Interesting Sandwiches
Ham, Cheese & Kimchi Fried Sandwich
A possible sign that I have been living in Asia too long is my sudden preference for kimchi with ham & cheese rather than Branston's pickle! This sandwich is the bomb and even more tasty for being panfried slowly in butter, allowing the cheese to melt. Do beware however that the kimchi is quite garlicky so can be a little antisocial. Perhaps best reserve this sandwich for when you are staying or don't have any later social engagements!
What you need:
2 slices bread
1 slice of ham
Few slices Cheddar/Red Leicester/Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 tablespoons kimchi (bought in City 'Super)
30g butter
Method:
Place the ham, cheese and kimchi in the sandwich and butter the OUTSIDES ONLY of the bread.
Melt a little more butter in a frying pan and fry your sandwich on a low eat allowing the bread to toast nicely and the cheese melt inside.
Serves 1
Bacon, Cream Cheese, Avocado & Coriander Pitta with 5 minute Szechuan Chilli Tomato Jam
My husband is demanding interesting sandwiches on Saturdays so let's see how he copes with the szechuan chilli jam...
The streaky bacon is from Leo's where you can get $100 of an order exceeding $500 if you like the Leo's Facebook page and quote FB2100.
What you need:
6 rashers of bacon
2 wholemeal pitta breads
1 ripe avocado
100g cream cheese e.g. Philadelphia
16 leaves freshly chopped coriander
Chilli Jam
Half cup chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon szechuan chillis in oil
1/4 cup water
Pinch salt
Method:
For the jam, combine all these ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer for 5-10 minutes until thick.
Grill your bacon until the fat is crunchy.
Toast your pitta bread and cut it into halves.
Pile the bacon, avocado, cream cheese and coriander into the pitta then serve with the chilli jam on the side in which to dip them.
Serves 2.
Tiger Bites Pig
Here is my improvised, bastardised and somewhat plagiarised version of the Korean dish, so named as the mantou bun encasing a piece of pork is said to resemble a tiger biting a pig. I made my own char siu pork, adapting a recipe from The Food of China, my current favourite Chinese cookbook, by which I mean all the recipes I have tried so far WORK. If you can't be bothered to make the char siu, you could buy some barbecue pork from pretty much ANY street corner in HK. I then read about Tiger Bites Pig in my more simplistic Chinese cookbook by Ching He Huang; she makes mantou sandwiches of the pork with pickled cucumber. It was my trashier idea to shove it into a hotdog bun as I find the mantou a little pappy. This is a good manly sandwich for a week night supper or weekend lunch, and the kids enjoy the sweetness of the sticky marinade and pickled cucumber.
What you need:
To make the char siu pork
One pork tenderloin/fillet (sold in nearly every HK supermarket)
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of yellow bean sauce
1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of Chinese spirit or brandy
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
2 tablespoons of honey dissolved in a little hot water
To make pickled cucumber salad
1 cucumber (make a lot as it's addictive!)
1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
1 tablespoon of mirin
Pinch of salt
Pinch of brown sugar
4-6 hotdog buns
1 bunch of fresh coriander
Serves 2 adults and 2 kids with leftovers
Method:
To make the char siu pork, combine the marinade ingredients and immerse the pork in them. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 220c. Once hot, drain the pork from its marinade, but retain the latter for later, and place the meat in a shallow roasting dish. Cook for 10-15 mins, reduce the heat to 180c then cook for 8-10 mins. Then brush it with the honey water mixture and grill under a hot grill fofr 4-5 minutes until it looks charred.
Allow the meat to rest for 5 mins then slice for sandwiches. The children like thin slices FYI!
Add all that remains of the cooking liquid to the marinade and bring to boil for 2 mins. Strain and pour over the pork.
To make the cucumber salad, combine the marinade ingredients. Peel and slice the cucumber into thin discs and allow to marinate for at least 10 minutes.
Assemble by opening the hot dog bun, placing a layer of sliced pork, discs of cucumber and garnish with freshly chopped coriander.
El Bulli Sandwich
El Bulli in Barcelona was supposedly THE best restaurant in the world, before it closed in 2011. I have the cookbook but its molecular style does not translate well to the home (in other words, it's too bloody hard!) However, Ferran Adrià, the head chef has another book which does. The Family Meal does not contain dishes on the menu but instead meals he would cook his staff before service. They are designed to be light, so as to give them the energy they needed to work hard, quick and easy to prepare, and low cost. Here is my adaptation of his pea and ham dish, which is simmered in mint and cinnamon. It was my revolutionary idea to put it in a pitta! Maybe I'll write to Ferran to suggest this... Makes a good Saturday lunch for the whole family and it's a perfect way to use up the remains of a big joint of ham as you need a little meat, a little ham fat and ham stock.
What you need:
Half a large onion
Glug of olive oil
200g of cooked ham
10g of ham fat
300g peas
100ml of ham or chicken stock
1 cinnamon stick
1 large handful of mint
Pinch of salt
Grind of pepper
Pinch of cayenne
2 wholewheat pitta breads. We love Pita B oon brand, sold in HK's larger international supermarkets
Serves 2 adults and 2 small children for lunch
