Chairman Mao claypot pork

It’s Chinese New Year tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to spending time with my family, feasting on traditional foods that symbolise good luck, health and prosperity for the coming year. I thought I’d cook something Chinese this weekend, so I opted for the ‘Chairman Mao’ or ‘red braised’ pork belly recipe well known in the Hunan province. The pork belly is meant to turn out a deep red in colour – the reason for my choosing this recipe, as red is considered lucky in Chinese culture. I used the wonderful rare breed pork belly from my Farmison meat box.

Mum’s braised beef shin stew

Since unboxing my Dunwood Farm meat box I have had a hankering to go back to a traditional, familiar recipe after the Americana love-in that was my Farmer’s Choice box. As there was some beef shin in there, I decided to cook a recipe that my mum always does – a slow braised stew with Chinese ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms and Jew’s ear fungus (bit of an odd name, I know). These are dried store cupboard ingredients that every Chinese cook has, so it’s easy to whip up a meal at a moment’s notice.