Mala Pork Ragu with Foochow Rice Cakes

Product code: MALAPORK

The best thing about winning MasterChef is meeting some of the people I still call friends today! One of them is Michal Sanders who runs Arch Rivals in North London. We did a pop up in London the Sunday before lockdown and had so much fun! One of the most popular dishes during the pop up is his Spicy Pork Ragu which he kindly shared his recipe with me. I did change it a little to suit my 'cowardness' towards the amount of spice and also I can't help myself by adding a touch of Borneo which is the Foochow Rice Cakes. You can get them in most Oriental supermarkets. You can add tofu instead or omit completely.

Makes: enough for 4 people
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Effort: Easy

  • 350g mince pork (10 - 12% fat)
  • 8g ground Szechuan peppercorns
  • 2 tbs vegetable oil

Sauce

  • 1tsp soya sauce
  • 30g doban jian
  • 30g Loaganma with blackbeans sauce or any chilli oil of your choice
  • 3g chilli flakes
  • 200ml chicken stock
  • 20g caster sugar
  • 15g hoisin sauce
  • 20g light soya sauce

 

  • 200g Foochow rice cakes, soaked overnight
  • 80g firm tofu, whipped
  • 100g of spring greens or dark leafy greens
  1. Soak the rice cakes the night before so they are ready to use the next day.
  2. Blanch the greens for 1 minute, drain and run under cold water. Set aside
  3. In a mixing bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside
  4. In the wok, heat oil up on high heat. Add pork and Szechuan peppercorns and fry the pork till they are no longer pink.
  5. Add the sauce ingredients and braise for 5 minutes. Add in soaked rice cakes and braise on medium heat for another 10 minutes or so. Stir often so they don’t stick.
  6. Add in blanched spring greens
  7. Whip the tofu into a thick creamy paste in a small blender
  8. Lastly fold in the tofu paste
  9. Serve with plenty of plain rice