Garam Masala Pork Chops

I wanted to try something new my pork chops and I have a variety of spices in my kitchen drawer. Was thinking about beer marinade but why not try the garam masala recipe instead. Oh what the heck!

Never mind the couscous on the pork chops; will share the recipe next time!

Garam masala is not a form of salt... it's actually a combination of spices created by Indians. Consisted of more than 10 different spices; they are not as pungent as the Chinese five spice though. Adding some of them into curry or any Desi dishes will make the dish even more flavourful! I've also recently discovered that adding cumin seeds to boiled rice make the rice even more aromatic and appealing.

MY RECIPE:

Difficulty level: 10%
Preparation time: 30mins-1 hour for marinade; 20 minutes for cooking
Ingredients:

• pork chops cutlets
• garam masala powder
  
• smoked paprika powder
• 4 cloves of garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Season the pork chops with 2 tablespoons of garam masala on each side and one tablepoon of paprika on each side. Add some salt and pepper and then rub the finely chopped garlic around the cutlets.
2. Let it marinade for half an hour or so.
3. For quick cooking, pop the pork chops into the microwave and cook them for 6 minutes.
4. Heat up the pan, real hot. Then brown each side of the pork chop, about 2 minutes on each side but don't overcook the pork.
5. Take them out and they're ready to be served.

The pork chops will become moist and succulent after the microwave cooking process. In the name of speed-cooking, I use this method. But the best way is always to brown both sides of the pork (middle part remained uncooked) then add water to the pan and create a sauce to go with the pork chops. Slow cooking the pork chops in the sauce will soften the meat but that will take more than 40 minutes to perform. Enjoy!

Malaysian Fusion Taiwanese Stew Pork

I have always been a big fan of pork. Western or Eastern; cooked in whatever methods imaginable; fresh or cured; I'm ready to gobble them down. One of my personal favorites is the Taiwanese Stew Pork (滷肉) and the fact that I'm quite good in cooking this well under 20 minutes means this recipe is good. It's created by my mum anyways, passed down to me via a Skype call. That should represent the simplicity of this dish right?



Some friends have asked why I didn't share this on the food blog. Reason being... I always eat them up before having the time to snap a picture. Seriously.




So readers, you're in for a treat today. It so happened that I cooked up a bowl of these today and remembered to take a picture of them.

MY RECIPE:

Difficulty level: 30%
Preparation time: 20 minutes (or more depending on the size of pork used)
Ingredients:

• 3 pork chops (I prefer pork shoulder)
• 6 shiitake mushrooms
• 2 star anise
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 tablespoons of sugar
• caramelized dark soy sauce
• corn flour
  
• one pinch of salt to taste

Steps:

1. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in water and pop the 4 cloves of garlic.
   
2. Prepare a pot and put in the four tablespoons of sugar on medium heat.
3. Let the sugar caramelize and once they turn brown add in the star anise and cinnamon sticks.
4. Stir till aromatic (less than 1 minute) and add in the garlic cloves with the softened shiitake mushrooms.
5. Continue to stir for about 2 minutes and then add in half cup of water.
6. Bring in to boil and put in the pork chops. Put the heat to medium and pour in two tablespoons of the thick dark soy sauce. Add a cup of water and a pinch of salt into the pot.
   
7. Close the lid and let the pork cook for 10 minutes.
8. Take out the pork chops (only) and slice them into chunks on the chopping board.
9. Place the chunks of pork back into the pot and add some corn flour to thicken the sauce.
   
10. Turn off the heat.

There you go! The reason why you cook the pork chop in whole is because pork meat gets tough easily and you don't want to be biting them instead of chewing them down your throat. My mum's recipe is simpler than the original recipe from Taiwan (I suppose) and good luck trying it out!