Chef Doreen Prei’s Firemasters Winning Bún Chả Recipe

 

Last week, Edmonton’s Chef Doreen Prei made Alberta proud with a win on the latest season of Firemasters, the outdoor barbecuing competition series on Food Network Canada.

Chef Doreen competed through three rounds of fiery culinary challenges, including the final round against one of the judges, before claiming the $10,000 grand prize as well as bragging rights of being a Fire Master Champion.

For her signature dish in the first round of competition, Chef Doreen made a dish inspired by a trip to Vietnam. Originating in Hanoi, Vietnam, Bún Chả is traditionally a dish served with grilled fatty pork over a plate of rice noodles and a side of dipping sauce. For the competition, Chef Doreen served her version of Bún Chả with pork two ways – pork belly and ground pork patties.

Check out Chef Doreen’s winning Firemaster episode on Food Network Canada to see how she served up her recipe below for Bún Chả.

 

Chef Doreen Prei’s Bún Chả
Yield: four to six portions

What you’ll need…

300 g pork belly, sliced into even strips
400 g ground pork
40 ml fish sauce (divided into two servings)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
sugar to taste
1 egg
5 garlic chives, chopped fine
500 g rice vermicelli noodles
100 g bean sprouts, washed
½ bunch mint leaves, washed and picked
½ bunch cilantro, washed and picked
½ bunch perilla leaves, washed and picked
½ bunch thai basil
salt and black pepper to taste

Bun Cha Dipping Sauce

200 g sugar
200 ml water
100 ml Vietnamese fish sauce
100 ml rice vinegar
100 ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
3 long red chili, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed

 Directions:

  1. To make the dipping sauce, combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for approximately 10 minutes and strain. Allow sauce to cool to room temperature before serving.
  2. Preheat your BBQ to a medium high heat.
  3. Add the ground pork to a bowl; add 20 ml fish sauce, egg, salt and pepper and the crushed garlic and mix until combined. Form into 8 – 12 mini burger patties (two for each serving).
  4. For the pork belly, add 20 ml fish sauce, couple pinches of sugar, salt and pepper to taste and marinate for about 15 minutes.
  5. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the rice noodles until al dente. Strain through a colander and rinse with cold water. Once water is strained, place noodles in serving bowls.
  6. Place the pork belly on the medium high heat BBQ and grill on both sides until crispy. At the same time, place the pork patties on a lightly oiled BBQ and cook on both sides for about 5-6 minutes. The pork patty should be cooked fully.
  7. To assemble, first place the cooked rice noodles. Top noodles the two cooked pork patties and 3-4 slices of the crispy pork belly; add some of the fresh picked herbs, bean sprouts and garlic chives on top and add a nice ladle of the dipping sauce to finish the dish. The bowl should be half filled with the sauce. Enjoy.

 

Recipe: London Local’s Scotch Egg

London Local is said to be home to Edmonton’s original Scotch egg. When owners chef Lindsay Porter and Evonne Li opened up the British gastropub on the south side of Edmonton, Lindsay’s English background came in handy when developing the menu. From Sunday night roasts to fish and chips, London Local has all the classic favourites found in British pubs across the pond.

One of many of the dishes that has become a favourite among London Local patrons is chef Lindsay’s Scotch egg.

Traditionally found across Britain, from homemade picnic baskets to neighbourhood pub menu, a Scotch egg consists of a hard or soft-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in bread crumbs and baked or deep-fried.

For a taste of the original, be sure to head to London Local to try Lindsay’s Scotch egg, which she serves with her restaurant’s homemade HP sauce. But be warned, at London Local, chef Porter serves up a hearty Alberta pork wrapped portion – you may not have room left for salad.

London Local’s Scotch Egg
Yield: 4 portions

6 eggs
20 oz ground pork
1 white onion
3 Tbsp allspice
10 sage leaves, finely chopped
8g salt
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
2 cups Panko crumbs

Sous vide 4 eggs at 143.5F degrees for 1 hour or soft boil them for 8 to 9 min. Freeze the eggs for four hours or overnight.

