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Thursday, August 12, 2010

Pork Tocino


If you don’t have any idea about this, it’s like taste like KingDo ribs, except that it uses pork shoulder, done in Filipino style. It’s a breakfast dish with rice and eggs, but err.. I served this for dinner.

I was a bit scared by the amount of salt and sugar it called for. Call me a wimp, but maybe 2 cups of sugar will not scare you off, but it did scare me

I did some changes to the recipe, besides lowering the salt and sugar. I used Coke instead of lime flavoured carbonated drink which can be either 7-up or Sprite. Cos I read in other sites, anisado wine, which is a star anise flavoured wine should be used in the marinade. Coke has some spice notes in it, so, I used this instead of 7-up or Sprite. And both coke and pineapple juice has tenderizing functions, and this pork is not tough but tender, but not too tender that it falls apart. I’m not sure what will happen if you use fresh pineapple juice, but I just followed Anne to use Lee brand pineapple juice, but in reduced amount. I drank the rest, yummy yummy.

Pork Tocino (adapted from Simply Anne's)
1kg pork shoulder slices
250ml canned pineapple juice (Lee brand)
125ml Cola drink (coke or pepsi)
125ml ketchup
80ml light soy sauce
200gm brown sugar (at first I put in 100gm, but I did some tasting the next day and it tasted sourish rather than sweet, so I added in more sugar)
1 Tbsp grated garlic
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

1. Marinate everything together 48 hours in the fridge. (Use stainless steel/glass or ceramic container.)
2. Put a little oil in a heavy based pot and put in pork slices. Brown both sides and pour in 1 cup of the marinade. Cook on medium heat until the gravy dries up

Actually I overcooked the pork. I was being not contented with the way the gravy coated the pork, so I slightly cooked it further, hoping that it would coat the pork nicely, but in the end,  it looked like char siew. Taste wise, it'got a slightly charred flavour and it's just not right. Very different from what I took samples of earlier (before it looked like char siew). Maybe I didn't stir the marinade, and the sugar settled down (in the marinade container) when I poured the gravy into the pot. Which was why it didn't thicken and coat the pork.


And since there was loads of marinade left over, I didn't want to waste it and  put in 3 pieces of boneless chicken whole legs and let it marinate for another 24 hours. Cooked it the same way and it was so delicious.

And this time, the chicken turned out exactly the way it's supposed to be, prettily coated with the reduced marinade. (so, if you want to try this, make yours to look like this chicken, not the pork above)
The reduced sauce was at the consistency of ketchup, and I separated the chicken and "ketchup", so that the gravy can be used as a dipping, should anyone prefered extra gravy. Indeed, all slurped up.

After Mike ate this, he said, should we start a home restaurant???


What he meant by home restaurant was allowing private dinners of others over at our house,
like a small scale restaurant.

My response: Huh???
He's into one of those dreams again.
Always asking me to do this or do that to make money.

If you think this is his first idea, no it is not.
He has asked me whether can sell my rice dumplings and Cha Siew Pau over the internet and courier them.
Hahaha!!! I just laughed at the idea.

40 comments:

  1. It really looks like 'char siew' to me but the chicken really look so yummy!!!

    A home restaurant is a great idea. :D

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  2. Looks good even tho it looks like char siu haha ..

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  3. This is like filipino char siew, very nice!

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  4. Wendy, this looks like char siew to me and I love such kind of bak e.g. char siew, sweet n sour pork, king pork rib etc. I am drooling, think ve to get eat some char siew noodle for lunch later to heal my craving :P.

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  5. mNhL,
    Yeah, but it shouldn't look like Char Siew
    No la, I'd brush the idea aside. KK is not the place for these stuff.

    Swee San,
    Looks like it Char Siew lor, but taste otherwise.

    3 Hungry Tummies,
    Haha, yalor.

    Jess,
    Oh, anything heavily flavoured sort of sweetish pork. Then you really should try this. You can marinade this, and ask ur MIL to cook. Show her the pic of the chicken and tell her, cook like this. Hahaha.

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  6. wendy these look delicious though they really look like char siew to me hehe =) should get my mum to change her cooking way for her stall wanton noodles haha...

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  7. This one looks quite like Char Siew. It looks really delicious with the glazed and shinny surface. This marinate sauce perhaps a very good one, with the pineapple juice really something special to me. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Jess@jesskitchen
    Haha, let her try, maybe she likes it. But I'd say, this method definately uses a lot more ingredients that regular Chinese char siew.

    Kitchen Corner,
    The marinade is really nice. The pork should be cooked until it looks like the chicken.

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  9. Ellerinize, emeğinize sağlık. Çok muhteşem bir görüntüsü var. Çok leziz ve iştah açıcı.

    Saygılar.

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  10. Hahaha, my husband told me the same thing, he thought open a restaurant is an easy job...for me,this look like char siew, love the glaze, sound yummy.

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  11. This looks very yummy! I will try to make it. :P

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  12. Hey, this looks like the kind of char-siew I like! But the chicken looks like quite something else...didn't look like it's made out of the same marinade.

    Why is it guys always thinking of $$$? My hub says: Maybe you can make some $$$ out of your blog since you like surfing net so much...hey, $$$ is the last thing on my mind ok? (Or maybe it is I who's SO not thinking of $$$?)

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  13. Just like char siew and looks good. Not a bad idea to start a restaurant, then I can eat there instead of drooling over your delicious food pictures.

