Roasted Pork Belly with Chinese Greens and Carrots

Yesterday Olivia's mom took me to the chinese market before she left. Now I'm going to give y'all a heads up if you're ever in Knoxville...GO TO SUNRISE SUPERMARKET. It's ridiculous. I've never seen any kind of foreign market this big, it's literally the size of a Kroger but is stocked with Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Filipino, and even Russian foods. They even have a butcher! You can buy whole beef bones, pork belly, cow hooves, pig hooves, whole fish, really anything that walks and swims. After braising some pork belly last week I fell in love. It's a perfect cut of meat, a little on the fatty side, but when cooked correctly it totally melts in your mouth.

Roasted Pork Belly with Chinese Greens and Carrots

1 lb pork belly

A jar of spicy chicken and pork Korean BBQ marinade (any kind of Korean BBQ marinade can be used: Kalbi, Bulgogi, etc.)

Bunch of Chinese greens

Two Carrots 

Mushroom soy sauce (any kind of soy sauce can be used but I wanted to try out some of my new stuff)

2-3 cloves of garlic

Xiaoxing rice wine

This is a really easy recipe and only a couple of steps. First marinade the pork belly in enough sauce to cover it for up to 12 hours. Roast the pork belly in the oven at 350 for like 2-3 hours. It really depends on your cut of meat. Some have more meat and some have more fat, also some are thicker and some are thinner! While roasting, baste the meat with the bulgogi sauce whenever it's looking a bit dry. When it's done, let it rest for 10 minutes and carve it.

To make the greens and carrots, cut the carrots into cool looking shapes. Also trim your chinese greens of as much of the stalk as you can. Some stalk is all right, but you don't want to try to get one bite and end up pulling up all of them. Add oil to a wok and when it's smoking add the garlic. Then add the carrots and greens. Add a spoonful or two of the bulgogi sauce, a tblsp of xiaoxing cooking wine, and some soy sauce. Stir fry until the sauce has reduced and coats a spoon. Arrange the pork belly on top of the greens and then add the carrots. Spoon some sauce onto the plate and dig in!

New Camera and Trip to Birmingham

We have a new camera!!!! Olivia's dad decided to help us out and get us a Lumix G1. It takes awesome shots, has a nice screen, and is really comfortable. One of the best things about it is the fact that the viewfinder is an LCD screen, it really makes it a lot easier to look through. But this post isn't just about a fancy new awesome camera, it's about my trip to Birmingham with Olivia's family for Memorial Day.

Birmingham is a really cool town. I'll be honest, I think I like Birmingham more than Knoxville. Although I haven't experienced the breadth of Knoxville truly, I don't really like anything that I've seen other than Knoxville's downtown. Our downtown is the best part of the city. Memphis and Birmingham definitely have a more expansive and open downtown area, but Knoxville's is perfect for just parking the car and walking around. You can cover the whole area in an hour, mainly because it's one street long! 

We started off our trip to a place called the Peanut Depot. A local institution that sells peanuts by the pound made on antique machinery. We bought cajun, regular, and boiled peanuts. Boiled are probably my favorite because of how salty they are. I love salt and I've always wanted a peanut with a shell that's salty on the inside! Here it is!!! Delicious. Don't forget the pigeons outside that eat peanut shells and of course the Grapico, a southern tradition that I can't see becoming a tradition anywhere else (because it's not that good) ((just kidding)). We then went to some kind of junk store that's reminiscent of Bojo's Antiques in Memphis. We got some cool pictures there and also some sights that will surely be manifested into nightmares in the future.

The next day we took a 'lil trip on the road and saw the Birmingham campus and checked out Five Points South. This is definitely a cool part of town, think Market Square or Cooper Young. It's finally the only place I've found where you can just park the car and walk around. We checked out Charlemagne Records, a nice record store albeit a bit overpriced, and saw Frank Stitt's restaurants Chez Fonfon and Highlands Bar and Grill. Let me put it out there, if I live in Birmingham in the near future I will be working at one of these. We also stopped by the Continental Bakery and I bought five macarons and a really tasty, crusty baguette. Gotta say, my first macaron was pretty delicious. 

All in all it was a really fun trip and I enjoyed the time. I want to thank Olivia's family again for letting me come and refusing for me to pay for anything, I'll make it up to you guys! Oh yeah and I'll have that bbq sauce recipe before you know it.

Mapo Tofu

Hey guys! I'm really sorry that I haven't updated my blog in a while, but I just got a job at the Tomato Head in Knoxville! It's a pretty cool job, I'm mainly washing dishes and food running, but I'm trying to work my way up. Their food is pretty good too, I really haven't had anything bad yet which is the best thing. Everything is made in-house which is an awesome concept, one that all restaurants should adhere to. All sauces, dressings, and everything else most restaurants buy pre-made is made themselves. Even though there isn't really any kind of "chef" there, it's still a fun environment and good restaurant experience for me.

So for my recipe this week is for Ma Po Tofu one of the BEST tofu dishes. In my opinion, Mapo Tofu and lemongrass tofu are tied for most delicious tofu item...although Mapo wins generally because it's chinese and chinese food is the best. Sorry!

Ill be honest, I adapted this recipe from another website and didn't create it myself. Some things are better left to the actual Chinese people. Here is the recipe


Mapo Tofu (Adapted from Appetite For China)

Serves 4 to 5 as part of a multi-course meal, or 2 to 3 as the main entree
1 block soft or medium-firm tofu (about 1 pound), drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/2 pound ground pork or beef
2 leeks, green parts discarded and thinly sliced at an angle
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon fermented black beans (or subsitute black bean sauce)
2 1/2 tablespoons chili bean paste
1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or sherry
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
Optional garnish: 1 tablespoon thinly sliced scallions

1. Heat a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the sides. Add the pork and stir-fry until crispy and starting to brown but not yet dry, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, then add leeks, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Add the salted black beans and mash them with the back of a wooden spoon, breaking them up so they blend in well with the meat. Add the chili bean paste and ground Sichuan pepper and stir-fry for about 1 minute, until the oil is a rich red color.

3. Pour in the stock and stir well. Mix in the drained tofu gently by pushing the back of your ladle or wok scoop gently from the edges to the center of the wok or pan; don’t stir or the tofu may break up. And the rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes, allowing the tofu has absorb the flavors of the sauce.

4. Add the cornstarch mixture, mixing well, until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Transfer to a deep plate or wide bowl, garnish with optional scallions, and serve hot.