Char siew rice & roasted bok choy with a side of homemade chye poh omelette

This is an extra special recipe to me because it has history. My best friend married a man who was in love with her for 6 years before she ever admitted to herself that she was also in love with him. In the course of those 6 years, as her BFF I reaped the many rewards as he tried to get to her heart by way of her best friend's stomach. One of the best char siew recipes I've tried was this one. He made it for me and then shared it with me in hopes of winning her love. I am so glad they got married so I can tell this story of a heart-won char siew recipe. I have been using this recipe for years now and it never fails. I paired it with a chye poh omelette to give it a little ZHNG (zhng in singlish means to beautify or upgrade). A true #WarTimeWorthy recipe is one that includes preserved radish (chye poh) that was made at home with patience and love. Ain't no bottled chye poh during war times! It takes days, but your patience will pay off because bottled chye poh has all sorts of unhealthy preservatives and this old school preservation method only takes 2 ingredients: white radish & salt.

Char Siew Rice & Roasted Bok Choy
ingredients list
for char siew
1.5-2kg pork shoulder or pork neck
1 thumb of ginger, peeled and puréed (for the lazys: chopped will do ;))
10 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 finely diced shallots

marinade:
5 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
5 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp five spice powder 
8 tbsp honey
4 tbsp shaoxing wine
 1 tsp white pepper powder
*I deliberately omitted the food coloring as it does not add to any flavor!

for roasted bok choy
fresh bok choy (as much as you would like to enjoy)
2-4 tbsp chili oil - for a spicy version
2 tbsp olive oil - for a non-spicy version
1 tbsp sesame seeds
a pinch of sea salt

instructions:
the pork needs to be marinated overnight for full flavor.
1. Heat up all the marinade sauce ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil over low fire till combined. When it becomes slightly thickened and sticky, it’s ready. Remove from the heat and let cool.

2. Mix in the garlic and ginger

3. Marinate the pork neck strips or pork shoulder with this sauce overnight.

4. When ready to cook, pre-heat the oven to 200˚C. Remove the meat from the marinade and shake off of excess sauce. Put the strips in a foil-lined pan (for easier clean up later), leaving a bit of space around each piece so that the meat roasts as opposed to steam. At the same time, prepare rice to be cooked in a rice cooker.

5. When the char siew is ready to go into the oven, turn the oven down to 180˚C. 

6. Meanwhile, bring the leftover marinade to a boil.

7. Leave the char siew in the oven for approximately 20-30 minutes (the variable time is because the thickness of the meat varies). At the half-way mark (10-15 minutes) turn the meat over. Brush the marinade onto the pork and baste until the char siew gets nice and charred.  

8. Prepare the bok choy in another tray and drizzle chili oil (for the spicy version) or olive oil (for the non spicy version) and top with sesame seeds and sea salt for taste. When there is 8 minutes remaining on the timer for the char siew, place the bok choy on the oven shelf under the char siew.

9. Remove the char siew from the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Slice the char siew and drizzle the remaining sauce over the meat and serve immediately with the bok choy, hot steamy rice and slices of cool cucumber. 

Homemade Chye Poh Omelette

ingredients list 
1.5kg-2kg white radish or daikon
variable amounts of salt 

instructions for preservation:
1. Peel and cut the radish into long 1cm strips. 

2. Weigh the radish strips. Add salt (sea salt or table salt) that is 5% of the weight of the radish. Rub the salt into the radish.

3. Put the radish in a mixing bowl, place a pot lid on top of the radish and weigh the pot lid down with cans or weights. Leave this at room temperature overnight for the salt to draw out the water from the radish. 

3. The next morning, do not wash the salt off the radish. Sun the radish in baking trays or a basket with holes. Spread the strips out so they can dry properly. 

4. After the first day of sunning / drying, repeat the earlier step of pressing, then leave it again overnight to draw out even more moisture.

5. Sun for a total of 3 to 5 days. I left mine out to dry for 3 days. Since the weather in Singapore is quite hot, the drying process is quite quick!

instructions for frying the omelette:
ingredients list 
2-3 strips of chye poh1 stalk spring onion
1 tsp sugar
3 large eggs - yolks and whites separated
3 tbsp cooking oilcoriander / chinese parsley for garnish

1. Prepare the eggs by separating the yolks from the white. Place in separate bowls. Beat the yolks with a fork. With a kitchen whisk, whisk the whites until frothy and pale.

2. Chop into small pieces 2-3 strips of chye poh. Chop up the stalk of spring onion.

3. Preheat a large non-stick pan. Add 1 tbsp cooking oil. Add chye poh, spring onion and sugar. Stir-fry for a minute or two. Remove the chye poh and spring onion from the pan. 

4. Wipe down the pan with a paper towel. Turn the heat back on and add 2 tbsp cooking oil and while the oil is getting hot, gently fold in the yolks into the frothy egg whites.

5.  Pour in the egg mixture and swirl the pan to cover the base of the pan. When the egg is starting to set at the edge (about 1 minute in), sprinkle the chye poh and spring onions evenly.

6. When the middle of omelette begins to set, flip the omelette gently but swiftly. Cook for another minute.

7. Serve & enjoy!