Archive for January, 2010
I know them as “Moo Foy“.
These lovely soft threads of seasoned pork are so versatile. I was first introduced to them when I was young and they were sprinkled on top of a hot bowl of “Khao Piek” (rice soup), yummy!.
Since then I have seen them used in sandwiches and other snacks (best of all, wrapped up in sticky rice!). There are different types available, crunchy and crispy or soft and fluffy. The latter is probrably its most popular form, and due to its appearance is sometimes referred to as Pork Floss.
Seeing as we live and work “out in the sticks“, there are no Asiatic stores nearby and we only ever get Moo Foy when someone visits from abroad (the visitor is always given a shopping list prior to arrival….. 
), so in “Good ole Laocook fashion”, we decided to make our own. 
Questions were thrown about in the kitchens on how to achieve the end result. Theories mentioned included roasting stewed pork, shredding it then allowing it to dry in a low temperature oven. This seemed okay, but how would we get the “fluffiness”? It was clear that the meat had to be moved around whilst cooking. Also, the oven technique wouldn’t allow us to get the “crunchiness”. Deep frying the shredded meat would give us a result that was too crunchy.
We knew that fluffiness could be achieved by cooking the shredded meat in a bowl placed over simmering water, we have used this technique before with fish when making our sushi ingredients.
In the end, we decided to make three batches of Moy Foy using different finishing methods.
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Pork shoulder is slowly cooked then shredded whilst still warm. Shredding any meat is much easier when it is warm.
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Over a low flame the pork is then seasoned with soy sauce, salt, sugar and slowly cooked and stirred. This method would result in our crunchy(ish) Moy Foy. As the sugar melts in the pan it takes on a lovely caramel colour and provides a slight crispiness to the pork. Vigilance is important here, lack of attention could end up with a burnt and bitter tasting result.
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With the second method, the pork was finished in a bowl over simmering water. This method was the hardest, and most time consuming, but would yield the fluffiest result. Constant stirring is needed here so that the pork dries out evenly and air is incorporated.
Half way through this technique when some of the meats moisture had been removed, half of the pork was transferred to a large baking tray and placed in an oven at 90ºc for just over an hour.
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Meanwhile, there were other tasks that needed attending to.
More pork was being cooked, this time our version of “Char Sui” or Chinese Style Roasted Pork. However, our cooking process started the night before. 
Our pieces of pork are cooked “Sous Vide” for 12 hours.
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This results in a very tender and juicy piece of meat. The meat is browned in a hot pan just before serving.
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Firstly, let me wish everyone a very happy 2010!
Now that all the hotel Gala Dinners throughout the festive season are finally over, I can spend a week or so relaxing!
This past month has been busy, however with careful planning ahead, it was relatively easy. Once all the Gala Dinner menus were confirmed, it was all a case of getting things ready on time. The only obstacle that we faced were the deliveries of the ingredients. The working week is cut short when Christmas and New Years Eve fall on weekdays.
Talking about “planning ahead”, I have been making lots of Cured beef.
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For some bizarre reason I decided to cure some beef in Orange Juice and Brandy.
I think that the idea came about one day after I had prepared a few plates of Bresaola (Italian air-dried salted beef) and later that week, one night at home I enjoyed a glass of Macallan Whisky, (a Single Malt that is matured in Sherry Casks from nearby Jerez de la Frontera). I had obviously written down this idea at some point during that evening, (okay, perhaps I had more than one glass! 
), and found the slip of paper a few days later.
Bresaola is salt cured before being hung for 2-3 months. I am not really (that much of a) patient person, so that idea was out of the window even before I begun. I knew that I wanted a sweetish flavour, so I chose a nice Brandy from Jerez, which is also matured in Sherry Casks.
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The Tenderloin (Fillet) is packed in to a bag with Orange Juice, Brandy, Spices, Salt and Sugar and left for 4 days.
On my first attempt I cured the meat for only 24 hours, but found that the resulting meat was still too raw and soft inside. After a few more tries, I worked out that the best texture to my liking appeared after 96 hours.
The meat is removed from the bag and washed before being pat dry. During its time in the bag, the meat has shrunk and become more compact and darker.