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  14. That looks really delicious. I love the glossy colour. Look like char siu. Would be great with rice.

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  15. I am salivating while looking at your photos! Looks really good! I am a char siew lover, so I will give your recipe a try. The chicken looks good too! ;)

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  16. Oh Gee Wendy, I am salivating already! this actually looks very much like char siew but I think it tastes much sweeter. I'm going to try this on chicken meat. I'm sure my kids will love it. Thanks! Enjoy your evening.
    Cheers, kristy

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  17. Sonia, Busygran, Marymoh
    My pork tocino is so so wrong. It shouldn't look like char siew. My Chicken version looks correct.

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  18. Little Inbox, Bee and Kristy,

    Oh, do let me know or Anne know how it goes. I'm sure she'll like to know too.
    And remember to make it like the chicken, not like char siew.
    I've reduced to sugar, but if you're game for it, try Anne's proportion of 2 loosely filled cups of brown sugar.

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  19. Meldy,
    I'm laughing. Our men think the same way.
    He always say I don't love money. Hahaha!!!
    I like money, cos I need it for shopping, but I'm not crazy for money. He should be the one to think of ways to find money, not me, kakaka!!

    It's the same marinade, I suspect I didn't stir the pork version, so when I poured the marinade, the lighter top with lesser sugar got in, hence the "lighter" gravy that didn't coat the pork well.

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  20. That looks so good! Love the marinade....with some soup of the day, this makes a great business lunch!

    Angie

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  21. I'm drooling over your delicious meal. ;p This is what I call a rich protein meal.

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  22. HI Wendy
    chanced upon your blog when i was blog hopping and came across this. wow, the chicken looks very yummy. would like to try it out but do i follow the exact ingredients quantities and just change the pork to 3 chicken legs? also what is the cooking time before the legs are done? thks v much for your advice.
    regards
    octopusmum

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  23. Angie,
    Thanks.

    Happy flour,
    Yup, very high protein, with eggs and pork. Hahah. Which was why I put in some cucumber slices.

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  24. Octopusmum,
    I won't say exactly how long, cos it's not the same as baking.
    By the time the gravy is reduced, the chicken is cooked.
    Took me less than 10 minutes definately.

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  25. At first look, I thought it was charsiew. I've tried coke ribs but kids don't like it, may try this recipe one day.

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  26. Blessed Homemaker,
    To cook nice coke pork ribs, you have to prefry the ribs, something I know that you didn't do. Haha.

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  27. You make everything look beautiful! Indeed, the chicken version is what it should look like. Glad you liked it :)

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  28. Hi Wendy

    thks for the infor, can't wait to try it out! will follow the exact ingredients qty with 3 chicken leg (hope it is enough for my family of 5 :))
    regards
    octopusmum

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  29. Octopusmum,
    No, don't just do 3 whole legs,
    You can use 1kg (about 4 or 5) of it, then save the marinade and do another 3 pieces.
    The marinade is pretty alot, or unless you want to do just half the marinade for 3 pieces of chicken.

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  30. Anne,
    Thankyou for the wonderful recipe.
    :)
    Have a nice day.

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  31. hi wendy
    thks v much for the clarification. will do half the marinade and use about 4 legs. that should be juz nice. will report back on the results hopefully next weekend as i only cook on weekends...
    regards
    octopusmum

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  32. well, if u really opened a home restaurant, I will definitely patronize it! Lol ;)

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  33. Octopusmum,
    Great, let me or Anne know how it goes.
    She'll be proud of so many people trying out her Filipino recipe.

    Anonymous,
    Thank you in advance. But then, hahaha, will you drive all the way here??? I don't live in Klang Valley.

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  34. Hi Wendy
    juz to let u know that i cooked the chicken version last night. i used 2 chicken legs and 2 drumsticks and half marinade. i have overcooked them cause the colour was v dark, like your pork version. i was waiting for the liquid to dry up, by the time the liquid almost dried up, the colour had turned to a dark brown, not orangey. i think i have put in too much marinade and also waited too long. nevertheless, the taste was awesome. it was so good that even my youngest who doesn't eat chicken, asked for more. btw, i marinaded them for 2 days. can i just marinade for 1 day next time? and next time round, i will definitely make sure i don't overcooked it.
    thks for sharing such a yummy recipe!
    regards
    octopusmum

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  35. Octopusmum,
    So glad your kid liked this.
    I marinated my chicken for 1 day, cos to me chicken is more tender than pork. Maybe you can do it for one day.
    I'm sure your next attempt will turn out great. I also learnt from my 1st experience. Just remember to stir the marinade before you pour it in, so that the heavier sugar won't be sinking at the bottom of the container.

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  36. HI Wendy

    thks for the tip! will surely remember to stir the next time,can 't remember whether i did that ...
    regards
    octopusmum

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  37. Hai Wendy, me again ^^

    Thx for ur tips for spagety. I will remember it.

    Today i cook this, my pork turn out so tender, delicious indeed.

    Thx Wendy for sharing, ur trusted recipe always give me a delish result.

    Love regards

    Chuany

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  38. Chuany,
    You're most welcomed.
    Thanks for all the feedback, really appreciate it.

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  39. Hello, I appreciate you for producing this awesome post. I’m really impressed with your way of writing and how you communicate your message. You’ve got a wonderful future in producing blogs and forums, that is certain. Continue the fantastic work.

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  40. Nice recipe, this is really yummy. There is nothing to argue about. Keep posting stuff like this i really like it. thank you for sharing this recipe..

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