Cha Lua Thai Pork In Banana Leaves Recipes

ACHIOTE-RUBBED PORK BAKED IN BANANA LEAVES

Steps:

• In a resealable plastic bag, combine onions, vinegar, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, and 3/4 cup water; season with salt. Seal bag and shake to mix well. Let stand at room temperature for at least 6 hours; pickled onions will keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.
• In a large bowl, combine the achiote, lime and orange juices, remaining 1/2 teaspoon oregano, and garlic; add pork, and coat well. Marinate, covered, in a refrigerator for at least 8 hours or up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Form a cross with the banana leaves, and lay flat in a Dutch-oven. Place pork in center of the leaves along with any remaining marinade; brush with lard. Wrap pork in banana leaves, moistening leaves with water to prevent them from burning, and cover.
• Bake until pork is very tender and falling apart, about 3 hours. Using a slotted spoon, remove meat and shred with 2 forks. Return meat to pot, and stir to moisten. To serve, place meat on a tortilla, and top with pickled onions and avocados; fold to enclose. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

CHA LUA (THAI PORK IN BANANA LEAVES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350* F.
• Finely chop the green onion and garlic. Mix all the ingredients (except leaves) together, and divide into 6 equal pieces.
• Cut the banana leaves into 6 squares, about 9"x9". Shape a portion of the meat into a patty, and place in the center of a leaf piece. Fold the sides over the patty, then fold the ends up. Repeat with remaining meat.
• Place patties on a rack or pan in the oven, and bake for 20-30 minutes until meat reaches 160* F. My 6 patties took 25 minutes to reach 160* F.

YUCATAN PORK BAKED IN BANANA LEAVES: COCHINITA PIBIL

Steps:

• Run the banana leaves under warm water for about 5 minutes to defrost. Line a medium baking dish with the banana leaves.
• Combine the achiote paste, garlic, vinegar, orange juice, and salt in a blender until smooth. In a large bowl, rub the achiote mixture into the meat. Place the meat in the prepared baking dish. Wrap the meat with banana leaves. Cover container and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• After meat has marinated, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Add 1 cup water to the baking dish. Bake the meat until fork tender, about 2 hours.
• Serve wrapped meat on a bed of steamed white rice with Marinated Red Onions and Habanero Salsa on the side. Alternatively, remove meat from banana leaves and wrap in fresh, warm tortillas with Marinated Red Onions and Habanero Salsa on top.
• In a dry skillet, lightly toast the habanero chiles. Stem, seed, and roughly chop the peppers. Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a small serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

PORK TERRINE BAGUETTE: BANH MI CHA LUA

Steps:

• Fry the salt in a dry wok for a few minutes until aromatic. Place the pork, fish sauce and salt in a food processor and pulse until it forms a very fine paste. Soak the banana leaf in water for 5 minutes, dry and lay it flat on a bench. Cut the leaf in 1/2 and cross 1 piece over the other. Place the pork paste in the center and draw up all sides to form a tight parcel. Secure with string and cook in simmering salted water 1 hour. Allow to cool, remove the banana leaf and slice the pork and place into baguettes together with cucumber, coriander, spring onions, chile, pinch of salt and pepper and light soy sauce.

CHA LUA VIETNAMESE HAM RECIPE

Steps:

