Australian Wagyu Ribeye with Mustard Flavored Watercress Salad

For this dish, I want a twist between a sweet-tart flavor of a Japanese steak sauce and a tangy mustard dressing for the watercress salad.

The wagyu steak is simply seasoned with salt and pepper, then sous vided at 59 deg C for 45 min. I added a dash of smoked paprika before grilling it on a hot cast iron skillet for a minute each side. I reckoned a minute is a bit too long for a tender wagyu steak about 20mm thick. While the meat tasted great, it could have been better if I have reduced the grilling to just 30 seconds each side.

For the watercress dressing, I use a homemade Dijon mustard, cider vinegar, honey and extra virgin olive oil. The mustard was made a couple of weeks ahead from black and yellow mustard seeds, mustard powder, yellow onion, garlic, dry white wine, worcestershire sauce, salt, vinegar, sugar and a dash of ground mace, all spice, tumeric, white pepper and cinnamon.

To serve, I added shiitake mushrooms sauteed with a little sea salt and garlic.

Rack of Pork Loin with Coffee and Peach Sauce

I adapted this recipe from the Fat Duck Cookbook. I attempted the pork loin with the rib bone attached, which was not described in the book. The meat was tender and the bone came out clean. But I wished it could be a lot juicier. I used the same SV parameters for pork belly, at 60 deg C for 36 hours. I should have done it for a maximum of 4 hours. Nonetheless, I did managed to get the skin crackling.

For the accompaniment, I have poached nectarines (peach wasn't available) in thick sauce made with peach and apple juice, black coffee, sherry vinegar, mirin and soy sauce. The bitterness of black coffee counters the sweetness of the juices and mirin.

Alitas de Pollo sin Hueso

I saw a boneless chicken wing tapas recipe from "A Day at elBulli" and decided to try it. The chicken wing is seasoned with salt, pepper and ginger and slow cooked in a vacuum bag for 18 hrs at 70 deg C. The book recommended 24 hrs at 60 deg C, which I find impossible to have the bones removed without tearing the wing. One end of the bone is trimmed and then carefully removed. The wing is then pan fried in medium heat till it is well browned.

Here, I make a chicken wing bruschetta. The wing is placed over a bed of grilled bell pepper and foccacia. I add a slice of black garlic to give it a 'sweet meets savory' taste.

Sous Vide Beef and Mango Salad

You do not need a beef tenderloin or a wagyu to have a juicy, tender and flavorful beef for salad.
I use the Australian 1824 chuck primal cut, sous-vided 75 minutes at 60 deg C. The beef was seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika, then seared on a hot skillet for 30 sec on each side. For the salad, I have mango, apples and spinach with a dressing of honey, red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

Sous Vide Braised Pork Belly

This pork belly has an awesome texture, very tender and tasty.

The pork was marinated for 10 hours in brine water, made of sea salt, brown sugar, and powders of star anise, cinnamon, cardamon, clove, black peppercorn, dried chilli, and coriander seeds. It is then sous-vided for 32 hours at 63 deg C, and pressed down overnight to improve the texture. The skin is removed, fat scored, and pan fried over medium heat till crispy.

The rich juices from the pork, reduced with shaoxing wine, makes excellent dipping sauce. It pairs very well with sauteed Granny Smith apples in brown sugar, cider vinegar and cinnamon.