Banh Mi - Home Made!

I am addicted to eating Banh mi, I confess. Every Saturday, before I head to the studio to paint, I stop by Nhu Lan Bakery to pick up a grilled pork sandwich (#4). I love the tang of the picked carrots and daikon over the sweet grilled lemongrass pork. At about $5 a sandwich, it's a pretty economical weekly treat.

This Saturday was so rainy, I didn't want to walk to the bakery or to visit the studio. I sat at home dreaming about the accustomed sandwich all day, when I suddenly thought, "why not make my own?" The ingredients are fairly simple - pork, bread and pickled veggies. All I have to do is to sautee the pork and make a quick pickle. So I set out to the local grocery to pick up ingredients.

I purchased the following:

3 Mexican bolillo roll - because they didn't have Vietnamese or French Baguettes
2 packs butterflyed pork chops
1- daikon radish
1 large carrot
1 bunch of cilantro
1 bottle of vinegar

At home I had the following:

3-5 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp sriracha sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp corn starch

I came home and sliced the pork into thin strips about 1/4" wide by 2 " long. I mixed the pork strips with honey, hoisin sauce, sriracha, soy sauce, honey, fish sauce, and corn starch. I let it marinate in the fridge for an hour. Then I sauteed the pork strips in some oil until they were lightly caramelized. *To get the authentic lemongrass flavor, I would recommend this recipe, which looks amazing.

While the pork was marinating, I followed the directions on this recipe to pickle the veggies. Basically peel and julienne cut the daikon and carrots into large strips. I cut mine into thick matchsticks. The restaurant makes them even thicker and longer. Add sugar, vinegar and salt to about 2-3 cuts of warm water to dissolve. I like my pickles kind of sour so I added more vinegar and sugar. Place the cut veggies in a class container and pour the brine liquid over the vegetables until they are submerged. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

To make the bread flaky like a Vietnamese baguette, I sliced the bolillo bread and place them cut side down in a caste iron pan over low heat for about 3-4 minutes. The surface will crisp up and turn golden. Flip them back on to the crust side, and turn off the heat. The outside will toast nicely.

Assembling the sandwich is the best part. I cram as much meat as I can onto one of the bread slices. Then I top it with cilantro and the pickled carrots and daikon. I liberally drizzle everything with Sriracha, and top it with the other half of the bread. The toasted bolillos are super crusty and really resembles the Vietnamese baguette. This took about an hour to make, but I have enough pickles to make sandwiches again next week (they keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge). Yum!

Spinach Pancetta Asiago Quiche with Carmelized Onions and Mushrooms

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ok so the day is officially over but I'm still posting this recipe that I made for my special someone.

Before... after!

I had some left over spinach in my fridge and an entire carton of eggs, so it was quiche time. You know why I like making quiche? Because I can walk away from the oven and do things like work out for half an hour, and then be rewarded with several meals of deliciousness (and then work out more because pie crust has a freaking unbelievable amount of calories...).

So here is the recipe. You will need:

1 pie crust (I bought mine premade rolled up, you can also make your own or buy it in a tin)
1 pie pan (9-12 inches depending on your mood)
1 pack of pancetta (substitute bacon if you don't have any, or omit for vegetarian version)
1 tbsp (pat) of butter
1 pack of brown (or white) button mushrooms - chopped into quarter or smaller pieces
1 medium sized onion - diced
1 bunch of fresh spinach (or bagged baby spinach or even 1 block frozen spinach) - rinsed/drained
3-4 eggs
1-2 cups of half/half (or milk plus heavy whipping cream, or even just milk)
1 piece of Asiago cheese (enough to grate into half cup)
1 piece of Swiss cheese (optional - if using both cheese enough for quarter cup of both grated)
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg (optional)

To make:

Preheat the oven to 425.

Whisk 3 eggs with 1 cup of half & half until well mixed. If any egg solids cling to the whisk, just discard them (you want to make sure the egg mixture is nice and smooth). Put the egg mixture in the fridge to chill while you cook the other ingredients. The 4th egg and remaining half & half are for in case the egg mixture above isn't enough to cover all the ingredients. For the 10 inch pan I used, I ended up adding one more egg plus half & half. *You can add a pinch of nutmeg to the egg mixture when whisking. It's pretty traditional but it's also optional.

