Recipes from Moon Dragon Chinese Restaurant – Red Chicken Curry & Slow Braised Pork Belly
Moon Dragon Chinese Restaurant in Moonee Market have kindly shared their red chicken curry recipe as well as their slow braised pork belly dish. Recreate them at home!
Red Curry Chicken
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
1-pound chicken breasts sliced into 1/4” slices then 2” pieces
200g mixed vegetables
2 tbsp red curry paste
4 garlic cloves minced
1 can (13.5oz) quality coconut milk (I like Chaokoh)
1 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
5 curry leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
For the Garnish
Shallots
Fresh lime
METHOD
- Heat oil over medium to high heat in large non-stick skillet. Add chicken, onion, red curry paste and garlic. Cook just until the chicken is no longer pink.
- Add half of the coconut milk. Mix remaining coconut milk with cornstarch and add to skillet along with all remaining ingredients (except garnishes).
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens and the vegetables reach desired crisp-tenderness. If you would like a thinner sauce, thin with water (I choose not to do this). Discard curry leaves.
- Serve with rice and garnish with additional / optional lime juice and shallot.
Traditional Slow Braised Pork Belly in Soy with Aniseed and Garlic
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
2 lb. (900g) pork belly
10 spring onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup Chinese cooking wine
1 cup dark soy sauce
1 cup light soy sauce
1 cup vegetable broth
4 tbsp peanut oil
4-star anise
2 cloves
8 tbsp brown sugar
Notes:
Choosing the pork belly
If possible, use pork belly with skin on as this is used in traditional Chinese cuisine. The skin combined with the sugar gives the stew more flavour and the characteristic translucent effect.
Shaoxing Chinese Cooking Wine
This ingredient is essential to obtain the authentic taste and color of the pork belly stew Shanghai style. This wine is easy to find at most Asian shops and markets.
METHOD
- Cut the pork belly into large strips large of 1.5 to 2 inches then dice the meat into big cubes. Pour the pork belly into boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, then drain and dry with paper towels. This process will remove any impurities and will tenderize the meat.
- Now it’s time to brown the peanut oil. Pour the peanut oil combined with 4 tbsp of brown sugar into a wok or a pan big enough to contain the pork belly stew. Place the pan on medium/low heat. When the sugar is well melted, add the meat. Caramelize the pork belly dices until golden brown, then add the Chinese wine and raise the flame. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour 2 tbsp of peanut oil into a separate, thick-bottomed heavy pot. Cut the spring onions into slices ¼ inch thick and peel and crush the cloves of garlic. Slice the fresh ginger into thin slices. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, stir-fry the vegetables combined with the star anise and the clove and the ginger slices for 5 minutes.
- Now pour the meat with wine and soy sauces into the pot. The liquid has to reach to ¾ of the height of the meat pile. If not, add hot vegetable broth. Cover the pot with a lid and set the heat in order to gently simmer the pork belly stew. Cook for a couple of hours until the meat is extremely soft, but the fat strips are not melted.
Caramelised Chinese Sauce
When the pork belly stew is ready, drain the meat pieces and place into a bowl covered with aluminium foil. Add 4 tbsp of sugar, raise the flame and bring the sauce to a simmer until it becomes a thick sauce. Finally, pour the meat back into the sauce, lower the heat to a minimum and cook 15 minutes more.
Finishing
Serve the pork belly stew with white rice and stir-fried vegetables. The pork belly stew is great just cooked but it’s even better the day after! Just remember to warm it on a very low flame otherwise the meat will be a little gristly.
Store the pork belly stew in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Not up for cooking? This delicious pork belly dish is on the menu at Moon Dragon.