Pork Stir Fry in Garlic Black Bean Sauce

Ingredients
Pork
Celery
Carrots
Lee Kam Kee garlic and black bean sauce - 1 tablespoon
Soy sauce - 1.5 tablespoons
Sugar - 1 teaspoon
Sesame oil - drizzle
Corn starch - 1.5 teaspoon

Marinate
Cut pork in thin slices, marinate with soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and corn starch.  Marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Steps to cook
1. Heat wok/frying pan in high heat, add oil, add pork and sear meat.  Add garlic and black bean sauce and stir fry for a couple minutes.  Remove pork from wok and set aside.
2. Add more oil, add celery and carrots.  Stir fry for a few minutes, add half cup of water, cover wok.  Turn down heat to medium.  Let the veggies cook for a few minutes until soft.
3. Add pork back into wok and stir fry with veggies for a minute.

Beef Brisket Stew (recipe of my husband)

The cool thing with stews is that the best ones are made with the cheapest cuts.  An expensive cut of meat will always be ruined by stewing.  The fat melts away and you're left with dry lean tasteless fibers.  What you really want, is gristle, fat, tendon, all the hard working parts that have the connective fibers that will hold up to - no - require the low and slow heat from a stew. 

So...  here's a recipe that you can't fudge.  The cool thing is - just modify the staples as you wish! 

Ingredients
5 pounds of brisket, seasoned 

1 can of tomato sauce

1 can beef stock

1 can of coconut milk

4 medium large potatoes - cubed

Cup of peas

3 large carrots or equiv - sliced

5 stalks of celery - - diced

1 large onion - diced

garlic

1 cup flour

dash of worchestershire

dash of soy

1 tablespoon of curry powder

pat of butter   

For the rest of the seasonings I just used a McCormick pouch.  This is a better option:
1 teaspoon salt

2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp rosemary

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Steps to Cook
1. Trim away all but a thin layer of fat on top, then seasoned and aged, on a rack, in a pan, tented in foil for 1-3 days.  The morning of the day you wish to serve, place fat side down in the hottest steel pan you have for 4 minutes, then flip for another 4.  Slice in batches if you have to first.  Place in wide casserole dish, cover in foil and bake at 250 for 6-8 hours.  2.5 hours before serving, take it out.  Cube the meat and drain all the drippings.  Place the drippings in the freezer - you'll need it later. 

2. Melt the butter on high flame in a heavy stockpot if you don't have a large cast iron ceramic glazed french oven.  Add your beef and diced garlic and allow to brown.  Pour in the worchestershire and soy and tomato paste.  Just before it starts to burn, deglaze with a can of coconut milk.  Mix.

3.  Add your carrots and potatoes and turn the flame to med-low.  Retrieve the drippings from the freezer.  Save the butter puck, and add two large ladles of beef drippings and your spices.  Mix and simmer.   

4. An hour before serving, add the peas, celery and onions.

5. At this point its all about consistency and saltiness.  Salt to taste, and if there's not enough liquid add the beef broth.  If its too runny, sprinkle a small handful of flour, mix and cover, and repeat to suit.

You will end up with a big pot and have some you can freeze. 

Balsamic Vinegar Pork Chop

Ingredients
Pork Chops (thin cuts are preferred for faster cooking)
Onions
Soy sauce
Balsamic vinegar
Sugar
Corn starch

Marinate: Add soy sauce and balsamic vinegar to pork chop, sprinkle sugar and rub onto each pork chop, add corn starch and rub on each pork chop (both sides).  Let sit for 30 mins or longer.

Steps to cook
1. Saute onions, add salt and sugar, cook until caramelized.  Put aside.
2. Heat up oil in high heat, pan fry pork chop until golden on both sides.  Turn down to medium heat, cook until pork chop is firm.  Don't let it get too firm or it'll be overcooked.  Always check the thickest part of meat.  Drain oil before putting each pork onto plate.
3. Put saute onions on top of pork chops.

Chinese Braised Pork Belly (Hong Siu Yuk)

Ingredients
Pork belly - 2 lbs
Green onions - 2 stalks 
Black pepper
Rock Candy - 2 chunks
Chili peppers - optional
Garlic - 3 to 4 cloves
Ginger - 3 to 4 think slices
Bay leaf (dry or fresh) - 3 to 4 fresh, 3 teaspoons dry
Soy sauce
Dark soy sauce
Shao Shing wine - 1 capful
White vinegar - 3 teaspoons
Five spice powder/star anise 
1.5 can of coke

Steps to cook
1. Cut pork belly in 1/4 in. cubes, peel ginger and cut in slices.
2. In frying pan, heat up oil in high heat, put in ginger, then pork belly.
3. Add dark soy sauce for coloring.
4. Sear pork belly on both sides for a few minutes.  Turn off heat.

In separate bowl
1. Add the remaining ingredients (highlighted above in red) into bowl.  Pour marinate into the pan where the pork and ginger were seared.  Make sure the liquid covers all the meat.
2. Turn down heat to low after boil, cook for 1 hour.
3. Add rock candy.  Cook for another 30 mins.