Heat up a pan and sautee the pancetta (it's basically Italian bacon) until it is crisp. Drain most of the oil. Add a pat of butter to the pan and melt in the residual bacon fat. Add the chopped onions and mushrooms. Sautee until caramelized. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Add the fresh spinach to the pan and wilt. Remove when soft and no longer wet (this helps prevent the quiche from being soggy). If you're using frozen spinach just pop it into the microwave and cook according to instruction. Drain the water when done.

I used a food processor to grate all the cheese. Since I happened to have left over Swiss cheese, I did half Asiago and half Swiss. You can also use parmesan if you don't have either Asiago or Swiss. Just make sure you use a slightly salty cheese for the recipe. If you use just Swiss, make sure you add a teaspoon of salt to the egg mixture. Otherwise, the cheeses will basically salt the quiche pretty well.

Unfurl the pie crust and press into the pie pan. I used a glass dish. You can use ceramic or even metal. I didn't bother pre-baking the pie crust this time.It still came out well. If you choose to pre-bake the crust, just make sure you use some pie weights to keep the crust from warping. Add the cooked pancetta, onions and mushrooms and spinach to the pie and mix to combine. Sprinkle half of the grated cheese on top. Pour in the egg mixture. Sprinkle rest of the cheese on top. *If there isn't enough egg mixture to cover the ingredients, mix the last egg with a cup of half & half and add to the quiche.

Reduce the oven temp to 350F and bake the quiche for 35-45 minutes. You should smell deliciousness around 35-40 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting removing the quiche and inserting a knife in the center. If it comes out clean, then you can cool the quiche for about 10 minutes and then cut to enjoy. Perfect with a little mixed green side salad plus vinaigrette dressing.

Enjoy!

Asparagus, Blackforest Ham and Caramelized Onion Quiche

The weather is turning chilly, so it's perfect for baking again. Baking in a tiny studio apartment in mid summer is heat stroke inducing, so I love to warm up my apartment in the fall or winter with a cozy dish...

Going out for brunch is such a Chicago thing. People here love to flock to a eatery around 11 a.m. and then wait patiently in line to enjoy a brunch with a mimosa or other tasty beverages while catching up with friends. Whenever I go to brunch, I can't resist ordering the quiche of the day with a side salad (anything baked in a pie is irresistible to me... I'd probably not even object to the questionable pie served by Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd if I didn't know what was inside... :p). It's usually hard for me to make it to a brunch place and spend enough time with my boyfriend, who has to rush off to work around noon on the weekends, so this time, I chose to make a quiche for enjoyment at home.

Pie crust: adapted from Ina Garent's Perfect Pie Crust recipe - makes 2 crusts
1.5 sticks of butter (frozen)
.5 stick of butter flavored shotening (or sub with extra half stick of butter)
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
half cup of iced water (just put some ice cubes in the water if you don't have iced water)

You'll also need:
saran wrap
rolling pin (I prefer a French rolling pin/one without those annoying handles)
pie tin
aluminum foil

*If you want a healthier quiche- feel free to sub the above crust recipe with this one. But honestly if I'm eating quiche, I'd rather just enjoy one as it is in its gloriously fatty form...

Filling:
1 tbsp of butter + 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 red/yellow onion, diced
1-2 lb of asparagus (about 2 handfuls), ends snapped, rinsed, diced into half inch pieces
5 slices of good quality ham (about a cup diced)
4 eggs
1 cup half & half
1/4-1/2 cup grated Gruyere, cheddar or Asiago cheese (your choice)
salt n peppa (I know they're no together anymore but just try)

Before you start, just read through this quick tutorial about what quiche is and how it's made. I find that it's good to have a general sense of how to cook a dish before you begin, so you are not surprised half way through the recipe that you're missing something or doing something wrong. Given this, I find cooking is about invention and having fun. If you know the general blueprint of a dish, you can easily substitute ingredients and adapt the recipe to what you have on hand and what YOU want to have in your quiche. In this case, I happened to run into fresh asparagus at Aldi's and they also had great pre-sliced ham (yes I shop at Aldi's. They have really good quality things for cheap).

You'll need some time to make the pie crust and then freeze it for half an hour (during which you can be making the filling). It's easiest to make pie crust in a food processor. Add the flour, salt and sugar to the food processor. Cut up the FROZEN (not refrigerated) butter into half inch cubes. Toss the butter and shortening in there. Then press the Pulse (not ON) button repeatedly until the mixture looks like rough breadcrumbs or small peas.

