MAKE: Pig's Head Torchon

Since we have had more than our fair share of rainy days recently I have tried to do my best whilst being home bound, by spending more time reading cookbooks and making more food! I bought the Momofuku cookbook two years ago and have been and will continue to dip in and out of it till I next return to New York to sample some Chang magic myself. I haven't yet tried the legendary pork buns but did decide to dedicate an afternoon to make the lust worthy pork filling. This recipe however is not for the faint hearted, and most definitely not for the vegetarians, but I do urge you to try it on another rainy weekend where only deep fried meat will do ...

Ingredients:

half a pigs head 3.6 - 5kg

1 bunch of spring onions

2 carrots

1 onion, split in half

coarse sea salt

2 tbsp of grapeseed oil or any other neutral oil

4 tbsp of finely chopped garlic

freshly groung black pepper

about 140g plain flour, or more if so needed

3 large eggs

120g panko

and oil for deep frying

Prep andSimmer: Remove any large patches of hair with a disposable razor.

Put the head, veg and enough water to cover in a large stockpot and salt aggressively, bring to the boil. When boiling bring down to a gentle simmer - 

leave bubbling lightly for 3 1/2 hours until tender. Remove from the heat.

Garlic addition: Whilst the head is cooling, cook the garlic in the 2 tbsp of oil till golden brown, then reserve.

Disassemble: Now prepare your kitchen counter; line the work surface with cling film and line up three bowls - one large one for waste and two smaller ones for meat and fat. It's also advised to use plastic gloves, not the marigold kind but  the thin plastic ones so you can feel around for nuggets of meat!

Start by discarding the broth, if you're thinking what a waste, so did I but it is too porky and not in a good way. 

Transfer the head cheek down to the cling filmed surface, you should be able to pull out the top part of the skull and place in the waste bowl. So too with the eye, there is a nice chunk near the eye, place it in the meat bowl. Pull out the jaw, twist off the snout and discard.

The next part is just about feeling your way through; all meat is stringy and soft (pulled pork like) and fat is white as you would expect, most of it is layered underneath larger sheets of skin (break away and chop as much as you can, I was too thrifty with the fat but more is best.) Don't forget the tongue meat, slice it open so the inside is facing you and add the meat from inside the membrane to the meat bowl - its delicious and succulent. There aren't any other real guidelines apart from let your fingers lead you to the meaty jewels, there are many to be had.

All three bowls should look pretty full and perhaps you are only left with the ear. It is up to you as to whether you want to cut it into strips and deep fry or just to discard this also.

Now what to do with your harvested pig goodness, season the meat with salt and pepper. Taste it and adjust accordingly. From the book I think you are supposed to use the cling film layer as the wrapping for the meat "sausage" but I had sliced through mine clumsily with my knife, so I just relaid some more. 


"Lay the carpet of fat": covering a rectangle of 7.5cm by 10cm, then scatter with the meat within the middle and leaving 2.5cm of fat around the edges and scatter the crispened garlic.

And on to the rolling, where it is advised to remove your gloves if you have been using any, but basically the aim of the game is to roll it up like a swiss roll, and as tight as you can. The book says "lift up the near edge of the cling film and bring it towards you...once in a loose log, push from the ends to tighten up...twist the ends of the cling film to force into a tight cylindrical shape"- however I think more pictures would have been more helpful, mine ended up like this:

Sausage slices: Now its just a couple of hours in the fridge for the fat to firm up so its all a bit more solid and ready for frying prep or it can be frozen for a few months (allow 24 hours of defrosting in the fridge before frying.) So remove the clingfilm from the torchon, slice 2.5cm pucks. 

Just a little digression, I mentionned the tighter the sausage Swiss roll the better. Do not fear if your cling film wrapping skills aren't up to much, mine aren't quite there either and you can see from above that the odd slice are pretty loose. All is not lost though, blitz down the meat so it is more malleable, poach an egg and wrap the meat around it. Coat with three layers as below and deep fry et viola the most delectable by product - pig head meat scotch egg!

Prepare 3 bowls :-flour, the lightly beaten eggs and panko. Dredge and coat each one one at a time to ensure each is aptly covered. I found that a squeezy top turkey baster was perfect for targetting the non  egged bits.

Heat 7.5cm of oil in a deep pot over a medium - high heat until deep fry ready, if you have a themometer the oil should be at 190˚. Fry two at a time for 3 minutes or until panko is golden brown, drain onto paper towels.

Pork Accessories: For the pickled cherries stone and halve 900g for a stash worth storing in the fridge. Crack the stones with a pestle and mortar, wrap in muslin. Now combine 225 ml hot water,125ml rice wine vinegar, 6 tbspsugar and muslin packet in a suacepan and bring to the boil. Pour over cherries, cool then refrigerate till ready for use.

For the sauce mix 40g of spicy Japanese mustard (or Colman's in my case,) 1 1/2 tbsp Kewpie mayo (which I managed to retrieve from Chinatown, Soho) and 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar.

Plate up:Now to the best bit, the serving. Mix the garnish ingredients and smear the sauce on the plate, eat with pickled or fresh cherries and butterhead lettuce.

There you have it, less scary looking than what we started with but unbeatable meaty flavour. The bitter sweet cherries cut through the richness, whilst the mayonnaise mix evens out, mediating between the two. Texture is a heavenly blend of melt in the mouth fat, succulent meat chunks and frayed crunchiness. 

