Pork Curry

You can cook virtually any meat in curry and this recipe I made using pork. However, what is different in this type of curry I made is that I did not use coconut milk to provide that creamy taste to the curry which is customary for this type of recipe; instead, I used skim milk powder which reduce the fat content of the dish. The taste does not deviate much from the original one using coconut milk. A nice alternative for cooking low fat curries.

Ingredients:

1 kg Pork (cut into large cubes)

4 tbsp. Skim milk powder

½ cup Water (for suspending milk)

½ tsp. Black pepper powder

½ tsp. Iodized salt

1 tbsp. Garlic (minced)

1 pc. Onion (medium, thinly sliced)

1 cup Water

½ tsp. Curry powder

1 pc. Bell pepper (cut into squares)

1 pc. Carrot (large, cut into large pieces)

1 cup Potatoes (cut into large cubes)

1 tbsp. Soy sauce

1 tsp. Sugar

1 tbsp. Safflower oil (for sautéing)

½ cup Cooking oil (for frying the potatoes and carrots)

Cooking Instruction:

Heat the ½ cup cooking oil in a deep frying pan and fry the potatoes and carrots separately. The potatoes until golden brown and the carrots until surface begin to brown. Set aside the fried carrots and potatoes on top of paper towels to reduce excess oil.

In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and sauté the garlic, onion, and ginger until the garlic turns golden brown and the onion begins to caramelize. Toss in the pork and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes and add the soy sauce, black pepper, salt, sugar, and water. Pressure cook for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the pressure cooker to cool normally. Do not hasten cooling by venting the steam as the additional time required for normal cooling of the pressure cooker is used as additional cooking time to further tenderize the meat. This will take an additional 10 to 15 minutes. After the temperature has lowered sufficiently, open the pressure cooker and skim off any excess fat that may float on the broth to further decrease fat content. Again turn on the heat and add the skim milk suspended in ½ cup of water and boil until the volume of the sauce remaining is about 1 cup. Toss in the bell peppers, potatoes, and carrots and cook further for 2 to 5 minutes and serve. Enjoy with plain steamed rice or with bread.

Chicken Pastel (low fat)

Chicken pastel is a favourite recipe among the Filipinos. You can find this recipe as part of the menu on special occasions. There are many versions in the preparation of this dish. But most of them are very fattening. That is why I thought of simplifying the recipe and lowering the fat content without sacrificing the taste so I came up with this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 kg Chicken breast (cut into 1 in cubes)

¼ kg Potatoes (cubed)

½ cup Carrots (cubed)

2 pcs. Bell peppers (cut into cubes)

2 tbsp. Garlic (minced)

1 pc. Onion (medium, thinly sliced)

3 slices Ginger (about ½ tsp.)

½ tsp. Iodized salt

1 cup Water

1 tsp. Sugar

1 cup Evaporated milk (extra creamy)

1/3 cup Parsley (chopped)

½ cup Safflower oil (for frying potatoes and carrots)

2 tbsp. Safflower oil (for sautéing)

Cooking Instruction:

Deep fry the potatoes until golden brown and the carrots until the surface turns slightly brown separately. Set aside the fried vegetables in a strainer to remove excess fat.

Transfer 2 tbsp of the hot oil and sauté on it the garlic and onion until the garlic turns golden brown and the onion starts to caramelize. Add the ginger and toss in the chicken and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the water, black pepper, sugar, and salt and heat strongly to start boiling. When boiling starts cover and reduce the flame to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover for about 15 minutes and continue to simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes or until the liquid volume is reduced to about ½ cup. If the volume of liquid is too large that you feel it would be too long to reduce the volume with low fire, increase the fire accordingly. When the said volume is reached, toss in the potato, carrots, and bell pepper. Stir and add the milk. Increase the heat to start boiling the mixture. Continue cooking for at least 2 to 5 minutes when the boiling starts or until the volume of the liquid of only 1 cup remains and toss in the parsley. Serve as rice topping or with bread.

Beef Curry (Low Fat)

Curries are so popular that it seems several countries have their own variety. I enjoy it too and this is my version of a curry with low fat. Yes, low fat since I replaced the coconut milk with skim milk. The taste is almost the same as well as the texture less the fat from the coconut milk. Interesting isn’t it?

Ingredients:

1 kg Beef brisket cut into cubes

250 g Potato cut either to quarter or 1 cm pieces (I recommend cutting them in 1 cm slices rather than into quarters because this will make it easier to fry both sides properly without much use of oil.)

1 pc. Red bell pepper (cut into large squares)

¼ tsp. Black pepper (powder)

1 bulb Garlic (minced)

1 pc. Onion (large, quartered)

2 tbsp. Safflower oil (for frying potato)

1 tbsp. Safflower oil for sautéing

1 cup Water

2 tbsp. Premium light soy sauce

½ tsp. Iodized salt

¼ cup Skim milk powder

½ cup Water (for suspending the milk)

1 tsp. Curry powder

2 pcs. Ginger (fresh, cut into thin sliver, about 1 tsp.)

Cooking Instruction:

In a suitable Teflon coated frying pan, heat the oil and fry the potatoes until both sides are nicely browned. Set aside on top of paper towels to allow far to be absorbed.

In a suitable pressure cooker, heat the oil for use in sautéing. Sauté the garlic and onion until garlic is golden brown and onion starts to caramelize. Add the ginger and the beef. Continue cooking with steering for about 2 minutes. Add water, curry powder, soy sauce, black pepper, soy sauce, and water. Cover and pressure cook under low flame for about 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, turn off the flame and let the pressure cooker lose its pressure naturally. Do not force excess pressure to be removed by venting. The additional time afforded by normal pressure loss will add more cooking time to tenderize the meat properly. When there is no more pressure, open the cooker and skim any fat that may be floating to reduce the fat content further. Toss in the potatoes and bell pepper. Again turn on the heat and reduce to simmer. While simmering, place in a suitable cup the skimmed milk and cornstarch. Add water to suspend evenly and add to the cooking mixture. Salt may be added to taste at this point. Curry is ready when the starch is cooked and the sauce has that nice consistency. Enjoy the low fat curry with rice or some bread...