Hong Bak vs Bak Pao

Yeahhhhh!!!! It’s hong bak aka babi hong part deux and bakpao this time!!! During chinese new year holiday I cooked babi hong again for the second time and also tried myself for the first time at baking. The second babi hong is obviously far better compared to the first one, since I tried to follow the full recipe at Cikcik’s. Last time I replaced the red wine with white wine since I didn’t have red wine at that time and also some other ingredients. This time I followed 99.99%, although it did taste better, but I think the next time I try it again, I will definitely reduce the dried shrimp and dried squid usage since it tasted a little bit on the salty side.

The next one is bakpao, although I never feel comfortable with baking, but due to the long holiday, I decided to try making bakpao. For this one I really measure all the ingredients properly since I don’t want to make a mess and lost my interest to baking just because my virgin experience is not good. The result is definitely worth the sweat!! Thank you very much for Cikcik’s great recipes, it really has a lot of interesting recipes that makes me motivated to actually do it! I will try to make my own babi panggang(roasted pork) for the next easter holiday, just wait for it!!!

The Glorious Babi Hong!!

It’s been so long since I wanted to try making hakka specialty dish, babi hong aka hong bak. My mother’s babi hong is good, but the best is my aunt-grandmother’s(errhh… what’s the correct correct term for the sister of my grandmother?). The juicy gravy, tender meat and the chewy fat is really unforgettable! Hmmm… I’d better request for it in my next return trip to Jakarta. I’ve been planning to make it since two week ago, and today finally I cooked my first BABI HONG!!! yeahhhh!!! It took around 4 hours to cook it, but the end result is not bad at all! Credit goes to a recipe from a blog that is very descriptive and easy to follow: http://cikciks.multiply.com/recipes/item/40/Babi_Hong_Hong_Bak and also a tip from my friend’s mother during my friend’s birthday. Here’s the end result:

Not so bad looking ain’t it? ;-p I will definitely try to cook it again someday since it worth the effort. Speaking of food, I have finally gain the result of more food and more training, my weight has increased by two kilograms, one kilo short of 75 kg(although after I eat something, usually I reached the 75 kg mark). I’m planning to reach at least 77 kg, although if it is possible, I want to try 80 kg. But I need to do a lot of running also, to avoid my body storing the fat of those meaty dishes that I consume and prevent my body movement from being slowed down by the weight increase. I feel that after two kilo weight addition, there’s more power in my techniques and I also feel less tired every time I train, hopefully another 3 kilo will be OK for my body also.