At work, I often have hainan chicken noodle soup for lunch. The noodle soup is served separately from the chicken which is basically poached in stock on low heat for hours until the meat is juicy and tender. The chicken is usually served on the bone chinese style. My favourite thing about this dish is the topping my local adds to the chicken. It is a delicious mix of chopped shallots and grated ginger.
The ginger shallot mash took a few tries to get right at home but really makes this dish special. This dish can be made with chicken or pork. I tend to go for the pork as it is a richer flavour and a little easier to cook - all you need a bamboo steamer. If you don't already have one of these go out and get one right now. It will only cost you a few dollars at an asian shop and you can also use it for steaming dumplings, vegetables, tofu and fish. As you would guess it is a much healthier cooking method than frying.
Ingredients for this dish were pork fillet, ginger, shallots, garlic, miso paste, broccoli, pumpkin, rice, soy sauce, coriander sesame oil and chilli sauce. Prep is about 10mins and about 10mins to cook.
Preparation:
Place in a mortar and pestle two finely chopped shallots (white and green parts) and a thumb sized portion of ginger finely grated. Mash together and add a small amount of oil and a couple of pinches of salt. Set aside.
In a bamboo steamer arrange a fillet of pork and place into a wok with enough boiling water to cover the base but not touch the pork. Steam for about 10mins or until the pork is just done. While that is steaming start cooking some rice.
5 mins before the pork and rice are ready heat some peanut oil in a small saucepan. Fry a segment of sliced garlic till fragrant, add choppped floweretts of broccoli and thinly sliced pumpkin. Toss to coat,add a little water and top with a tight lid to steam. When cooked through but still a little crispy stir though a tablespoon of miso paste. This should form a nice thick sauce for the vegetables - add more water if necessary.
Slice cooked pork and serve topped with coriander and ginger shallot mash. Miso vegetables and rice in separate dishes. Additional condiments were soy sauce with a dash of sesame oil and some chilli sauce both served in small condiment dishes. We usually eat this dish with small bowls and chopsticks
dinnerlastnight rating: 8/10
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