Eclectic and simple gourmet dinner: Chinese pork loin, chicken, cod, ravioli & sorbet

Fingernail Sliced Pork with Bamboo Shoots and Leeks

It’s always a thrill to have someone new at our table. Last night we had the pleasure of Vanessa Wauchope’s sparkling company. Vanessa owns a placement agency in Manhattan / The Hamptons  / L.A. / Palm Beach, and has employed our daughter, Julia, over the past several summers. It was an impromptu meal since I found out about Vanessa’s availability only hours before dinner and I relied heavily upon the larder in my freezers. One of the perks of being a private chef and maintaining a food blog is not only having multiple freezers, but having immediate access to what is socked away in them. Having said that, here’s what I made last night.

Tiny Cod Cakes on Rice Crackers w/ Caviar & Wasabi Mayo

I always have some frozen cod cakes ready to serve either as an entre or as an appetizer. Last night, I cut the frozen cod cake “log” into ¾ inch thick slices, and then Rosaria took a 1 ¼ inch circular fluted cutter and punched out tiny cod cakes which I dredged into a flour, red pepper and Sichuan pepper mixture. Then I sautéed them in a little canola oil until golden brown, about three minutes per side, and Rosaria placed each tiny cod cake on a rice cracker, topped them with wasabi mayonnaise, and garnished them with salmon roe caviar and chopped chives.

While I was in a freezer searching for the cod cakes, I discovered some frozen veal stuffed ravioli and containers of red and yellow sweet pepper sauce. This became a quick and easy first course with great eye appeal, with the bi-color sauces juxtaposed next to each other and several ravioli in the center.

I’ve been cooking a lot of Chinese cuisine recently, inspired by Fucshia Dunlop, the Julia Child of Chinese cooking in general, and Sichuan cooking in particular. I happened to have a small, fresh pork tenderloin in the protein drawer in my refrigerator. Of course this held no appeal for Rosaria, so I substituted a fresh chicken breast instead of the pork for her. (Yes, it is like running a restaurant here.) Here’s what I did.

Ingredients:

1 small pork tenderloin (mine was only 12oz.)
2 cups thinly sliced shitake mushrooms
1 large leek, white part only, thinly sliced lengthwise and blanched in boiling water
1 cup canned bamboo shoots, drained and blanched in boiling water

For the seasoned cooking oil:

2 Tbsp chili paste in soybean oil
3 tsp finely chopped garlic
3 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
4 scallions, green parts, thinly sliced

For the marinade: (I doubled it, and marinated pork and chicken separately)

pinch of salt
1 ½ tsp soy sauce
1 ½ Tbsp potato starch or corn starch
1 T Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry

For the Sauce:

2 tsp sugar
2 tsp Chinese black vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp potato starch or 1 ½ tsp cornstarch
½ tsp salt
5 Tbsp chicken stock (use water if you don’t have chicken stock)

This dish is all about the prep. Actual cooking time is minutes. Since I bought one a while back, I’ve always touted Hattori knives; they are great. However, I find I’m using a cleaver more and more lately. Last night I first sliced the pork loin (and the chicken) perpendicular to the grain of the meat into 1/8 inch pieces, and then I sliced them into 1/8 slivers cutting with the grain. I did the same thing with the bamboo shoots. I put the pork and the chicken slivers into their respective marinades and tossed them well to coat evenly. I gently sautéed the shitake mushrooms and set aside.

In a wok I heated ¼ cup peanut oil until it was just starting to smoke. I put in all the pork and cooked it quickly until it was just done. Then I pushed it to one side of the wok and added the chili paste and the chicken stock (the idea is to heat the chili paste without burning it). I quickly followed with the ginger and the bamboo shoots and continued to cook for another minute or so, until tender and done.

I whisked the sauce that was in a bowl to thoroughly mix the potato starch with the other ingredients and poured half of it into the wok. I swirled it around coating the pork, threw in the scallions, and then plated it over the mushrooms and leeks. I quickly repeated the process for Rosaria’s chicken.

As a first timer to my table, I asked Vanessa if she had room for some dessert after we had consumed tiny cod cakes, veal stuffed ravioli, and fingernail thin slices of pork. Much to my delight, she said she did. I rummaged around in a freezer and extracted a container of citruses and mango sorbet which I plated with a sprinkle of roasted cacao chocolate nibs and a large chocolate espresso bean. It was a perfect palate refresher after the spice and heat of the pork. After sharing some more lively after-dinner conversation, Vanessa drove off into the night, back to Manhattan. I’m convinced she didn’t have to make any stops for a midnight snack along the way.

RMA

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