Lilys Twice Cooked Pork Food

LILY'S TWICE-COOKED PORK

Steps:

• Place bacon and ginger in a medium stockpot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil, skimming as necessary to remove fat. Reduce heat to simmer, and cook, covered for 40 minutes. (This can be made ahead up to this point and refrigerated overnight.) Remove bacon from liquid. Remove bones, and discard. Slice meat crosswise into slices 1/4 inch thick. Reserve liquid for Pork Broth with Tofu and Vegetables. Discard ginger.
• Place wok over high heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and heat until smoking. Add garlic, hot bean sauce, and sliced bacon. Cook until lightly browned, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Transfer from wok to plate. Rinse wok, and wipe dry.
• Return wok to heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Heat until smoking. Add kohlrabi and salt. Stir to combine. Add cooked meat, scallions, soy sauce, and chile oil. Cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from wok to serving dish. Drizzle with sesame oil. Serve immediately.

YU BO'S TWICE-COOKED PORK

Steps:

• Simmer pork:
• Put pork in a 5-quart pot and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, skimming foam as necessary, then add ginger and scallion. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pork is just cooked through (it should no longer be pink inside), about 1 hour. Drain in a colander and cool (pork will be easier to slice).
• Cut pork crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices (discarding any bones) and pat dry.
• Stir-fry pork and leeks:
• Wash white and pale green sliced leeks in a bowl of cold water, then lift out and drain well. Pat dry. If using Chinese leek greens, wash separately in same manner.
• Stir together chile bean sauce, cayenne, black beans, and sweet bean sauce in a small bowl.
• Stir together wine and soy sauce in a small cup.
• Heat a wok over high heat until a bead of water dropped onto cooking surface evaporates immediately. Add 1 tablespoon oil, swirling it around wok, and heat until it begins to smoke. Carefully add pork slices (oil will spit) and cook, letting slices lie flat against wok to brown but stirring occasionally, until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer pork with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
• Add remaining tablespoon oil to wok and heat over high heat until it begins to smoke. Add chile mixture and stir-fry 1 minute.
• Return pork to wok and stir-fry until coated with chile mixture. Add wine-soy mixture and stir-fry until pork is coated. Add white and pale green parts of either kind of leek and stir-fry until almost crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add Chinese leek greens if using. Continue to stir-fry until leeks are crisp-tender (and greens are just wilted), about 1 minute.

LILY'S PORK BROTH WITH TOFU AND VEGETABLES

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring broth to a boil over high heat. Add mushrooms, and return to a boil. Add tofu and salt. Return to a boil. Add greens, stir once, and remove from heat. Sprinkle with a few drops sesame oil. Serve immediately.

THREE-DAY, TWICE-COOKED PORK ROAST WITH FRIED-HERB SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Day 1: Prep the pork:
• Place pork shoulder on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with 1 tablespoon each kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover pork with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Day 2: Cook the pork:
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Heat a large heavy pot (such as a Dutch oven) over high; add 1/4 cup oil, onion, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables start to sizzle; reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, herbs, and spices and sauté for 1 minute more. Add the wine and bring to a simmer.
• Place the pork on top of the aromatics and add enough stock or water to come halfway up the pork. Bring liquid to a simmer, and then cover pot with a lid or a couple layers of foil.
• Transfer pot to oven and cook for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 325°F and cook until the meat is quite tender, about 3 hours. (To test for doneness, insert a slender, sharp knife into the middle of the roast; it should pull out easily.)
• When meat is cooked, transfer it to a separate container, reserving the pan juices. Set a colander over a large bowl, and strain the pan juice into the bowl, pressing on the solids to extract all the liquid. Let strained pan juices until fat rises to the top, about 5 minutes. With a small ladle, skim off and discard the fat. Pour the skimmed, strained pan juices over the pork and let cool to room temperature; cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Day 3: Crisp the pork and make the sauce:
• One hour before you're ready to serve the pork, remove the meat from its cooking liquid and cut (while still cold) into neat 1-inch slices; set aside. Pour cooking liquid in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer and reduce by a third. Season to taste, cover, and keep warm.
• While your pork comes to room temperature, prepare the salsa verde. Line a large plate with a paper towel, and place it next to the stove, alongside a slotted spoon or "spider" spatula. In a small skillet, heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil over medium heat. When the oil starts to look swirly, drop in a single rosemary leaf to test for readiness: if it sinks quietly to the bottom, the oil's not ready. When a leaf sizzles, but not in a frantic way, you are ready to fry.
• Add the rosemary leaves to the oil and fry until the sizzling subsides, about 1 minute. Using the slotted spoon or spider, scoop the herbs from the oil and place the on the paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat with the sage leaves in the same oil; remove skillet from heat.
• On a cutting board, gather the parsley leaves into a ball, holding them down on the cutting board as if they were trying to run away. Slice this parsley bundle thinly, as if it were a single vegetable. As you slice, the ball will come apart, but just bunch it back together as best you can, keep slicing, and you'll have a nice head start on the chopping that remains. Anchor the tip of the knife to the cutting board and use a paper cutter-like motion to chop away at your pile. Go over it a couple of times, then slide the knife under, like a spatula, and flip it over. Continue chopping and flipping until the parsley is finely chopped; transfer to a medium bowl.
• Render the garlic a paste by either pounding it in a mortar with a pinch of salt, or with a knife on a cutting board, again with salt. When the garlic is almost a thick liquid, transfer it the bowl with the parsley; add the fried herbs and the olive oil. Stir salsa verde to combine, adding more salt or oil as needed.
• To serve:
• Heat a grill, grill pan, griddle, or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, coat the grill or pan with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Working in batches and adding more oil as needed, cook until well browned and crispy on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.
• Pour the reduced pan juices onto a serving platter with the pork (but not over the slices or they will lose some crispness) and arrange pork slices on top. Serve with salsa verde spooned over the top, or served alongside.

TWICE-COOKED PORK

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, place pork, water, soy sauce, slice of ginger, and star anise, and cook, uncovered, over medium heat, for 1 hour.
• Remove pork from liquid and cool thorughly; then slice into thin medallions.
• Mix together miso, sriracha, sherry, vinegar, and sugar, set aside.
• Stir-fry garlic, ginger, and red peppers in wok with oil over high heat for a few seconds, then add onions and pork slices, and cook for about 1 minute.
• Add the bell peppers and cook a few minutes more until the peppers are crisp-tender.
• Add reserved miso sauce mixture and cook until heated through.
• Serve with steamed hot rice.