Add spoonfuls of the ICE water one at a time while pulsing until the mixture starts to stick. Tear off two foot long pieces of saran wrap and lay them on top of each other in a cross shape. Dump half of the loose crust mixture on the plastic wrap. Close the wrap and start to squeeze the dough. If it's not sticking together, add one spoonful of ice water and the resqueeze to combine. Do this until the dough is just lightly sticky and not crumbly (don't over squeeze). Stick the dough into the freezer to rest and get cold again. Repeat with the rest of the flour/butter mixture to make the 2nd dough ball.

While the dough is resting, start pre-heating the oven to 400 degrees. Also start heating a medium sized pan. Add the vegetable oil and butter and heat until melted (the oil prevents the butter from burning). Add the diced onions and start to sautee. Cook and stir for about 8 minutes, until the onion starts to caramelize/turn light brown. Add the asparagus (make sure they're pretty well dried off in a spinner). Sautee until the asparagus starts to turn darker and shrink/caramelize. Add the diced ham. Sautee for another 2 minutes. Add the salt n peppa and taste to see how salty you like it. Turn off the flame when everything is nicely caramelized and seasoned.

Whisk the eggs and half & half together until it's completely combined. Add the cooked asparagus/onion/ham mixture to this custard mixture and stir well. Toss the grated cheese with a tbsp of flour and then add the cheese to the custard mixture (the flour prevents the cheese from sinking to the bottom).

Pull the frozen dough ball from the freezer. Sprinkle/wipe flour over a flat/clean surface like a granite counter or clean cutting board. Wipe flour over the rolling pin and your hands. Then lightly flatten the ball against the board. Roll your pin toward one side of the dough using mild pressure. Then rotate the dough either clockwise/counter clockwise by about a quarter turn (to prevent it from sticking), and roll again toward one side. Continue doing this until the dough is flattened. Keep flouring your pin if it gets sticky. You should see pieces of butter still embedded in the dough.  You can squeeze the overlap edges into a nice pattern. Watch this video if you're confused but note that I advise rolling toward one direction instead of back and forth for better results.

You will need to pre-bake this pie shell. Put the aluminum foil on top and either use pie weights or pace a round cake pan on top to weigh the crust down. Bake for about 8 minutes at 400 degrees. Check to see if it starts to puff/harden. If not, bake for about 1-4 minutes more. The crust should be almost golden.

Pour the custard filling into the crust and return to the oven. Reduce the temperature to 350-375. Bake for about 45 minutes. Remove and insert a knife in the center. If it comes out clean, then you're ready to go. If it is coated, return and bake for another 5-10 minutes. Let the quiche cool for about 10 minutes before you cut/serve it! If you decide to store it in the fridge, make sure the quiche is completely cooled first before you refrigerate it (don't want food poisoning right?).

Serve with some arugula and spring greens or baby spinach topped with some chopped nuts, soft crumbled cheeses and craisins/raisins and light dressing. Super yum on a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning!

**If you don't have time to make pie crust (who does?) just buy pre-made pie crust and pre-bake before adding the custard filling. You can also add left over veggies/protein to the quiche to make use of left over food (chopped sausages, ham, cooked spinach, broccoli, shredded chicken etc.). Vegetarians can omit the proteins and add more veggies. Have fun with this! And you can also make tiny quiches by baking the dough inside muffin tins and get party/single serve quiches. So yum...

It's a Breeze! Thai Curry with Acorn Squash

It's cold in Chicago right now. As in 24 degrees high today and we are all rejoicing because it's above the teens and single digits.

So what's better than a tasty warming Thai curry when it's cold out?

Turns out Thai curries are a cinch on a weekday. You basically just simmer everything together in a single pot. No browning or sauteeing needed. AND you can hide lots of tasty nutritious vegetables in there. *I also eat mine with some spinach on the side for extra iron.

I love Acorn squash. It's kind of between a sweet potato and regular potato in terms of starchiness and sweetness, so I sub it for many recipes that call for either for extra green and less calories (40 vs 86 calories per 100 gram serving! Though sweet potato has at least 4 times the vitamin A. More info here).

You'll need the following:

1 can of yellow massaman curry paste (I love yellow curries)

1 can of coconut milk

1 pack of skinless boneless chicken thighs - about 4-5 (you can use chicken breast but thigh is more tender) - cut into 1 inch chunks

1/2 head of cauliflower - cut into thumb sized hunks

1 acorn squash - cut into 1 inch pieces

3 red bell peppers - cut into 1 inch pieces

To cook:

Make some rice first! Otherwise you won't have anything to eat the curry with. I make brown rice in my rice cooker. If you don't have a rice cooker, follow the directions here on making rice. *some people use jasmine rice, which is super fragrant!

