Pork Liver
Stir-fried pork liver with oyster sauce, honey and sesame oil is another of my creation that we simply love. The secret to this dish is to slice the liver neither too thick nor too thin, cooking at the right temperature for the correct length of time, and of course - using my secret concoction for the sauce!
It took me a long while to figure out how to cook pork liver the way I love it - neither raw nor hard, with just the right texture and taste. I guess professional chefs here just know when to add the sauce to the stir-fried liver in the wok. But for me - unskilled, unschooled and untrained in the art and science of cooking - I learned to cook by trial and error, experimenting all the way and thinking how to tweak the outcome of my experiments - until one day I figured out an easy method to achieve the result I wanted. And this is my way.
BTW, I use air-flown fresh Australian pork liver instead of using liver sourced from Indonesian farms. For fresh liver one cannot be too careful with the source as the liver is the detoxifying organ of the animal (understand what I am saying *wink*).
First, check the pork liver to ensure the fibrous bitter vein, if any has been removed. You may wish to chill the liver in the freezer so that it is easier to slice it. Sharpening your knife helps in ensuring safe, even slicing. Wash the sliced liver piece in cold running water to remove any bitter taste from the liver juice before you marinade.
The way I stir fry the liver, I like to slice the liver about 5 mm thick.
Next, add 2 T oyster sauce, 2 T honey, and 1-1/2 T black sesame oil to the sliced liver and mix well. Leave aside for 10-15 min.
Add just enough peanut oil to coat the wok. Turn the flame to high until the oil starts to smoke. Then turn down the flame to low and quickly add the liver slices to the hot wok.
Stir-fry the liver, turning the slices now and then to ensure even cooking on both sides. If need be, adjust the flame to medium-low and turn off the fire when the slices look just cooked through. Be careful not to over-cook or the liver will become hard and tough. So adjust the flame and the timing accordingly. Don't worry if you don't get the texture and doneness right the first time. The only way to learn is to cook right is to keep 2 variables constant i.e. using a low-medium flame and liver sliced the same exact thickness each time, then varying the cooking time to get the texture and doneness that satisfies your taste bud.
Variation: 29-Oct 2011
1 pack fresh pork liver, sliced about 5 min or < 1/2-inch. Neither too thin nor too thick. This is to ensure the sliced liver don't over-cook rapidly. Marinade with 2 T oyster sauce, 1/2 T white ground pepper for 20-30 min, then add 2T honey, and sesame oil 1.5T. Heat the wok to high heat, turn off the fire, and stir fry the liver pieces quickly. Then turn on the fire, set to medium low and continue to stir fry the liver, testing for doneness using a knife to cut through a piece. Under-cooked liver is quite chewy, the liver will become tender and juicy only when the liver is just cooked.
Taste test and eyeball.
No comments:
Post a Comment