RI V.S.O.P. (Very Special Old Pals) 11pax Homecooked Lunch on 15Oct2014

crackling roast belly pork

crackling roast belly pork

had a homecooked 11pax lunch for my RI buddies on 15.10.2014. the last we had was a 10pax kueh chap lunch on 17.9.2014. 🙂

& this lunch highlights-

1. sio bak (crackling belly pork) from a friend
2. “tunglok” big prawn noodles (in golden broth)
3. vietnamese street food – chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon & fish sauce (forgot my mint leaves & basil leaves)
4. banoffee pie (very 1st try)

crackling roast belly pork

crackling roast belly pork

like the last time, a friend brought his 成名 renown supergood sio bak (crackling roast belly pork) – this time the crackling was less than the last. i told him he made me gave up on sio bak & saved me from a lifetime of unfulfilled tedium (making sio bak unsuccessfully)..haha! 🙂

my motto – why try so hard when someone can do better? just invite him to bring lor! 🙂

阳春面 - a cheap flat chinese noodle

阳春面 – a cheap flat chinese noodle

dry wok chilli garlic prawns

dry wok chilli garlic prawns

big prawn noodles in golden broth – this should be served last in a course dinner, before dessert. lately i decided to try to serve all the food buffet style instead of as a course meal. it is not always possible but many dishes can be adapted. as this has to be served hot, we took this first dish first. 🙂

tunglok lobster ramen - 龙虾焖拉面

tunglok lobster ramen – 龙虾焖拉面

the key was the golden broth. it was my own recipe emulating the lobster noodles at tunglok (above). 🙂

from the feedback everyone loved this dish.

the 1/2 poached chicken – 白斩鸡saliva chicken – 口水鸡 were now a standard dish. it was easy, require little effort to make, and both were very tasty.  i brined the chicken in sugar & salt for 48hrs before poaching on the day.

miso salmon belly

miso salmon belly

miso salmon belly

miso salmon belly

miso salmon belly was another new experiment.  i created this new miso marinade recipe & was not sure if i would serve it for lunch. it turned out to be an excellent dish. my wife brought some to office for her packed lunch & all her colleagues liked it. & all my friends at lunch liked it! 🙂

V.S.O.P. = Very Special Old Pals...hahaha!

V.S.O.P. = Very Special Old Pals…hahaha!

a friend brought V.S.O.P. = Very Special Old Pals…hahaha! 🙂

could not quite make the connection lunch & V.S.O.P. so had to assume he went everywhere with one. haha! 🙂

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon. i did this the second time. first was for 3-4pax, so this first time for 11pax.

i bought mint but forgot to serve both the mint & my homegrown basil!

& i forgot to make the all important fish sauce mix beforehand to serve together, so had to make 1 batch then a second batch while having lunch.

anyway the guys all liked it. although our self-proclaimed vietnam expert was actually clueless when it came to assembling the dish. haha! 🙂 this a dish that you feast on sitting on a very low stool next to a very clean vietnam street vendor!

garlic fried romaine lettuce

garlic fried romaine lettuce

my help made a nice garlic fried romain lettuce which everyone liked.

the banoffee (banana toffee) pie was the very first virgin attempt!

the guys walloped the whole cake, though a few including me, felt it was kind of sweet though ok to eat. anyway i made another one the next day with 1/2 the toffee & 50% more bananas, & it was an excellent very well balanced cake. 🙂

post event leftovers - chargrilled pork neck beehoon

post event leftovers – chargrilled pork neck beehoon

口水鸡阳春面

口水鸡阳春面

i had just a little leftovers, so i made myself dinner with the chargrilled pork & the saliva chicken with 阳春面. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Vietnamese Chargrilled Pork Neck with Cold Beehoon (Vermicelli)

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar with cold beehoon

today i experimented quite successfully a vietnamese street food = a chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon (vermicelli). 🙂

the pork neck was marinated with fish sauce, chilli padi, sugar, paprika, orange marmalade, yuzu salad sauce, chopped shallots/garlic & grated ginger. & i kept it for 48hrs in the chiller.

i followed this video recipe.

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar

i chargrilled the pork neck over 1 tablespoon oil in non-stick pan over high heat. it was really good! so tasty & tender! 🙂

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar with cold beehoon

i did not have many items. so i improvised. earlier for the marinade, i did not have honey so i used fruit jam (orange marmalade) & yuzu sauce.

then i did not have tau gay (bean sprouts) so i used kang kong (morning glory) – not ideal!

i did not have mint so just used basil. no peanuts & no spring onions, just skipped.

it was nice. first layered the sliced japanese cucumber & kang kong (for bean sprouts), then add the bee hoon (vermicelli), pickled carrots & radish (sugar, rice vinegar, chilli padi). then add the pork neck, prawns & then the chopped shallots & basil.

drizzle with the fish sauce dip (chicken stock, fish sugar, sugar, rice vinegar, chilli padi)

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck

vietnamese chargrilled pork collar

once more, the chargrilled pork neck was fabulous! 🙂

i served this vietnamese chargrilled pork collar to my friends at 11pax homecooked lunch on 15.10.2014, & everyone just loved it.

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon

that’s the real thing in the video.

miso garoupa

miso garoupa

i had some experimental miso garoupa. it was ok, not fantastic.

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon

vietnamese chargrilled pork neck with cold beehoon

this was fun! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 300g pork collar, sliced 5mm across grain
  • 150g bee hoon (vermicelli)
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp honey (i used 1 heap tbsp orange marmalade + 1 tsp yuzu salad sauce)
  • 1 flat tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp paprika (or coarse black pepper)
  • 4 spring onions, white part only
  • 2+2 chopped shallots
  • 2 chopped garlic
  • 1cm grated ginger
  • bunch of bean sprouts (i used kang kong)
  • sliced japanese cucumber
  • pickled radish & carrots
  • mint leaves (i used thai basil)
  • 1/6 cup crushed peanuts

fish sauce dip

  • 1/3 cup (80ml) chicken stock
  • 4 tbsp fish sauce (more to taste)
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar (more to taste)
  • 1 chopped chilli padi

Directions:

  1. scald pork neck to remove scum. cut 5mm slices across grain. mixed fish sauce, honey, sugar, pepper, garlic, shallots, ginger to make marinade. season pork neck in marinade, cover with cellophane & refrigerate for 48hrs in chiller.
  2. put 1 tbsp oil in non-stick pan on high heat. stir fry the pork neck (cooled to room temperature first) over high heat to caramelised the pork. turn to medium & cook for 5 minutes. pork will be charred & very flavourful.
  3. to serve – first layer the sliced japanese cucumber & bean sprouts, then add the bee hoon (vermicelli), pickled carrots & radish. then add the pork neck, prawns & then the chopped shallots & basil. drizzle with the fish sauce dip.