Use a big pot or sauce pan that will fit all the ingredients comfortably. Set it on the burners, and turn the heat on to medium. Wait for about 30 seconds and then add about 1 tsp of vegetable oil. Then add the curry paste in and lightly sautee until the fragrance of the paste comes out. Then add the can of coconut milk, including the cream and the liquid. Stir to mix well and simmer for about 2-3 minutes.

You will need to remove the seeds from the acorn squash. First rinse the squash well since you're leaving the skin on in the curry. To slice it in half, first lay it on its side and slice off the top, so you'll have a flat surface. Then lay it on the flat cut plane and slice the squash in half (you may need a large knife). Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Slice the squash into cubes and place them in the simmering curry sauce. Cook on medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes, or just until the squash starts to become transparent at the edges. *You should cover the pot when simmering to increase the pressure of the steam and decrease the cooking time.

Rinse the cauliflower and remove the green stems. Slice the head in half. Separate half a head of cauliflower into 2 inch sized florets. Place the florets into the simmering pot and combine with the acorn squash 5 minutes after the squash have been cooking (the squash takes the longest to cook so it goes in first).

After 15 minutes, add the chicken thigh pieces and stir well. Cover and simmer for about 5-8 minutes. Add the bell pepper pieces and simmer for another 5-8 minutes or just until the peppers are tender and the chicken pieces are well cooked.

At this point the rice should be ready, and you can serve the curry directly on the rice. Super easy one pot meal. Nutritious and delicious, and you didn't even have to order out! :D

Vegans and vegetarians you can just omit the chicken thighs probably or use some seitan. Yum num num... ***This is also a great recipe to cook to impress some guests. You can run around cleaning your place and everything will simmer to perfection.

Asian Style Chuck Beef Stew with Bell Peppers

Winter in Chicago can really be unpredictable. Over the weekend it was 40+ and I went jogging. Today it's in the 20s and everything is frozen.

On days like this, I really love tucking into some sort of stew for lunch or dinner. And with my new studio/work schedule being as hectic as it is, I really don't have time to cook except once a week. So last of late, everything gets cooked in one go, and I have massive fridge tupperware party all week with lunch and dinner (breakfast is poached eggs, which sadly do not tupperware well. Though I've been tempted by the baked eggs in muffin tin idea...).

One of my shopping mantras is to buy whatever ingredients are on sale, and make something from it rather than go in with a fixed menu and spend extra money on things you may need for just one meal (obviously if you're making a special meal then buying specific ingredients would be a must!). This week, green bell peppers and super fresh looking chuck roast steaks were on sale. That got me thinking of something warm and Asiany for my lunch meals at work. *I like to wolf down my food in the office then dash out for a 30 minute walk every day, rain or shine. Otherwise I turn into a kabocha (Asian pumpkin).

This recipe can be made really quickly using a pressure cooker. If you don't have one, you could use a crock pot by setting it before you leave the house in the morning or several hours ahead. If you don't have either, this dish would take about an hour to tenderize the beef, and it's probably better suited for a lazy weekend rather than a super rushed weekday. You will also need to prepare ahead by marinating the beef the night before or at least 4 hours prior to making the dish. Otherwise make something else!

You will need:

Chuck steak - 2 lbs or size of your two hands (I'm bad at guessing weight), cut into 1 inch cubes

Bell peppers - 4 large ones, cut into 1 inch cubes or rough chop

Black Bean/Black Pepper/ or Oyster sauce - 2 tbsps (technically this recipe is SUPPOSED to use black PEPPER sauce, but I ran out and used black bean and it was still delish)

Soy sauce 1/4 cup - for marinating the steak


Chinese sherry 1/4 cup - or just some regular sherry, red wine, or even rice vinegar will do fine. Do NOT use beer. It will not taste right.

1 thumb sized piece of ginger- sliced

2-3 stalks of green onion - roughly chopped into 2 inch sections (use the whites too but chop off the roots!)

Salt and black pepper to taste

Corn starch - half a cup for marinating the beef and for thickening the sauce

Freshly boiled HOT water - 1 -2 cup depending on type of cooking method for the beef


Directions

To start - marinate the beef by tossing the cubes with a tbsp of corn starch, a half cup of the Chinese sherry and soy sauce. It's best to do this in a tight tupper ware and just store it in the fridge over night or for at least 4 hours.

