Char Siu Pork and Roasted Fennel

I remember the good old days when I'd walk to Hurstville shopping centre late in the afternoon in pyjamas and pick up a box of end-of-the-day char siu pork for $2. I like to think I've evolved and matured since I was 17 but that char siu pork is still something I'd happily eat every afternoon.

This recipe is super, super easy. It does cost a little more than $2 but you can definitely wear your pyjamas while preparing it. I used to have this with cabbage, but since I was using the oven, I decided to roast some fennel with it. When roasted, fennel loses its anise flavour and becomes really sweet.

You'll need:

500g pork (I used pork belly rashers but if you don't like fat, you can get a loin fillet)
3 tablespoons char siu sauce (it's a deep red jammy sauce)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ fennel bulb
Vegetable oil

Combine char siu sauce, sesame oil and pork and marinade for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Slice the fennel and lightly toss with vegetable oil and a bit of leftover marinade. Bake for about 30 minutes.

I grilled the pork on a griddle pan (on the highest heat) for a minute on each side to get those delicious char marks but you can also put the pork straight in the oven.

Bake pork on a wire rack. How long will depend on how thick your pork is. Check it every 10 minutes and if it's not ready, baste it with the leftover marinade and pop it back in.

When done, rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Slice and serve with rice, spring onion, chili and cucumber.

Enjoy!

Pepper-seared Sashimi Tuna

 

I finally understand the difference between a $3 roll at Sushi World and a $20 artisan roll at a nice restaurant. The latter most likely uses sashimi grade fish, which, I found out yesterday, does not come cheap.

We bought this beauty at Wellstone Fresh Seafood in Willoughby. I'd read online that they supply seafood to some of the best Japanese restaurants in Sydney. There, I learned that sashimi grade tuna is not the same as a regular tuna steak. In fact, it's twice the price (approx. $20 for 300g) and much deeper in colour. I went home and Googled what makes sashimi grade fish special and it's actually in the way it's caught. Sashimi grade fish is individually caught by hand and killed instantly before chilling. No wonder you rarely see raw tuna at takeaway joints.

This tuna was so tender that the pieces almost fell apart while I was slicing it, and, like most things good in the food world, it melted in my mouth. I have to give credit to Nigella for the pepper crust recipe. Served with a salad of red cabbage, cucumber, spring onion and a soy and wasabi dressing and steamed rice, it was the perfect combination of textures and flavours for a light Summer dinner.

This dish is also an entertainer's dream. You can prepare the tuna and vegetables in the morning and set them aside in the fridge. Then when your guests arrive, you only need to spend 10 minutes searing the tuna, dressing the salad, slicing the tuna and prettying up on a plate.

You'll need:
Sashimi grade tuna
1 teaspoon English mustard
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Peppercorns, lightly cracked
¼ red cabbage
1 cucumber
3 spring onions
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
½ tablespoon sesame oil
½ tablespoon wasabi
1 teaspoon castor sugar
Juice of half a lime
Sesame seeds (optional)
Steamed rice (optional)

Serves 4.

Combine English mustard and sesame oil and rub on tuna.

Roll tuna in pepper, coating well on 4 sides (leaving the ends bare).

Julienne the vegetables and dress with soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, wasabi, castor sugar and lime juice.

Sear each peppered side of the tuna in a hot pan (it should be smoking) for approximately 1 minute or until you can see 1mm of cooked meat. Be careful to not cook any further than that as it will continue cooking off the heat.

Rest tuna until cool.

Slice thinly and arrange on a plate. Garnish salad with sesame seeds.

Enjoy!