Small dice the white onion and sauté in a small pot with oil until soft and translucent. Add the allspice, sage leaves and sauté another five min to release the flavour and cool down. Season pork with salt and pepper add the onion mix to the ground pork mixture and portion into 5 oz balls.

Take the eggs from the freezer carefully and quickly peel them.

Wrap the pork around the frozen eggs and set up a breading station with the remaining two eggs by adding the egg and milk together and whisking. Set up a small bowl of flour and and a small bowl of panko. Roll the eggs and sausage in flour, then roll in the egg wash mixture, then roll in Panko ensuring every portion of the egg is covered.

Leave the eggs to defrost for approx. an hour or two and deep fry at 320F degrees for approximately nine minutes.

If you do not have a deep fryer you can give them a quick fry in a pan with oil and bake in the oven for approximately 15 min at 350F degrees.

 

Best of Bridge’s Apricot Cranberry Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

If you’re nostalgic for the home cooked meals your family have shared over the years from the Best of Bridge, you’re going to find recipes to warm your heart while flipping through the latest addition to the classic Canadian series – Weekday Suppers by Sylvia Kong & Emily Richards.

The all-new, easy every recipes in Weekday Suppers may include a fusion of new flavours like the Vietnamese soup and dietary trends like roasted cauliflower pasta, but the spirit of the recipes which made the brand iconic across Canada has remained as constant as the classic Best of Bridge font.

Pork tenderloin is lean, delicious, and affordable, and Sylvia Kong & Emily Richards’s show how fruit and pork marry perfectly for dinner with this easy-to-stuff recipe for apricot cranberry stuffed pork tenderloin.

Apricot Cranberry Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Serve this yummy dish with steamed green beans or asparagus for added colour.

1 tbsp (15 mL) canola oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, diced
2 tsp (10 mL) dried savory or sage
3⁄4 cup (175 mL) fresh bread crumbs
1⁄3 cup (75 mL) diced dried apricots
2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh parsley
1⁄4 cup (60 mL) cranberry sauce
1 pork tenderloin (about 11⁄4 lbs/625 g)
1 1⁄2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1⁄2 tsp (2 mL) black pepper
4 slices bacon

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). In a nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté garlic, shallot and savory for 4 minutes or until shallot is softened. Remove from heat and stir in bread crumbs, apricots, parsley and cranberry sauce. Cut pork tenderloin in half lengthwise, almost but not all the way through, and open up like a book. Starting at the center, make a similar cut on both sides of tenderloin to open it up for stuffing. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper.

Spread stuffing over tenderloin and roll up like a jelly roll to seal. Wrap tenderloin with bacon and place on small foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast for about 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in the center of the roast registers 145°F (63°C) for medium-rare or to desired doneness.

Serves 3 to 4. Tips: For fresh bread crumbs, buzz a slice of bread or a bun in the food processor. Double-smoked sliced bacon has a deeper smokiness and is an easy substitute in this recipe.

Recipe source:

Courtesy of Best of Bridge Weekday Suppers by Sylvia Kong & Emily Richards © 2018 www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with permission. Available where books are sold.

Image credit: Matt Johnannsson, Reflector Inc.

Recap: RGC Bench Creek Brewery Swine & Dine

Last Thursday night, chef Steve Buzak at the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton’s river valley teamed up with Bench Creek Brewing to deliver our first Swine & Dine of 2018. Two years ago, chef Buzak was the first to deliver a beer-paired Swine & Dine to rave reviews, and last week’s event was another Passion for Pork success.

Irvings Farm back wrapped prunes with blue cheese.

I arrived early so I could sneak a peek in the kitchen. Chef Buzak was happy to show off the sous vide Bear & The Flower pork belly, Memphis Style ribs, and devil on horseback appetizer with a prune and blue cheese twist.

