After Earth

After Earth

I went to the pictures this evening, with DLL. We discussed the value of critics’ opinions on the way there. We agree. We don’t care what they say, really.

The Smiths are good, the effects are good, the film, is good. It rattles along at a fair old lick. It’s engrossing, and occasionally visually stunning.

The only let-down was the apple flavoured liquorice, that smelled so good and tasted of nothing at all.

Cha Sui pork

The menus often call it roast or barbecue pork, Chinese style. It isn’t often lately I can claim to be ahead of the game. Just this evening we established that no, actually, I don’t even know how old I am. But I have been cooking this for over thirty years. It’s one of those dishes with endless variations, countless little secrets for success, and no end of versions proclaimed as the best ever.

There are some constants in my versions:

Pork: tenderloin can dry out, but is good as long as you minimise cooking time to just done and still juice. Just about anything else works too, boneless shoulder cut into slices works well, as do those bone-in spare rib chops. Belly strips are fine. The better the pork the better the end result.

Soy sauce: light.

Five spice powder: don’t overdo it.

Fish sauce: just a dash.

Vinegar: personal taste here, I prefer a little sour to cut through the fat to the sweetness in the standard versions provided by honey or sugar.

Sesame oil: essential.

Then there’s the occasional ingredients:

Garlic and ginger: seldom omitted (there’s always some fresh garlic and ginger, or I have panic attacks), when omitted it is generally for reasons of time.

Oyster sauce: I leave this out if I’m going to grill rather than roast.

Red food colouring: still made from beetles, apparently. Left out more often than not, due to time and clean-up operations.

Mix everything together, and leave it as long as possible, typically overnight or about a day, then stick it in a hot oven or onto a grill pan and, depending on the cut of pork, get it only just done or achieve a nice crispy char.

Tonight I had mine sliced, on a bed of soft, juice cabbage (one of those cone-shaped ones), drizzled with chilli sauce. Easy to eat, the chopsticks naturally find a slice of meat and some cabbage, while reading the report on the England v Sri Lanka game.

The same marinade, and variations on that theme, turns out nice spare ribs, too.