Adam Liaw's coffee-braised pork with sesame sauce, and corn and green pea rice
If your idea of Asian cuisine at home is a fridge clean-out stir-fry once a week, you're really missing out. Throughout China, Japan and Korea, simmered foods are some of the most popular home-cooked dishes. Everything from vegetables to fish to chunks of meat is given the treatment of a well-seasoned sweet-and-savoury broth that effortlessly improves the taste of each ingredient.
Pork belly is a fabulous cut of meat for braising as it is delicious no matter how long you cook it. Small pieces simmered for as little as 10 minutes can be tender and tasty. Larger chunks simmered for half an hour to an hour can be sliced into delicious mouthfuls. Braise it for longer and it melts in the mouth. The key is in seasoning the broth well – a good amount of salt, some savouriness from stock, wine or soy sauce, and a touch of sugar to balance it all. You can even chill the leftover liquid in the fridge and use it the next day.
Coffee-braised pork with sesame sauce
Serves 4-6
A little instant coffee adds a lovely toasty note to this simple pork braise. The sesame sauce is delicious and keeps in the fridge for months, so think about making a larger batch.
• 1.5kg skinless, boneless pork belly, cut into 8cm-wide pieces
• 1 brown onion, peeled and quartered
• 4 thick slices ginger
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp instant coffee
• 1 tsp sugar
• handful finely sliced spring onions, to serve
• shredded cabbage, to serve (optional)
Sesame sauce
• ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
For the sesame sauce, blend the ingredients together to a smooth paste. Dilute with a little cold water if necessary to create a sauce consistency.
Place the pork into a medium saucepan and add the onion, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, salt and instant coffee. Cover with cold water (about 2 litres) and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Skim off the scum rising to the surface, then reduce the heat and simmer until the pork is tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then slice into 1cm slices.
Serve with the sesame sauce, and scatter with the spring onion and, if you're using it, the shredded cabbage.
Corn and green pea rice
Serves 4
• 400g (2 cups) uncooked medium-grain rice
• 1 cob corn, uncooked
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup frozen baby green peas
Place the rice into a small dutch oven and cover with water. Stir the rice with your hand, then pour as much of the water away as you can without tipping the rice out of the pot. Repeat 3 times, then top up with water so that the level is about 2cm above the top of the rice.
Cut the corn in half and strip the kernels from the cob. Place on top of the rice in the pot and scatter with salt. Add the two halves of the cob to the pot as well. Over a medium-high heat, bring the pot to the boil, then continue to boil for around 5 minutes until the water level reaches the top of the rice (the rice will expand). Reduce the heat to very low, cover the pot with a lid and cook for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and stand for 5 more minutes without opening the lid.
While the rice is cooking, cook the peas according to the packet directions (microwaving is fine). Remove the corn cobs from the rice and discard. Stir the peas through the cooked rice and corn kernels and stand uncovered for about 2 minutes to allow any excess steam to escape before serving.
This article appears in Sunday Life magazine within the Sun-Herald and the Sunday Age on sale June 30.