed, garlic, peperoncino and salt/pepper into a food processor and pulse a few times. Push down any of the paste that may have accumulated on the sides of your blender with a rubber spatula. With the lid on and the blade going, add your olive oil into the mixture so that it all incorporates and makes a paste.
• 
  
• Make 1-inch deep slits all over the pork (even in some of the skin). You can stuff a clove of garlic into each of the slits, if you wish (sometimes I do that). Generously salt and pepper the pork all over. Rub your marinade all over the pork and poke some into each slit. Fat side up, place pork in a roasting pan. Roast pork uncovered for 1 hour.
• 
  
• After the hour is over, remove pork from oven and add the wine to the bottom of baking dish. Use a spoon to pick up some of the brown bits. Tent some aluminum foil over the pork and put back in the oven, turning oven down to 275 degrees. Cook for 4-6 hours more, approximately one hour per pound (the first hour doesn't count). Baste with the drippings every 45 minutes.
• 
  
• Make your salsa verde (this can be made up to one day ahead of time). Add your herbs, garlic and anchovies in your food processor. Puree as best you can with no liquid in there. Scrape the sides of the blender and puree again. Scrape the sides again. Add the red wine vinegar, lemon zest and about half of the lemon juice. Blend and scrape. Finally, with the motor running and the lid on, slowly drizzle your olive oil into the mixture until it’s completely emulsified. Give it a taste and season accordingly with salt, pepper and additional lemon juice. Blend one final time.
• 
  
• About 40 minutes before the end of your final hour of cooking time, remove the foil from the top of the pork. This will cook the skin a bit more. Remove pork when done and allow the pork to rest 15 to 20 minutes before slicing. Make sure you do this, so the juices redistribute! Otherwise the pork might get dry.
• 
  
• Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, risotto and/or greens. So good and always a showstopper!

Satay Beef with Ong Choy

 

I love this dish so much. Sometimes I just crave the flavor of it and I just really want to eat a bunch of it, with fluffy white rice. Documenting the recipe here, so I don't ever forget how to make it. Note that the "satay sauce" is Taiwanese barbeque sauce, and not the Thai satay sauce. Bullhead is my favorite brand.

Satay Beef with Ong Choy

Serves 4

Marinade:

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1.5 tsp soy sauce

1.5 tsp satay sauce

8 oz thinly sliced beef, pork or lamb

10 oz ong choy / water spinach

3 cloves smashed garlic

3-4 Tbsp satay sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1 chopped red chili pepper

Combine the meat with the marinade ingredients. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Add in 1 tsp of oil before cooking, so the meat separates more easily while being cooked.

Heat a wok over high heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. Add garlic for about 10-15 seconds, then add meat and stir fry until almost fully cooked. Remove from wok. Add in ong choy and stir cry constantly until the leaves are dark green, which happens very quickly (within 1-2 minutes). Make sure to mix constantly.

Return the meat to the wok, add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine well. Taste and add more satay sauce, if needed.

Pasta with Sausage & Broccoli

 

I've seen multiple mentions of this "Rigatoni with Sausage and Fennel" recipe from the beloved Ina Garten. And it turned out to be great! I definitely made some changes, because I like to reduce the amount of meat and cream in a dish (haha). I also don't like the taste ofPlus, frozen broccoli was added so I wouldn't have to additionally make another side dish or salad. Total win.

Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli

Serves 6

Adapted from Ina Garten

1 lb pasta

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 large fennel bulbs, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed*

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 cup dry white wine (I used Vermouth)

1 cup heavy cream

1/2-3/4 bag frozen broccoli

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more to serve

2 Tbps chopped flat-leaf parsley

Heat a large pot (enough to accommodate all the pasta and ingredients) over medium. Once hot, add fennel and onion and sauté for 5 minutes, until the veggies are translucent.

Add sausage, breaking it up with a spoon as everything cooks together. Then add flavorings: garlic, red pepper flakes, 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Sautee for another minute.

Make a hole in the center of the ingredients and add tomato paste; let it toast and caramelize for about 30 seconds before mixing together with all the veggies. 

Deglaze with wine and bring to a boil, then add cream. Lower the heat to a simmer, and let sauce simmer for 15 minutes, to thicken.

Boil pasta according to directions, 1 minute short of the recommended time. One minute before that (so two minutes before the recommended time), throw in your broccoli to quickly blanch. Drain pasta.

Add pasta to sauce pot and let everything cook together for 3-5 minutes to get lovey and acquainted. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese and the parsley. Serve hot, with additional cheese on the side!

* If you shop at Sprouts Market, get three sausages from their meats case