• In mixing bowl, add the pork, fish sauce, and sugar and mix. In separate bowl add the water, tapioca flour, and baking powder and mix. It will foam and bubble up-that's normal. Fold this into the pork mixture. It will be quite moist. Cover and allow to rest at least 6 hrs, but preferably over night in the fridge. When ready to cook, grind the mixture one more time in small batches in your food processor. It's very important to keep the mixture cold, so only work in small batches and keep remainder in the fridge. The texture should be very smooth-this is the consistency of gio song (stop here if you're just making gio song for bun moc). You can either wrap it up in banana leaf or in plastic wrap. While it's prettier and you get a slightly more fragrant cha lua with banana leaf, wrapping the cha lua in plastic wrap is much faster and easier. We made both sausage and round shaped cha lua. Remember that the cha lua will rise and expand a bit when cooked. Steam for about 20-25 minutes (will vary depending on size). *Cooks note: The amount of Alsa baking powder and tapioca flour will determine the cha lua's "bounciness" and chewiness.Other brands of single acting baking powder should work, although we have never tried and we have not tried using any double acting baking powder. Cha Lua Vietnamese Ham Recipe Monday, February 8, 2010 | 72 comments » Cha lua or gio lua (Vietnamese ham/sausage) is another common item on the traditional Tet menu. As we mention, Tet is a time for families to come together and celebrate the new year with a fresh start. But it's also a time to remember and honor the past. During Tet, cha lua is frequently used as an offering to relatives that have passed and placed before the ancestral alter in each home. And of course since it's a filling for the traditional new year snack banh day (sticky rice cakes), you can't have a shortage of cha lua around the house during Tet. The rest of the year however, cha lua is something that's so ubiquitous in Vietnamese cuisine, that we often take it for granted. Cha lua goes well with anything from banh mi, banh day (sticky rice cakes), banh cuon (steamed rice rolls), xoi gac (red sticky rice), and noodle soups such as bun thang, bun moc (pork and mushroom noodle soup), and bun bo hue. Or it can simply be fried (cha chien) and dipped in a chili fish sauce and eaten with rice. Hang with us for a second now-here's where the terminology can be tricky. Before the cha lua/gio lua is cooked, it's in a form of a pork paste called gio song (song in this context means uncooked)-a lean cut of pork is grounded/pounded into a paste and seasoned. This gio song is what you find in the frozen section of your Asian grocer and is used to make our bun moc (pork and mushroom noodle soup). From this gio song base you can also make cha que (cinnamon pork pate). The gio song is then traditionally wrapped in banana leaves and then boiled or steamed, and then you have your cha lua/gio lua. This is my mom's cha lua recipe and she insists that the French Alsa baking powder is the only one that works well so look for that in your Asian Market. My mom buys it by the case load since she always makes her own. Cha Lua / Gio Lua Recipe (Vietnamese Ham) Printable recipe •2 lbs fresh lean pork loin- ground twice-ask your butcher (substituting other lean meats such as chicken or turkey may work-we just haven't tried) •1 cup water •2 tbs fish sauce •1/2 tbs sugar •*2 bag of Alsa baking powder (try to use this brand-commonly found in Asian markets or other Single acting baking powder) •*2 tbs tapioca flour In mixing bowl, add the pork, fish sauce, and sugar and mix. In separate bowl add the water, tapioca flour, and baking powder and mix. It will foam and bubble up-that's normal. Fold this into the pork mixture. It will be quite moist. Cover and allow to rest at least 6 hrs, but preferably over night in the fridge. When ready to cook, grind the mixture one more time in small batches in your food processor. It's very important to keep the mixture cold, so only work in small batches and keep remainder in the fridge. The texture should be very smooth-this is the consistency of gio song (stop here if you're just making gio song for bun moc). You can either wrap it up in banana leaf or in plastic wrap. While it's prettier and you get a slightly more fragrant cha lua with banana leaf, wrapping the cha lua in plastic wrap is much faster and easier. We made both sausage and round shaped cha lua. Remember that the cha lua will rise and expand a bit when cooked. Steam for about 20-25 minutes (will vary depending on size). *Cooks note: The amount of Alsa baking powder and tapioca flour will determine the cha lua's "bounciness" and chewiness.Other brands of single acting baking powder should work, although we have never tried and we have not tried using any double acting baking powder. Pan fry some cha lua until golden brown for some great cha chien. So tasty, easy, and inexpensive to make at home. Cha lua keeps well in the freezer for months so there's no reason why you have to pay $4-5 per roll of cha lua in the market. Enjoy some cha lua for Tet this year!