Spicy Pork, Black Bean, Eggplant and Mushroom Hot Pot

We are sneaking in a few meals this week using different ingredients as our daughter is away on holidays in Japan.  Yes we are cooking with foods she's not a fan off.... LOL!!  Generally I will boast that both my kids have very cultured palates but we are still working on a few ingredients that sometimes don't get to be cooked due to dislikes.  Eggplants and mushrooms are two avoided vegetables with her.  Apparently it's a texture thing.

Needless to say I thought this dish was wonderful.  Full of flavour and easy to make.  I was actually surprised that it was prepared in a flash and cooked in the oven.

I am not a fan of premade black bean sauce so I did use salted black beans (which I purchased at an Asian food store) making the black bean flavour a little more subtle and not as harsh in my opinion. 

Teamed with steamed Choy Sum and plain noodles I nearly thought I was in Asian for a moment.

Spicy Pork, Black Bean, Eggplant and Mushroom Hot Pot

(recipe adapted from WW Program Cookbook 2015)

Serves: 4

ProPoints per serve: 11

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium eggplant, cut into 2cm pieces

1 red onion, finely chopped

200 grams button mushrooms, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

500 grams lean pork mince

4 tablespoons drained salted black beans (or 2 tablespoons black bean garlic sauce)

1 cup water

440 gram packet egg noodles

2 bunches choy sum, chopped

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 160 degrees Celsius fan forced.

Heat half the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish over high heat.  Cook eggplant, stirring, in batches, for 2 - 3 minutes or until browned.  Transfer to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium.  Add remaining oil to the dish.  Cook onion and mushroom, stirring for 5 minutes or until softened.  Add garlic, ginger and chilli.  Cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.  Add mince and cook, stirring to break up lumps, for 5 minutes or until browned.

Return eggplant to pan with black beans and water.  Bring back to the boil.  Bake, covered, for 30 minutes or until pork mixture is thick and eggplant is very tender.

Cook noodles as per the packet instructions.  Drain and keep warm.

Meanwhile boil, steam or microwave choy sum until tender.  Drain.

Serve hot pot with choy sum and noodles.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Beef in Black Bean Sauce



Beef in Black Bean Sauce, a classic dish I think that everyone has ordered from a Chinese at some stage in their life.  It has a taste, unique, that you either like or hate.  It's a little sweet, a little salty yet packs a powerful flavour and compliments beef magnificently.   It's a split in our house, the two men love it, the daughter hates it and as for me, I sit on the fence.  If it's too strong I cannot eat it and if there's not enough flavour of the black bean I whinge about that..... gggrrr.  As the daughter being away at her Grandma's for part of the school holidays, I made sure this dish was on our menu planner, as have been a few other meals.

 

Cooking chinese or any Asian dishes can be daunting to many.  Yes many recipes can seem very complex but yet some are very simple.  This one falls into the simple category with no trickly steps at all.   No premade black bean sauce has been used in this recipe.  Instead a trip to the Asian Supermarket saw us armed with a jar of salted black beans and recipe in hand.  I think that was the hardest part of the whole dish.

 

Takeaway in our home, mid week ease and a taste that was exactly how it was meant, slightly sweet and spicy, jam packed with vegetables... who could ask for more?  Bonus points to be awarded as this was prepared and cooked by my husband, Noel.

 

 

Beef in Black Bean Sauce

(recipe adapted from WW Magazine October 2014)

 

Serves: 4

ProPoints Per Serve: 5

 

1/3 cup chicken stock

2 teaspoons cornflour

2 tablespoons kecap manis

1 tablespoon canola oil

600 grams rump steak, fat trimmed, thinly sliced

1 brown onion, sliced

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

1 red capsicum, thinly sliced

1 green capsicum, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tablespoon salted black beans, chopped

Combine stock, cornflour and kecap manis in a small jug or bowl.

Heat a wok over high heat.  Add half the oil and heat for 20 seconds.  Stir-fry half the beef for 2 - 3 minutes of until browned.  Transfer to a plat.  Repeat withthe remaining oil and beef.

Add onion and carrot to the wok and stir-fry  for 2 - 3 minutes or until just softened.  Add capsicum and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes.  Add garlic and black beans, stirring for 30 seconds. 

Return beef to the wok along with the stock mixture.  Stir-fry for 1 - 2 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

Serve with extra steamed 0 ProPoint vegetables and steamed rice.  Add 4 ProPoints per 1/2 cup steamed rice.

 

(Click here for a printable version of this recipe)



Stir Fried Black Bean and Chilli Prawns

Another busy night in the Murray household saw the kids and us eating seperately. The kids having left over Quick and Easy Pasta Casserole because they really enjoyed it last night. As for Noel and I we decided to eat when I returned from the hair dresser so a quick prawn stirfry was planned.