You will cook the beef separately from the bell peppers, so that the beef is stew tender while the peppers are still lightly crunchy. To cook the beef, you will need to brown the cubes at a high temp, then either pressure cook or slow cook it in in crock pot or traditional pot. For the pressure cooker and crock pot, you will use just a cup of hot water, since too much water will result in a soup. For regular pots, use about 2 cups of water.

Heat a medium sized pan with some oil. Toss in the sliced ginger and scallion to sear and release the flavors. Then add the beef and quickly stir to brown all sides. It will stick so stir this until everything is lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes.

At this point if you have a pressure cooker, add the beef to the pot, add the hot water, and bring to pressure. Cook for about 8 minutes. Release the pressure by placing the pot under running cold water and waiting for the pressure gauge to drop. For the crock pot, you will place the beef in the pot with the hot water and cook it slowly throughout the day for at least 4-6 hours (best when you're gone for the day). For regular pots, you will cook the beef with 2 cups of water instead of 1, and simmer at the lowest setting for 1 hour, until cubes are tender/falling apart.

You will now sautee the bell pepper slices with some oil. No salt at this point so that the peppers scorch a bit under high heat. Stir continuously until peppers start to wilt a bit. The beef from the pressure cooker should be ready in about 10 minutes. You will add the beef and liquids to the bell peppers and cook them together. Mix 2 tbsp of corn starch with equal amount of water to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the pot and cook on high. Count to 10 seconds and then stir (this prevents the sauce from being too cloudy).

At this point, the corn starch will cause the liquids to thicken and bubble. You want the sauce to coat everything nicely. Taste the sauce to gauge the saltiness, and add either 1-2 tbsp of the Chinese black bean/ black pepper/ or oyster sauce. Stir to mix the flavor. Et voila you have a tender and succulent beef dish with crunchy peppers covered in a luscious sauce. Serve over rice/noodles/ or even couscous. I have a side of sauteed cauliflowers with this. Num num num...

Italian Sausage, White Bean, Kale, Potato Leek Soup - It's a mouthful!

Summer's here in Chicago! And I"m continuing my trend of soup plus a salad for my weekly meals.

I find that the easiest way to save money and eat healthily is to buy whatever is on sale at the local market (not the supermarket, but actual local market). Usually, they'll have a super discount on items they got really fresh and cheap from a local farmer. In this case, fresh kale for 99 cents a bunch. Can't pass that up!

The 2nd easiest way to shop, if you eat meat, is to buy whatever meat is on sale. This week featured fresh Italian sausages, which looked so plump and delicious, I decided to get it. Usually sausage can be a bit rich for sautes or salads, so I opted to put it in soup.

You'll need:

1 cup of dried white beans (cannellini or great northern white) *soaked over night - if you want to get canned, it's ok too, get 1 can drained

1 package of Italian sausage (about 4 links)
1 head of leeks - chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion - chopped into half inch pieces
4 cloves of garlic - minced
3 medium sized red or yellow skin (not Idaho) potatoes - chopped into 1 inch cubes
2 bunches of kale - wash and tear leaves into 1 inch chunks - discard the stems

hot water - enough to cover everything

olive oil to saute
salt and pepper
oregano and basil
red pepper flakes (optional)

The FIRST thing to do is to soak those beans the night before you make this soup. Or if you don't have time, just used a can of great norther white beans, drained and rinsed. When soaking beans, just pour a cup of dried beans into a bowl that will hold about 3 cups of liquid, since the beans will expand. Rinse to clean the beans, add lots of water to cover the beans by about 1 1/2 inch, and leave out over night. Don't leave it in the fridge, or your beans will take forever to cook. They should be nice and plump and maybe split in the morning. Make sure you keep it covered with water once it expands.

To make the soup, first cut up the Italian sausage into bite size chunks about 1 inch. If you favor smaller bites cause you like eating all classy like, then cut them into half inch chunks. Heat up a pan on medium heat, add a little olive oil to coat the pan, and add the sausage in 2 batches. Make sure they brown evenly (hence 2 batches) on all sides. Pick up with a slotted spoon and place on the side.

