Good eats...at home

For this post I thought I would take a break from my long list of restaurants waiting to be written about... instead, here are some home-made good eats I thought I'd post about (with the recipe, of course!). 

In the Japanese aisle of City'Super I spotted these bottles of Tonkatsu sauce, and it sparked me to want to try making my own pan-fried version in my tiny kitchen...

Non-Deep fried Tonkatsu

(serves 3-4) - Pork chop (8 small or 4 large pcs) 

- 2 tbsp Sake 

- 2 tbsp Soy sauce- 2 tsp sugar 

- 1 egg, beaten

- corn starch

- panko crumbs

- Cooking Oil 

- Japanese Mayo (I like the kewpie brand, available in Welcome / City'Super)

- Tonkatsu sauce (I used Bulla brand, available in City'Super)

- bowls of cooked rice, Japanese pearl for better taste and texture if you are bothered =)  

Directions: 

1. Rinse pork chops and marinate it in the sake, soy sauce and sugar for at least 4 hours, I marinated them for a day, turning them once or twice between. 

2. Prepare a flat plate and place about 1/3 cup corn starch (or more as needed) on top, and spread, forming a thin layer. Beat an egg and place on another plate. Then pour out a cup of panko on a third plate. 

3. Drain pork chops and dredge them very lightly, just so they are dry. Then place them in the egg wash so they become 'wet' again. Take them out and hold it up for a few seconds so the extra egg wash slides off. 

4. Place the egg wash-covered pork chops in on the plate of panko, and cover the entire chop with panko, generously. 

5. To cook, heat up several tablespoons of vegetable oil in a flat non-stick pan. Make sure when the oil is heated, turn fire to medium to medium-low. 

6. Then add the battered pork chops to the hot oiled pan, and pan-fry them until golden-brown on one side. Turn them over and do the same. I did mine (relatively thin pork chops) for about 3-4 minutes on each side. 

7. Place on top of hot cooked rice, and drizzle with the Japanese mayo and Tonkatsu sauce in equal amounts. 

DIG IN..... =) 

This next part was inspired by...... Cafe Matchbox. Since young I've always detested green peas, and picked them out of fried rice or any dish whenever I saw them. However, after tasting the green pea soup with chicken pie from this hip cha chaan teng, I became fond of green pea.....soup! Honestly, I think one should be open-minded to try green pea soup...it's quite different from the boring old pea you find in fried rice! 

I love making puréed soups, so green pea soup was one I wanted to tackle. So off I went to the grocery store and bought the following.... 

My Asian Green Pea Soup 

(serves 4-6)

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil 

- 1 cup shallots, roughly chopped (may substitute onion if you wish)

- 1-2 tbsp ginger, sliced (I like more)

- 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

- 3 cups frozen peas 

- 3 cups chicken broth (use vegetable broth if you want to keep it vegetarian)

Directions: 

1. Fry the shallots in the oil until it looks like its turning translucent. 

2. Add ginger and garlic, and sauté for a couple minutes, be careful not to burn. 

3. Add chicken broth, and simmer for a several minutes until shallots are visibly translucent.

4. Add peas, and bring to a simmer again, for 3 or 4 minutes, and taste one to see if they are soft. If not, cook a few minutes longer and switch off the fire. 

5. Purée the entire mixture in a food processor or use a electronic hand-mixer if you have one. 

6. Put the puréed mix back into the saucepan and bring to a simmer, add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water if you would like it slightly thinner, and add ground black pepper if you wish. 

7. Dish-up and serve! 

Hope you enjoy these easy but tasty concoctions!