Noel adores the flavour of blackbean so I thought I would treat him. I am not a huge lover but don't mind it every now and then. Normally we would order Beef in Blackbean Sauce from our favourite restaurant, Shark Fin Inn in Keysborough so I knew he would like the idea of tryng prawns cooked in a black bean sauce.

Stir Fried Black Bean and Chilli Prawns

(recipe adapted from Neil Perry - Food Source Asia)

Serves: 2

Points per serve: 4

cooking spray

500 g King Prawns shelled, deveined & butterflied
1 tablespoon black bean sauce
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 knob ginger finely sliced
2 tablespoons diced red capsicums
2 tablespoons diced green capsicums
4 spring onions, slice in 3cm lengths
2 - 4 red bullet chilli, seeded and sliced, to taste
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons shao xing cooking wine
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon caster sugar
3 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves

Spray wok or large frying pan with cooking spray and heat.

Stir fry the prawns until they are just cooked, remove from the wok and set aside.

Add the black bean sauce, garlic, ginger, red and green capsicum, 3/4 of the spring onions and chilli. Stir fry until fragrant.

Add the shaoxing wine, soy, caster sugar and oyster sauce then return the prawns to the wok and toss through.

Scatter with the remaining finely sliced shallot and coriander leaves.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Lobster with Blackbean and Chilli Sauce

The last time we went shopping in Springvale we were lucky enough to get our hands on some frozen raw lobster tails from our favourite Frozen Food shop. They were great value as they were small and 10 tails to the kilogram but unfortunately have been in the freezer ever since.

We decided that tonight would be the night to have them for dinner - maybe a little celebration as today I finished the job I have been doing for the last 8 years and I am moving on within the company as of next week in a new role.

After enjoying the Beef with Blackbean the other week, we knew that the lobster tails would be full of flavour and that their sweetness would compliment the saltiness if cooked in a similar sauce. So the idea of black bean combined with chilli paste was agreed upon as I love chilli and Noel favours the black bean but of course we both agree on the lobster itself!

Lobster with Blackbean and Chilli Sauce

Serves: 4

Points per serve: 5

1 kilogram raw Lobster tails

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

2 teapsoons crushed ginger

1 tablespoon chilli paste, or to taste

1 carrot, peeled and finely sliced

1 head of brocolli, cut into small florets

1/2 red capsicum, diced

2 spring onions, sliced

4 tablespoons black bean sauce

100 grams snow peas, trimmed and sliced

100 grams bean sprouts

fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Remove shells from lobster tails, rinse well and cut into bite size pieces. Place on paper towel and set aside.

Coat a wok or large frying pan with oil ensuring the surface is covered. Heat over a high heat and add the garlic, ginger, chilli, carrots and broccoli. Stir fry for 2 - 3 minutes or until vegetables start to soften.

Add capsicum, lobster meat and spring onions. Stirfry for a further 2 - 3 minutes or until lobster is startting to turn pink. Mix through the blackbean sauce until all is completely coated with the sauce. Add snow peas and bean sprouts and toss through until warm.

Serve garnished with coriander leaves.


(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Beef in Black Bean Sauce

A favourite Chinese meal of Noel's is Beef in Black Bean Sauce so when I mentioned we had some beef strips that needed using and that we could have Black Bean Sauce his eyes lit up!

To be honest I think you either like Black Bean or you don't. It's a strongish, salty flavouring and not overly sweet. Luckily, even Alexandria our 8 year old loves the flavourings also.

Black Bean, or Douchi as it's known, is made from fermenting and salting soyabeans. This process turns the beans black, soft and mostly dry. We however used a premade version in a jar, called Black Bean Paste (made by Lee Kum Kee) which is just as nice as soaking the beans yourself.

Beef in Black Bean Sauce

Serves; 4

Points per serve: 4

cooking spray

500 grams lean beef strips

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 onion, sliced

1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets

1/2 red capsicum, sliced

1/2 green capsicum sliced

300 grams button mushrooms, sliced

3 tablespoons black bean paste or sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup water

2 teaspoons cornflour

300 grams snow peas, trimmed and sliced on diagonal

Spray wok or large frying pan with cooking spray and cook half of the beef until just sealed. Remove to a plate, repeat with remaining beef strips.

Respray wok with cooking spray and add garlic, onion, carrot and broccoli. Stirfry for 3 - 5 minutes or until carrot is tender. Add capsicums and mushrooms. Stirfry for a further 2 - 3 minutes.

Return beef strips to pan along with black bean paste and sugar. Toss through sauce. Add combined cornflour and water, bring to the boil stirring until mixed through and slightly thickened. Add snowpeas and stir through.

Serve immediately.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)