Johnston’s Pop Pop Pork
A yummy, auspicious dish created by Chef Regina Lee of Gaia Kitchen (www.gaiakitchen.ca) made to look like firecrackers are sure to bring festive cheer to ring in the Lunar New Year with a bang!Film: Ridley Film (ridleyfilm.com), @trailboy, @miloshmariya at Lonsdale Quay Market
Ingredients
- 400 grams Johnston’s Boneless Pork Loin
Seasoning A
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ginger juice grate 1.5” peeled ginger and squeeze with muslin cloth
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
Seasoning B
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon custard powder
- 1 tablespoon potato starch
- 1 packet enoki mushrooms approx. 200 grams
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Extra potato starch for dusting
- Toasted sesame seeds
Pop Pop Sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 stalks white part of spring onions
- 5 slices ginger
- 2 cloves garlic peeled & smashed
- 1-2 red chillies deseeded & cut in half (for heat)
- 100 millilitres Ketchup
- 1 tablespoon white rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing)
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Suggested Garnishes
- Deep fried lotus root remove skin of lotusroot and slice thinly and deep fry till golden brown like potato chips. Arrangelike a flower
- Cilantro and lettuce greens
- Lucky knots made from carrots and coloured radish strips
Instructions
- Roll pork loin in a cling wrap to shape the pork loin in a roll. Freeze for 2-3 hours to firm it for easier slicing.
- Slice the pork loin into thin 1-cm slices. If your slices are thicker, use a flat meat pounder to thin it but do not break up the pork as we need it whole to wrap the mushrooms.
- Season pork slices with seasoning A. Mix Seasoning B and then add to pork slices. Leave to season for at least half an hour or it can be kept overnight.
- Cut off ends of enoki mushrooms and portion them into 1-inch bunches for rolling.
- Lay pork slice lengthwise like a rectangle. Place enoki mushroom on the bottom centre of the pork with half of the enoki top sticking out on the left side of the pork slice. Fold pork towards the right covering the mushroom stalk and roll up until the pork slice encases the mushroom like a bouquet of flowers.
- Continue rolling the remaining pork slices and mushrooms.
- Heat vegetable oil in a wok or dutch oven, preferably at 160-170°C.
- Dust only the enoki mushrooms in potato starch and fry the pork rolls until golden brown. Fry in small batches to maintain the oil temperature.
- Glaze only the pork portion of the roll with the sauce and arrange like a firecracker on a long vertical plate. Use a carrot strand as the string to connect the rolled pork. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on the rolled pork and garnish with cilantro and carrots if desired.
Pop Pop Sauce
- Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and add spring onions, ginger, garlic and chilies over medium low heat until the aroma is released.
- Add all the seasoning and stir till it is combined and heat till it simmers and thickens.
- Add a touch of red yeast powder or red food colouring.
- Remove spring onions, ginger, garlic and chilies and glaze the sauce over only the pork portion to make it look like a firecracker.
