Cooking: Locky's Home-made Pork Chop Bun

Locky's pork chop bun
Image from Locky's English Playground

If you are like me, can't stand the tastelessness of the pork chop buns of Chopsticks Kee, loves the one from Tai Lei Loi Kee in Macau but think it's too far away, then today's your lucky day! I'm gonna teach you how to make yourself a very very nice pork chop bun!

It's very easy to make so there is no need to panic!

Preparation before cooking
Image from Locky's English Playground

You'll need,

• pork chops (8 pieces from Brazil for HK$22)
• buns
• white pepper
• wine / Shaoxing rice wine
• sugar / mirin
• soy sauce
• ginger

Step 1, tenderise both sides of the pork chop by poking it with double forks, or even better if you have a meat tenderiser that is NOT of a hammer shape, this is because a hammer-like tenderiser will flatten the meat and affecting the texture.

Grate the ginger
Image from Locky's English Playground

Step 2, grate the ginger with a grater if you have one, else, chop the ginger until it is very fine. Ginger helps to remove the unpleasant smell, if any due to freezing and defrosting, from the pork.

Image from Locky's English Playground

Step 3, half a cup of soy sauce for the saltiness, about two teaspoons of mirin / sugar for the balance, 1/4 of a cup of Shaoxing wine for the miraculous taste as well as the removal of icy smell, and finally about half a teaspoon of pepper to spice up the pork a little.

All mixed
Image from Locky's English Playground

 Step 4, mix well, add a few more pokes with the fork if you want the marination to speed up.

Good night in there!
Image from Locky's English Playground

Step 5, if you can afford the time, leave it in the fridge overnight. If not, leave it at room temperature for at least 2 hours.

Sizzling sound
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Step 6, with a little oil, sear the pork chop with large flame for about 1 min on each side to lock the meat juice in, then switch to low flame for another minute on each side to make sure the pork is completely cooked because you don't want to have tapeworms inside you.

Tuck in!
Image from Locky's English Playground

Step 7, the usual, tuck in!

Simple and easy to make! Give it a go this weekend and have a great one!


Vocabulary:
meat tenderiser -- (n)[C] see Food & Dining: Tonkichi Tonkatsu Seafood Restaurant @ Locky's English Playground
defrost -- (vb) [I or T] to (cause to) become free of ice, or to (cause to) become no longer frozen: 
marination -- (n)[U] the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking.
sear -- (vb) [T]  to fry a piece of meat quickly at a high temperature, in  order  to  prevent  liquid and  flavour escaping from it
tuck in -- Also tuck into Informal to eat, esp heartily


Resources:

Travelling & Living: Macau One-Day Trip @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/04/travelling-living-macau-one-day-trip.html

Food & Dining: Chopsticks Kee @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/04/food-dining-chopsticks-kee.html

Food & Dining: Tonkichi Tonkatsu Seafood Restaurant @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/05/food-dining-tonkichi-tonkatsu-seafood.html

Medical Vocabulary: Medical Words from House M.D.  @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2012/07/medical-vocabulary-medical-words-from.html

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/defrost?q=defrost+
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marination
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/sear?q=sear
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tuck+in