WEDNESDAY

Lace top - H&M
Waspie belt - mums
Embroidered pocket midi - Vintage
Faux Snakeskin sandals -  Office

Momofuku Chicken wings and Crunchy Salad
Yet another tried and tested Momofuku recipe from me, they are increasingly more and more delicious! Admittedly  this is the longest recipe for chicken wings I have ever come across, to be semi cured for no more than 6 hours, then confited for under an hour to be finally finished off on the highest heat on the hob -without a doubt worth it though! Served topped with heaps of spring onions and pickled chillies. When I did them at home the night before I finished them off as Chang advised, tossed in tare (an incredible concentrated mix of sake, soy and mirin which was reduced with the wing tips) and crispened the frying pan. For today's sunny afternoon lunch break I ate them with a leaf salad with carrot ribbons, cucumber sticks and crushed toasted peanuts.

FRIDAY

Silk Vest -  Vintage
Tribal Print Jacket - Car bootie
Indigo Jeans - J Brand
Multi Strap Wedges - Oasis
Necklace - Ottoman Hands

Momofuku Apple Kimchi Salad
As odd as it sounds it is super tasty, something so sweet and pure as apples, muddled with the myriad of flavours from the kimchi  - how can this work? But again, with the other components of crispened smoky bacon and maple syrup combined yogurt, everything was in perfect harmony! What else you can see from the photo was a basic slightly pickled slaw and rocket to bulk up the salad. 

TUESDAY

Cashmere Cosmic Cardi - Chris Kane
Jeans - Topshop Baxter's
Chelsea Boots - Topshop
Plain tee - Miu Miu 

Momofuku Pigs Head Torchons with Crunchy Salad
These were leftovers from a weekend of cooking but still a
taste sensation a day or two after!
Click here for the full scoop. 

MAKE: Pork belly ssäm

One of my most favourite things to eat is pork belly. Yes, for the crackling but also for its delicious fat marbled meat. David Chang's recipe from the Momofuku book focuses on the meat and is in essence very simple; using just three ingredients skinless pork belly 1.35kg, 45g coarse sea salt, 70g sugar. It's the processes that transform the humble cut adding depth of flavour and with the accompaniments, which do take a little more effort, the dish is now a firm favourite. So here is Pork belly ssäm, ssäm meaning wrapped, here it is wrapped in lettuce leaves, dressed with mustard seed sauce and served with sliced radishes.  

 Marinate: Firstly find a roasting pan / oven proof cooking vessel that fits the meat nice and snugly, rub the sugar and salt mix all over. Cover with cling film, leave in the fridge for at least 6 hours hours but no more than 24.

Heat on: Preheat the oven to 230˚. Discard any accumulated liquid and put the belly in the oven for 1 hour, basting halfway through. Then reduce heat to 130˚ and cook for another half hour. It should now be a little firm but still a little jiggly! Decant the fat, (cool) and save the fat for cooking and meat jelly for fortifying soups etc.

Wrap: Once meat is cool, wrap it in clingfilm and leave in the fridge to firm up - just so its easier / neater when sliced. Meanwhile scroll down and make accompaniments...

Slice and Finish: After chilling slice into 1cm thick slices. Now you can finish off with the attractive char lines on a barbecue or just on a griddle pan.

Accompaniment 1 + 2 = the Mustard Seed Sauce

1 : Pickled mustard seeds makes 260g:150g yellow mustard seeds, 350ml water, 350ml rice vinegar, 100g sugar, 1 tbsp sea salt, simmer all of these together until seeds are plump. Usually takes 45 mins, constantly stir and add water if it dries out. Keeps in the fridge for months.

2 : Quick pickled cucumbers makes 250g: 1 large cucumber cut into 3mm discs, combine with 1/2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp of sea salt. Let stand for up to 10 mins, adjust seasoning to taste. These are for immediate use.

Combine: (1) 6tbsp pickled mustard seeds, (2) 3 tbsp diced pickled cucumbers, 3 tbsp Dijon mustard,1 tbsp Chinese hot mustard, 3 tbsp mayo (Kewpie recommended), 3 tbsp of thinly sliced spring onions, sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Results: I could gush about this all night long, there is an unexpected depth of flavour, unexpected purely because the meat was only in salt and sugar. The sauce is sharp but mellowed by the creaminess of the mayo, texturally a pleasure to eat and all wrapped up in crunchy lettuce leaves for easy, maximum mouth stuffing! Alternatively I would imagine all of this would be exquisite in a warm baguette, and if you were to have any meat left over (!!) popped in a lazy midweek fried rice would be a happy addition. Don't be put off by the steps, they are all easy and a perfect meat project for a rainy half a day.

WEDNESDAY

Asymmetric Dress - Topshop

Khaki Military Shirt - Army Surplus Store

Manitee badge - Car boot sale

Boots - Kurt Geiger

Momofuku Pork Belly Ssäm  with Mustard Seed Sauce

I am in love the Momofuku food, loosely Asian but very American, unfortunately I have only ever sampled it through the making of my own hands. I can hear the legendary pork buns taunting me back to their NYC home! But for now I am cooking from the book and love the simplicity of this recipe but how delicious it is, straight out of the oven / bbq or cold in a lettuce wrap with radish and carrot slices. It's a simple marinade of salt and sugar for up to 24 hours, then blasted in the oven on high then a little bit longer low, and that is it folks, literally.  Mustard sauce is suggested and is creamy but punchy too - step by step recipe coming soon!