In the Kitchen: Brown Sugar Pork Belly (Inspired by Mood Food cookbook)

In the Kitchen will be the category where I will post some of the recipes I cook for my family. I promise you these are super-duper easy recipes because I’m really not an expert in the kitchen plus the fact that I don’t want recipes with so many steps/how-tos. Just 4-6 instructions, anything more than that, I skip the page of my recipe book and look for simpler recipes. So newbies in the kitchen, I hope you’ll try my recipes or suggestions and let’s share kitchen secrets!

We just stayed home this weekend, we thought it’s a payday Friday and some malls are having their sale so traffic will be hellish. Gwen’s new yaya is on a day-off, and honestly, we’re not sure if she’s a keeper. Gwen is not warming up to her new Ate even if it’s already a month, and I also don’t feel free moving around the house when she’s in it.

That’s why this weekend, I was in the mood to freely move in the kitchen, yay! Didn’t you notice that food is always associated with whatever the mood we’re in? In my case, I want to celebrate my momentary freedom with my family, hence I cooked Brown Sugar Pork Belly inspired by the Mood Food cookbook, a collaboration of Russell Hobbs and Chef JP Anglo.

Mood Food is not your usual cookbook with categories like soups, appetizers, main dishes, etc. It is compiled according to your, well, mood. There are recipes when your nursing a hang-over, for road trips or for movie nights. The cookbook compiles mouthwatering recipes for every kind of emotion and ambiance that can easily be done in a compact, modern kitchen. Aside from recipes, the cookbook also showcases the various small appliances from Russell Hobbs that elevate cooking and food preparation at home.

At the launch at Top Shelf in Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street, I was able to watch and Chef JP Anglo demos some recipes in his cookbook using Russell Hobbs appliances. It was a fun event because we get to experience some of the appliances like the Russell Hobbs Purifry Health Fryer and Russell Hobbs blender.

I love anything fried, I tried eating healthy but there is something about crunchy and oily foods that I can’t resist. But with this Purifry Health Fryer, I think I can start to enjoy food with less oil. Chef JP’s pork belly cooked using the fryer is so flavorful and juicy, and the skin is crispy too.

How I wished I get to take home the Purifry from that event, but the Mood Food cookbook will suffice. I decided to try one of the recipes, Brown Sugar Pork Chops. I just replaced the pork chops with pork belly.

Brown Sugar Pork Belly

For the recipe, you have to buy the Mood Food cookbook to get it :p. I’m sure it will be useful in your kitchen too.

For the side dish, I figured the pork belly will be sweet because of the brown sugar so I thought of making a side dish with pineapples to balance the sweetness. I just tossed the pineapple tidbits, carrots, and jalapeno peppers in a pan. Add salt and pepper to taste and voila! Another chamba in the kitchen, haha.

 

Russell Hobbs’ exquisite line of small kitchen appliances is now available at all leading appliance and department stores nationwide. For more details and updates, follow Russell Hobbs Philippines at www.facebook.com/russellhobbsph.