I can’t believe that we are already almost halfway into October. Where did the September go? For that matter, where did the entire summer go? It seemed like only yesterday that I had been busy bookmarking summer concerts and looking forward to beach trips and lazy days in the park, most of which did not materialize. (This summer I did, however, finally discover Arrested Development, and spent a good many 100-degree weekend days with the Netflix instant queue, a powerful fan, and an icy gin & tonic.) Yes, in general, the summer seemed to have flown by.
To be fair, many of my waking hours this summer had been devoted to not only side editing projects but also something pretty big and exciting. So I apologize for having been somewhat absent on the site. But the absence has been for a good reason and I can’t wait to share the news with everyone in the coming weeks. And postings will definitely become more frequent again.
But first, here’s a recipe fit for the fall. This week I’m teaching a Macanese cooking class at Bowery Culinary Center at the Whole Foods on Houston St. The class is already sold out, but I wanted to share one particular favorite Macanese dish with you. (And I really should post up more Macanese recipes; almost everything is hearty and good comfort food to eat in cool weather, even though Macau itself is in the sub-tropics, just west of Hong Kong.)
Macanese cuisine is a Chinese-Portuguese fusion cuisine that stems from the 16th century, when the Portuguese first arrived. Over time, dishes evolved and picked up influences from around Southeast Asia and other colonies in Africa, Goa, and Brazil. One such dish is tamarind pork. The use of olive oil or butter as the cooking fat stems from Europe, while the tamarind paste comes from Southeast Asia and the shrimp paste is thoroughly Chinese.
What I love about tamarind pork is the very nice balance of tangy, salty, and sweet flavors (from the tamarind paste, soy sauce, and brown sugar, respectively.) A bit of warning: when you first start cooking, the shrimp paste will make the dish smell a little pungent. (Just under the pot lid, not your entire kitchen.) One friend eloquently described the aroma as “like barnyard”. But I promise, after 45 to 50 minutes of cooking time the smell will have dissipated. The pork comes out so juicy and full of flavor that you may start wondering what else you can use shrimp paste for.
For a spicy kick, have a few slices of jalapeño on hand for garnish. And be sure to have plenty of rice to soak up the sauce.
(If you’re in Macau, check out Restaurante Litoral for a very good version of this, plus other Macanese dishes.)
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Tamarind Pork
Serves 4
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 shallots, sliced
- 3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 pound pork shoulder or stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tamarind paste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon shrimp paste
- 1 tablespoon dried shrimp, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until aromatic and slightly softened, about 2 minutes.
- Add the pork and cook on all sides until the outsides begin to brown.
- Add the brown sugar, tamarind paste, soy sauce, fish sauce, and shrimp paste and give everything a quick stir. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid, and cook for 45 to 50 minutes.
- While the pork is simmering, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Fry the dried shrimp until aromatic and golden brown, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.
- When the pork is done simmering, transfer the meat and sauce to a serving bowl. Garnish with the chopped dried shrimp and sliced jalapeños.
Yes, please do more Macanese recipes! In Macao I ate a very delicious suckling pig at a restaurant called Fernando’s. I don’t remember what it was called but the skin was just perfect, crisp and not so oily! and it came with alot of fries.
Looks great! The jalapenos make a nice additiont o the pork.
Where can you buy tamarind paste in New York?
Hi Diana, I took your class at Whole Foods yesterday and the food was so good!!! And it was all so easy to make! I can’t wait to try it at home! Especially since I think our shrimp needed more salt….. :) And the egg tarts were delicious, I’ve always wanted to know how to make them but I always thought it must be too hard, but now I want to make them for potluck dinners!
Thanks!
To the commenter above, I actually saw it in my local Brooklyn Key Food the other day, in the “ethnic” section next to a bunch of sushi-making ingredients.
I so want to go to your house for dinner.
You can get tamarind paste in the sauces aisle of Chinatown supermarkets. Try Kam Man Food Products on Canal, Hong Kong Supermarket on Hester St., or the smaller Thai grocery Bangkok Center Grocery on Mosco St. Whole Foods also carries tamarind paste. Hope that helps!
Hi Susan, Thanks so much for checking out my blog! I’m glad you enjoyed the class. Let me know how your egg tarts turn out!
Garrett – Well, if you’re ever in New York, let me know!
Success! Question for you. How should the sauce taste? Mine turned out well, but a bit sweet for my liking. The tamarind was there, but the sour factor was lacking. My source of tamarind came from the brick form that you dilute with water, so maybe I need more than what your recipe called for.
omg this looks tasty. It´s lunch time now and I want such a meal so badly…
It´s fazinating how strong pictures can be.
Thanks and I am really hungry.
Tavis – I’ve used a pastes that come in either a jar or a pouch. Some tamarind pastes can be more tart than others, so you can try tasting the sauce close to the end of cooking (maybe 5-10 minutes before), and if it isn’t tart enough, you can adjust the taste by mixing some fresh lime juice into the sauce. Hope that helps!
Mostly helpful;-) What I was trying to find out was how the dish tastes when you prepare it Are the flavors balanced, or should one flavor dominate a bit over the others? At any rate, I will make it again and experiment, which is what makes cooking fun, right?!
Tavis – Absolutely! And I love making tamarind pork over and over again. The aroma is just incredible and the pork tastes even better a day later. To answer your question, yes, all the flavors should be well-balanced. If the sour factor is lacking, try switching to tamarind
pastes in a jar/pouch, using more of the tamarind block you already have, or adding a little lime juice. If you’re using the block, it mightalready have some added sugar, so you should also reduce the amount of brown sugar by a little.
Love your blog! I currently live in Beijing, and am always looking for new interesting food to cook – your blog is indeed one of my prime sources.
One problem I often run into, though, is ordering the proper meat cuts in China in Chinese. I can speak and read at an intermediate level, but am completely lost at the market when it comes to ordering different cuts of meat. Would it be possible for you to include the Chinese (characters and pinyin) for meat cuts and specialty ingredients?
So I finally got around to making the egg tarts, and they weren’t so good. I think I didn’t make the puff pastry thin enough! It puffed too much and pushed out the filling and it got burned. They turned out edible but not as great as I wanted them to be. Oh well! Next time I’ll stretch and flatten the puff pastry more.
This was one of the tastiest meals I’ve cooked in a long time. The balance of sweet, sour and salty was perfect. I did not add the fried shrimp and jalapeno as a garnishes because I was afraid it would over power the Pinot Noir I poured with it. I found the pork shoulder needed two hours not just 50 minutes to get the tenderness I liked. I will make this dish over and over.