Shredded Pork Magic

Shredded Pork Shoulder

This idea came to us after we purchased a massive ten pound portion of pork shoulder at our local big box joint. We saved heaps of money but then had to think up ways to use all of it. One solution was to make some delicious pulled pork for sandwiches and such. We were a little disappointed when we found out that a smoker (or in the very least a grill) was a requirement so we scoured the interwebs for something similar. And hence our discovery of the deliciousness that is shredded pork shoulder!

We used a great golden ale from the New Belgium Brewing Co. called Hoptober for the sauce and the resulting product was mouthwatering. We hardly had any work at all shredding the pork. Once you stuck a fork in it it all came apart.

We thickened up the leftover sauce from the cooking process with a tiny bit of flour and poured it over the shredded pork. The resulting product was pure pork heaven!

...And We're Back!

Well it's certainly been a long time since this was updated and quite a lot has happened. Most importantly, we've moved to Seattle! So you can expect to see a lot of ingredients specific to the Northwest Pacific used in upcoming posts.

However for now we're still trying to get our bearings in a new apartment and neighborhood. This week we set up a nice challenge for ourselves and decided to try to make meals for the week using only one chicken. We purchased one whole free range organic chicken from the local QFC and Dave took on the task of breaking it down.
We used Mark Bittman's guide from his book, How To Cook Everything, but I found this online video by the man himself which might be even more helpful.

In the end we decided to save the chicken breasts for later by freezing them, using most of the chicken for a Julia Child recipe that involved poaching it in white wine. We used the carcass and trimmings for a yummy chicken noodle soup.

We'll be better about posting pictures of our next foray into the cooking world! 

Pumpkin Risotto

This was a quick and tasty meal I made using some leftover pumpkin. I mostly followed a recipe I found from Ramsay here: pumpkin risotto.

Heston's Bolognese and Italian Week!

Heston Blumenthal's Bolognese Recipe

Italian week started off with a bang! Dave slaved over the oven for hours as he patiently and lovingly coxed every last ounce of flavor from the myriad ingredients that went into this dish. And the result? Perfection, absolute perfection! Hands down the best bolognese I've ever had the pleasure of scarfing down. 

These are just a small sampling of the multitude of steps this recipe required. I got the better end of the deal as I got to eat it but not go through the trouble of cooking it.



Two kinds of meat were featured to enhance the umami flavor of the bolognese. We purchased a massive pork shoulder that Dave deftly butchered and sauteed along with the beef mince. I can't sing the praises highly enough of buying meat in bulk. During a good sale you can get a ton of good beef or pork for a fraction of the cost of the pre-cut stuff. The extra work is totally worth it. Plus I got to save the skin and fat to make cracklings! It's win-win! 

Our ingenuity was tested when it came time to purchase muslin to make the bouquet garni. We couldn't find it anywhere. We were disheartened until we spotted the metal tea strainer you see in the onions above. Problem solved!

The best part of this meal is that it keeps remarkably well and can be scaled up so easily. Dave made a batch to last the whole week and we had a delicious meal every night.

Korean Cabbage Soup

What culinary experience week would be complete without a nice soup? I stuck with a vegetable that I've always loved and am quite familiar with - cabbage! But not just any cabbage, no a beautiful napa cabbage! 
Unfortunately I didn't think to take any pictures of this pretty cabbage but I did get a few snaps of the soy bean paste that added a hearty slow cooked taste to the soup in literally seconds.

Baechu Gook

As you can see it looks like a gummy paste and comes in an adorable little storage container. On the front is a small picture of the soy bean paste bricks traditionally hung up and allowed to dry and ferment over the course of months. I don't think this particular paste has had that kind of love and affection bestowed upon it but it will do just nicely for this recipe. 


If I had it to do all over again, I would've been a bit less liberal with the beef stock powder. It's potent stuff! Just a tiny bit goes a long way so make sure you don't add more than the recipe calls for. 


Unfortunately, the beautiful napa cabbage that I spoke so highly of before cooking turned into a soggy looking mess after it cooked. My way of solving that problem was to take an immersion blender to it and blend the life out of it. Having done away with all the chewing that may have been involved had I not blended it to death, it went down rather easily and quickly and it was gone within two days. I call that success! 

Korean Fried Chicken

                                                                                                                                                  

Korean Fried Chicken

Cool Spicy Korean Cucumber Salad-Oi Muchim

We're a few weeks out from Korean week but we've neglected our posts and are now hastily trying to make amends for our slothful ways. Luckily for our loyal readers, all two of you, and especially for us, we've not stopped cooking and eating.

Above are the lovely ingredients we used to make the savory batter for our Korean Fried Chicken. We chose to go with wings because they're easy to cook, they're fun to eat and they're easy on the budget. What could be better! Also using the wok to fry the wings made everything, including clean up, run much more smoothly.

The Korean chili paste added that perfect extra kick that took something as simple as fried chicken from ho hum to yum yum. Usually I stay as far away from spicy food as possible, but this was delicious and not over the top. This chili paste will definitely show up in dishes well after Korean week is over. You can see the tiny bits of minced garlic and ginger that went into the sauce. It was well worth the effort and we made quick work of tucking in.

As a nice side dish we quickly made up some Korean cucumber salad. My folks provided the fresh cucumber from their back garden and I swear there's nothing more refreshing in the summer time than a cool cuke. Although I think this dish would've turned out better if I'd used thin little slices of English cucumber, we found it was the perfect accompaniment to the fried wings all the same. All in all we were quiet pleased with how it all turned out. 

잘 먹었습니다

 Bom Apetite!

H-Mart and Kimchi

Imagine our delight when we came across H-Mart, a chain of Korean grocery stores. In fact we were so delighted that it served as part of the impetus for starting our weekly forays into international cuisine. We managed to pick up some really interesting stuff including Korean chili paste, soybean paste, powdered beef broth and most importantly kimchi! Because everything was so reasonably priced, it was hard to resist picking up a few kitchen essentials as well. We were on the look out for a rolling pin and pestle and mortar and came across some we just couldn't leave behind. 

Luckily for us H-Mart isn't strictly Korean and stocks loads of Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and even Mexican ingredients. With the store only a few blocks away, we're sure to become regulars there in no time!

Kimchi is the quintessential Korean dish and as such, it would be sacrilege to miss out on it this week. For those who like me have never had kimchi, it consists of spiced Napa cabbage seasoned with fish sauce and fermented for 3 days. As a girl who can eat her way through a pig from snout to tail, my first taste still required a bit of courage. However I'm glad I finally mustered up the cajones to step up to the plate and try a bite. I was pleasantly surprised. My better half was miles ahead of me as always and dove in as soon as the lid was taken off. Dave loved kimchi from the first bite and I'm sure it'll be a prominent feature in posts in the very near future. I can't wait!