Crispy Roasted Pork Belly

I haven’t posted any of my cooking for a long while. I still cook a lot but none that are blog-worthy. And I did eat out a lot this year…. New Year , however, is different. While most Asians believe that an x number of round fruits bring good luck, I believe that filling your table (and tummies) with all sorts of succulent meats is the ultimate good luck of all.

As usual, we did the Tomahawk steaks
This is always a winner. So pretty and yummy.

You can find the how-to on this steak on this blog. It’s on last year’s New Year post.

We also had herbed salmon
…and theee kinds of stuffed chicken—dirty rice, crawfish jambalaya and shrimp

And now for the piece d resistance — crispy roasted pork belly!!!

Dry brine pork belly (with skin) with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Wrap and refrigerate overnight
In the center of the pork belly, arrange chopped onions, chopped garlic and lemon grass. You can also rub garlic paste all over the meat side of the belly to make it more garlicky.
Roll up the belly with kitchen twine to form a log
Brush with milk and let stand for 20 minutes

Cover the log with aluminum foil, put on a rack and cook at 350 for 2 hours. Remove foil after two hours and crank up the oven to 450. Cook for 5 minutes for the top part, then roll to the side and cook for another 5 minutes. Do the same on opposite side. This is to mimic the rotating spit which is the traditional way.

Done! So beautiful!! And so photogenic too…
The skin turned out really crispy, which is the measure of “success”

I’m really happy this turned out well. Now I don’t have to travel all the to the Philippines. Sorry, Mom! I’m now open to take orders!! Haha. Just kidding. But these things go for $175, so maybe I’m not kidding!!!

Happy New Year all!!!

 

 

 

Mastro’s Houston

H-town (Houston)

I spent my birthday at work then at a high school auditorium, sitting for two hours, waiting for my son’s 20 second marimba solo—because that’s what people my age do. Adulting. I hate that word. I could have gone downtown and drunk myself to a stupor like I did in my 20’s. But I actually looked forward to hearing B’s solo, so I decided to spend it there.  I think that’s what being an adult is about—having a host of options and picking the most meaningful one.

It was late as we got home, so we just had the cake i got from Goldbely.

Raspberry Lemon cake-yum!
This cake is not big enough for all 46 candles

Nevertheless, D wanted me to have a birthday dinner, so he booked a dinner at Mastro’s for this weekend. It is chain of steakhouses all over the US. I would normally frown on anything “chain” but this is an exception. You would think, that as Houstonians, we need another steakhouse like we need another hole in our head. But this is definitely different. The food and service blows away all competitors. If there is one steakhouse I would recommend to anyone, this is definitely it.

The place is beautiful. We were seated near the water feature which is far from the loud live band.
I had the Winter Delight and D had a Saint Emilion 2011.
Alaskan King Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
My birthday Steak–Japanese A5 Wagyu
New York Steak
D had his usual Center Cut Filet
This side is tonight’s winner —Alaskan King Crab Black Truffle Gnocchi
Happy, steak-filled faces
My birthday dessert!

I eat out almost 2-3 times a week, and while it’s true that I still feel a lot of excitement when trying out a new restaurant, a steakhouse rarely does it for me. Well, this one did. The energy was vibrant, food was amazing and the exceptional service really blew me away. I’m really glad that there is more availability of good Japanese steak. There was actually a lot of sushi options on the menu but we already ordered way too much food. We will leave that till next visit because we will surely be back!

Mastro’s,   1650 W. Loop South, Houston, TX