Publications
- 600.00g - pork fillet, trimmed of excess sinew
- 60.00ml - ketchap manis* (or good quality thick soy sauce)
- 1.00piece - thumb-length piece of root ginger, peeled and roughly sliced
- 200.00ml - oil for deep frying
- 200.00g - rice noodles, soaked in boiling water to soften
- 45.00ml - soy sauce
- 100.00g - baby tatsoi leaves (or baby spinach leaves)
- 5.00ml - salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 10.00ml - Sauce: peanut oil
- 2.00 - shallots (or pickling onions), chopped
- 1.00cloves - garlic clove, crushed
- 5.00ml - Chinese 5-spice powder
- 30.00ml - brown sugar
- 30.00ml - red wine
- 450.00g - red plums, pitted and roughly chopped
- 50.00ml - water
1. Marinate the pork in the ketchap manis and ginger for 30-60 minutes.
2. Heat the oil for deep-frying (approximately 200 °C). Drain the cooked rice noodles and stir the soy sauce through. Fry the noodles ? one spoon at a time ? to form golden-brown noodle cakes. Drain on absorbent paper.
3. Thoroughly wash the tatsoi or baby spinach leaves and set aside.
4. Prepare the sauce: Heat the peanut oil in a heavy-based saucepan and fry the shallots, garlic and Chinese 5-spice powder for a few minutes until the shallots are soft and transparent. Add the sugar, red wine, plums and water. Simmer at a low temperature for 45 minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy. Strain the sauce through a sieve and keep it warm.
5. Heat a saucepan with a heavy base and seal the fillet until golden brown on both sides. Place it on a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until cooked. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
6. Diagonally slice the fillet into 2cm-thick slices and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve the fillet with tatsoi leaves, crisp noodle cakes and thick plum sauce. *Ketchap manis is a thick, sweet soy sauce from Indonesia with the consistency of molasses ? it's available at Oriental specialist stores and selected delis.