Bear & the Flower Farm ribs.
Bear & the Flower Farm Alberta pork belly

Guests were welcomed to the tray passed appetizers of Memphis Style Ribs (a recipe that chef Buzak shared during a previous June is Pork month), and bacon-wrapped prunes were paired with Bench Cree Brewery’s Black Spruce Porter (5.8 %).

After all guests were seated we were greeted by chef Buzak and the Royal Glenora Club (RGC) team, who shared his excitement at hosting another beer-paired Swine & Dine.

After explaining that beer is easier to pair with food than wine – he introduced his first course for the evening – a fennel roasted pork belly served with a sweet potato puree, smoked corn, apricot and orange gastrique.

Our first course was served with  Naked Woodsman Pale Ale (5.2%), which was introduced by our Bench Creek Brewery guru Cassandra. The beer is known for notes of fresh bread and light caramel malt flavours mixed with bright floral, grapefruit and orange hop aromatics. There’s a sweetness to it – apricot and peach hop flavours combine with subdued citrus. It finishes with a star of anise spiciness that makes you think this somewhat fruit-forward brew.

We joked with chef Buzak that my boyfriend’s only complaint with the first course was that it was too small – he could have eaten six more! Chef Buzak warned us there were many courses to come – and our second surf & turf course was sure to fill us up. I loved the seafood chowder chef Buzak served with double smoked Irvings Farm bacon croutons. The potato veloute soup was velvety smooth and served with blackened prawn & scallops and topped with a citrus foam.

A post shared by Sharman Hnatiuk (@theporkgirl) on

Our soup was served with Bench Creek’s White Raven IPA (6.5%), a robust beer with huge aromatics of orange, grapefruit, passion fruit and mango with a touch of pine. The signature flavours of Munich and crystal malts contribute a complex toffee-caramel backbone that nicely balances the bitterness from the hops.

As our main course was being plated, I snuck back into the kitchen for a preview of our main course.

Once our plates were ready to be served, chef Buzak came back to the dining room to introduce our next dish – the RGC signature spice-rubbed Bear & the Flower Farm pork loin. The tender Alberta pork was served with a cider jus and accompanied by Brussels sprouts and a Fuge Meats chorizo and northern bean cassoulet.

Our main was paired with Bench Creek’s Northern Grace Red Rye India Pale Ale (6.2%), which boasts flavours of rich toffee, dark caramel, dried plum, and spicy, earthy malt notes mixed with juicy orange, passionfruit, geranium, and stone fruit flavours.

For dessert, chef Buzak turned my memories of building fireside s’mores into a flavourful creme brûlée that had my spoon searching for just one more bite.

A post shared by Sharman Hnatiuk (@theporkgirl) on

Chef Buzak’s s’mores creme brulee & maple candied Irvings Farm bacon was accented with cardamom marshmallows, Peruvian cacao nibs, and an espresso melt away chocolate that chef made with coconut oil.

I’ve confessed it many times while recapping swine & dine dinners – I’m not a fan of chocolate, but I was a huge fan of this dessert. There were so many flavours and textures at play in this playful dessert – I would happily order this dessert again!

Our final Bench Creek pairing of the night was from the brewery’s Villainous Series – with the can showcasing an ode to Drexl Spivey from the movie True Romance. The Drexl Blackstrap Imperial Stout (11%) is barrel-aged, pitch black, dark and I’m told it paired wonderfully with Chef Buzak’s campfire creation.

I’d like to thank the chef Steve Buzak, Derek, and the entire team at the RGC for hosting another incredible Swine & Dine dinner. It was great to learn more about Bench Creek Brewing (I know a few people at my table were more than happy to claim this gluten-free girl’s beers throughout the dinner).

Chef Buzak is a great chef that is consistently hosting unique food events at the RGC that are open to non members. Check out their website or follow their social media feeds to learn more about upcoming events, including their monthly brunch series.

I’m hoping to work with chef Buzak to come up with some way to celebrate June is Pork month at the RGC, so stay tuned! That river valley patio sounds like the perfect place to enjoy some pig & pinot.