You can either cook the onions and leeks in the fat of the sausage, which will give it a great flavor, or if you're watching your cholesterol or fat intake, drain the fat and add olive oil. Once the oil is heated, add the chopped onions and leeks. Saute until fragrant and the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook with the onions and leeks until fragrant. Add the potatoes and saute for 1 more minute. Add the kale, and turn off the fire (no need to cook the kale).

Now you can add the sausage back in, along with hot water to cover everything. This will be the broth, so make sure you have just enough water to cover the contents, but not too much, since the veggies will shrink and give off more water. Turn the heat up to medium high, and let the stock come to a simmer. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting, put the lid on, and let it simmer for about 45 minutes.

Come back and check on the beans and potatoes. Add the salt, pepper, and oregano and basil (make sure you add just 1 tsp of salt at a time, and taste to see how salty it is each time). If you like spicy, add the pepper flakes. Cook for another 15 - 20 minutes, checking on the potatoes and beans every 10 minutes. The potatoes should be just tender, and the beans should be soft and starchy (not crunchy, or you'll have issues with digesting them...).

Remove the pot from the fire. If you are storing this in the fridge, fill a sink with cold water, and put the pot in the sink (make sure water isn't too high), and let it cool off quickly in the water. It should take about 40 minutes to cool, and then you can store in the fridge for about a week.

This soup is great for the winter, and you can serve it with crusty bread. I eat mine with some Sriracha sauce ;)

Enjoy!

Chinese Style Braised Pork Shoulder with Mushrooms

With all the working out I've been doing, I've craved more protein this week. I decided to buy some country style pork shoulders and do something Asian with it. I essentially went with a red braise sauce, which is what Chinese dishes to stew meats using soy products. 

Country style pork shoulders is really easy to find at the supermarket, and relatively cheap. We usually make it into smoked bbq here in the US, but since I wanted to Asian, it made for a leaner version of braised Chinese pork belly. 

And because I was making this at midnight when I should have been sleeping, I cooked this whole thing in 45 minutes using a pressure cooker. If you don't have a pressure cooker, just follow all the instructions below up to bringing the pot to a simmer. Just simmer on the lowest setting for about an hour (adding the mushrooms 30 minutes into it), and then reducing the liquids on high with the lid off for about 15 minutes.

I used: 

1 package of 7-8 medium sized boneless pork shoulder steaks (if you want to sub in pork belly, you can as long as they are cubed or in 1 inch slices - whatever meat you use should not be too lean)

1 package of portabello mushrooms, cut into thick slices 

1 thumb sized knob of ginger (skin on), sliced into thin disks

5 stalks of green onions, chopped into 2 inch sections

1/4 cup Chinese sherry (use regular sherry if you don't have any, or even brandy/cognac)

1/4 cup dark soy sauce (low sodium if possible)

1/4 cup oyster sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp corn starch mixed with 2 tbsp water (for thickening the sauce)

salt to taste at the end

To start, heat up your pot/pressure cooker and add oil to coat the pan. Add the pork shoulder pieces and brown in the pan without crowding. Make sure you can easily flip the pieces, which would happen when the meat has developed a nice brown crust. 

Remove all the meats once they're browned to the side and reserve. Sautee the mushrooms in the same pot or in a different pot. Remove and reserve. Add the ginger and scallions and sautee in the pan until fragrant. 

Deglaze the pan with the Chinese sherry and use your spatula to get all the tasty brown carmelization off of the bottom. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar and water. Return the pork into the pot, and place on high flame until the pressure cooker reaches pressure. Cook on high pressure for 15- 18 minutes.

*At this point if you don't have a pressure cooker, then place the lid on and turn the flame on high until the liquid starts to simmer. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and leave the pot for 30 minutes, and then add the sauteed mushrooms and return to cooking with the lid on and low heat. *basically you don't want to overcook the mushrooms.

When the time is up for the pressure cooker. Carefully cool down in the sink with running water to depressurize or let out the pressure following the pot's instructions. Open the pot, add the mushrooms, and return to pressure for 5 minutes.

Carefully open the pressure cooker again. Everything should be pretty tender and there should be more liquid than before you started cooking. This is the same for if you're using a regular pot.

Add the corn starch mixture, and let it simmer in the cooking liquid for 30 seconds. It should start to turn clear and thick. Stir gently. 

At this point, you can break up the meat into smaller chunks to coat them in the thickened sauce. Or if it's pork belly, just leave it alone!

Serve hot over rice with a side of vegetables (I had sauteed cauliflower with brown rice). Enjoy!