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Chairman Mao's Red-Braised Pork

By Karena:

It's about time that Dave and I showcased something out of this cookbook.  Fuchsia Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook on Hunan cooking is a staple in our household; a gift that keeps on giving.  Not suited for a non-fat diet, this particular recipe really was a favorite of Chairman Mao's - he apparently insisted that all his personal chefs know the recipe and prepare it often.  You can find it in many Chinese restaurants specializing in Hunan cooking, or you can ask for it by its Chinese name, "Mao Shi Hong Shao Rou".  The star anise and chilis were really aromatic, making it difficult to wait the 45 minutes for it to simmer!  We served it over basmati rice and paired it with our favorite baby bok choy side dish and it was delicious!

Chairman Mao's Red-Braised Pork (Serves 4)

• 1 lb. Pork Belly or Pork Spare Ribs
• 2 T Peanut Oil
• 2 T White Sugar
• 1 T Shaoxing Cooking Wine
• 3/4 oz. fresh ginger, skin left on and sliced
• 1 Star Anise
• 2 Dried Red Chilis
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• Light Soy Sauce
• 3 Green Onions, green and white parts chopped
• Salt

1. Plunge the pork into a pan of boiling water and simmer for 3-4 minutes until partially cooked.  Remove and, when cool enough to handle, cut into bite-sized chunks. If using spare ribs, slice along the bone, leaving the bone in for additional flavor.
2. Heat the oil and sugar in a wok over a gentle flame until the sugar melts, then raise the heat and stir until the melted sugar turns a rich caramel brown.  Add the pork and splash in the Shaoxing wine.
3. Add enough water to just cover the pork, along with the ginger, star anise, chilis and cinnamon stick.  Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 40-50 minutes.
4. Towards the end of the cooking time, turn up the heat to reduce the sauce and season with soy sauce, salt and a littlle sugar to taste.  Garnish with green onions and serve!

Sauteed Baby Bok Choy: (Serves 4)

• 1 lb. Baby Bok Choy, bottoms discarded and stems/leaves chopped in half.
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• 2 T Shaoxing Wine
• 3 glugs of Peanut Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Heat a saute pan and heat the peanut oil until hot.
2. Throw in the diced garlic and cook until soft.
3. Add the fresh Bok Choy leaves and coast with the oil.
4. Add more oil if desired, splash in the Shoaxing wine and stir in salt and peper to taste.
5. Cook until Bok Choy is soft and wilted about 4-5 minutes.
6. Take off the heat and enjoy!

Eton Dumplings… Made by Judy

By Liz

Things I love about Brooklyn:

1. Neighborhood shops – grocers, bakers, coffee-roasters, tamale-makers – that do one thing, and do it really well.
2. Eton, the Carroll Gardens cubbyhole that makes nothing but dumplings, noodles, and shaved ice (in the summer).
3. Judy, amidst earning her high-powered law degree, rolling dumplings at Eton several nights a week.

Judy came about this gig in the quintessential Brooklyn way: sitting on her stoop, and chatting with a guy who knew a guy. That guy knew that Eton, the classically-trained chef who fell in love with shaved ice on his honeymoon, was looking for a dumpling-maker.

Judy knew that Eton could use her skills, since she had already given him a Korean kimchee dumpling recipe, which sold out as a special. So she wandered over, was offered a rolling pin and, within minutes, a job.

It’s just one more reason to love the shop and its $3.50 set of five dense, juicy dumplings. The place is not perfect: the sparse shop has all the charm of a college dorm, and the veggie dumplings taste like rabbit food.

But the price is right for the pork, which have become more consistent as the restaurant hits its stride (it opened last summer.) And I still have try the hand-pulled noodles, and hopefully the famous kimchee. 

Judy looking like a badass in the tiny Eton kitchen

Judy's delicious handiwork

Amazing Incredible Steamed Pork Buns

By Liz

When John and Judy decided to throw their epic appetizer party, they drew up a list of everything they might possibly want to try… and then decided to make all of it. When they ran this brilliant plan by me, I upped the ante by suggesting we throw in homemade steamed pork buns.

