Spaghetti Carbonara, Re-visited*

Classic spaghetti carbonara: one of my absolute favourites. You can’t go wrong with bacon & cheese, and it’s also quick to make. Tops 45 minutes for prep and cooking maybe? What do you think?

A quick internet search suggests that the conventions are pretty much set: we need spaghetti, bacon, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese, egg, black pepper, and salt. I cheat a bit and add a little whole milk to the egg + cheese mixture, but that’s about it. I don’t remember which recipe I referred to initially but usually use 1 large egg to about 0.5 cup of Parmesan cheese, with extra for serving, for 2 big portions. Do use a good quality cheese and make sure you save a little of the hot pasta water for the sauce.

The only downside to carbonara is that you can’t really keep leftovers, but I guess W and I generally don’t have a problem cleaning off our plates when it comes to pasta :D.

Buon appetito!

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*Re-visited because I posted a recipe a long while back on a rather unorthodox take on carbonara with ham and spinach (my Italian friends, please forgive me)

Japanese Curry with Pan Fried Pork Cutlet

Japanese Curry is another favourite dish of mine because it is easy to cook and freeze, budget friendly, and scrumptious. I use the medium hot curry roux cubes from Vermont Curry and pan fry some kind of protein to go with it (beef, pork, chicken, even tofu). This version is with pork cutlets—hope you enjoy!

Japanese Curry with Pork Cutlet, Bento Lunch Edition

Japanese Curry with Pork Cutlet, Dinner Edition

Japanese Curry with Pan Fried Pork Cutlet

Ingredients, makes 4 portions
0.5 lb thin pork cutlets, fat trimmed off and sliced into rectangles
cornflour
1 egg, beaten
panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
salt and black pepper
vegetable oil

~110 g, Japanese curry roux cubes
1 potato, diced into bite-sized cubes
1 medium carrot, as above
1 medium yellow onion, as above
1 zucchini, as above
water
1 teaspoon, Worcestershire sauce, optional
0.5 teaspoon, runny honey, optional

Method
1. Dice vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
2. Set up separate dishes for the egg wash, the cornflour, and the panko.
3. Heat wok with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil on medium heat. Cook onions and carrots until fragrant. Then add potato and zucchini, cook for about 2-5 minutes.
4. As the vegetables are slowly cooking, prepare the pork cutlets. Marinate with salt and black pepper. Rub each piece with a thin layer of cornflour, then dip in egg wash, and then finally cover in panko.
5. When vegetables have softened, add 3.5 cups of water to wok and boil. After water has reached boil, lower heat so that mixture is just simmering and cover wok with lid.
6. Heat separate fry pan with 1.5 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Fry pork cutlets by cooking on each side until nicely brown (about 5 minutes each side), then flip over. Add extra oil once you flip the cutlets so that both sides brown properly—the panko will char otherwise.
7. As cutlets are cooking, check on vegetables. When the potatoes are cooked through, stir in curry roux to the mixture. Optional—add Worcestershire sauce and honey for extra flavour. Simmer for another minute and then switch off heat, cover.
8. Serve pork cutlets with curry and short grain rice.