Last summer we had fallen collectively in love with the steamed buns at Momofuku, a devotion complicated by our love-hate relationship with the restaurant (overpriced place and overhyped chef), but tempered by the fact that David Chang sure does know his pork.

We procured a bamboo steamer and two cases of wine, and settled in for an epic day of cooking. John and Judy decided to go whole hog (ha!) and in the midst of making eight other appetizers, had brined a pork shoulder overnight, pickled onions, and concocted a tangy BBQ sauce.

Ideally, we’d be smoking Boston Pork Butt on a grill, but we adapted the recipe for a Brooklyn winter, using the fire escape as our second fridge (and, as night fell, freezer). Do not be fooled, the pork buns are not for the weak-willed. I'm fairly comfortable with dough, but this bad boy was all leaden resistance. I coaxed it to rise on the radiator and pleaded with it to knead.

At last, six hours later, we reached the moment of reckoning: we dropped two little buns into the steamer and counted down the seconds with NASA-level focus. We opened the top and… the buns puffed! We did it!!

We had created a masterpiece: fluffy buns stuffed smoky pulled pork, crunchy onions, and tangy bbq sauce. Spontaneous celebration erupted, we grabbed beers from the fire escape fridge, collapsed on the couch, and toasted to our success.

Alton Brown's Pork Brine
4 lb. bone-in pork shoulder

3/4 cup molasses
12 ounces pickling salt
2 quarts bottled water

Brine a bone-in pork shoulder overnight, for 12 hours. Bring the meat to room temperature. Cook at 300 degrees until the meat registers 195 on a meat thermometer. Pull off the bone with two forks while still warm and the fats are still liquid.

Judy's Quick Pickled Onions
3 cup cider vinegar
1 T. sugar
Toasted cumin seeds
2 full red onions, slivered  

Bring vinegar and sugar to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add slivered onions for a minute. Pour into a glass mason jar in well ventilated area. Let sit for 24 hours.

John's Tangy BBQ sauce
1 cup French's yellow mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 t. Worcester
1 t. cayenne
Tabasco and siracha, to taste
Fresh ground pepper
Pinch of salt

Warm all the ingredients together on the stove and simmer for 20 minutes. Cooking mellows out the mustard.

David Chang’s Steamed Buns
1 cup warm water (105-115°F), divided
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
3 tablespoons sugar plus a pinch
2 tablespoons nonfat dried milk
3 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Canola oil for greasing and brushing

Stir together 1/4 cup warm water with yeast and pinch of sugar. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Whisk in dried milk and remaining 3/4 cup warm water.

Stir together flour and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a bowl, then stir in yeast mixture (do not add baking powder yet) with a fork until a dough forms. Knead dough with your hands in bowl until all of flour is incorporated. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, dusting surface and hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth but still soft, about 5 minutes. Form dough into a ball.

Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

Punch down dough, then transfer to a lightly floured surface and flatten slightly into a disk. Sprinkle baking powder over center of dough, then gather edges of dough and pinch to seal in baking powder. Knead dough with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking until baking powder is incorporated, about 5 minutes. Return dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then let dough stand 30 minutes.

Cut 16 (3- by 2-inch) pieces of wax paper. Form dough into a 16-inch-long log. Cut into 16 equal pieces, then lightly dust with flour and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Roll out 1 piece of dough into a 6- by 3-inch oval, lightly dusting surface, your hands, and rolling pin. Pat oval between your palms to remove excess flour, then brush half of oval lightly with oil and fold in half crosswise (do not pinch). Place bun on a piece of wax paper on a large baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Make more buns with remaining dough, then let stand, loosely covered, until slightly risen, about 30 minutes.

Set a large steamer rack inside skillet (or wok) and add enough water to reach within 1/2 inch of bottom of rack, then bring to a boil. Carefully place 5 to 7 buns (still on wax paper) in steamer rack (do not let buns touch). Cover tightly and steam over high heat until buns are puffed and cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer buns to a plate with tongs, then discard wax paper and wrap buns in kitchen towels (not terry cloth) to keep warm. Steam remaining buns in 2 batches, adding boiling-hot water to skillet as needed.