4 Murray Valley Pork Ribeye Steaks
Gingered Red Cabbage

1 red cabbage, finely shredded
2 cups rice vinegar
2 cups caster sugar
4 tbs very finely chopped ginger
2 small red chillies

Pork Sauce

1 cup Ketcup Manis – an Asian style soy sauce available from Asian supermarkets.
1 cup soy sauce
1/23 cup brown sugar
2 star anise
2 tbs rice wine
2 garlic cloves
2 cm piece of ginger

Coriander and Spring Onion Mash
Mix coriander with spring onion and add to mash

Toss cabbage with 6 teaspoons of salt and weigh down for three hours.

Whisk vinegar, sugar, ginger and chilies until sugar dissolves.

Add drained cabbage and mix until combined.

Refrigerate for at least eight hours.

Mix sauce together.

Cook steak and serve with gingered red cabbage with pork sauce.

Serve with coriander and spring onion mash.

Recipe courtesy of

Photography by John Paul Urizar

Preheat oven 180°C or 160°C fan forced
1 ½ kg rack of pork, skin scored
1 cup water mixed with 1 cup white wine
2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
4 white turnips, chopped into quarters
1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp salted butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Fresh dill

1. Pour the water and wine into a baking tray, add the fennel, turnips and onion, then place onto the bottom oven rack.

2. Rub pork with salt and place onto the bare rack above the turnips and fennel. Cook for 1 hour, test pork by inserting a skewer, remove if juices run clear and leave to rest.

3. Add butter, salt and pepper and half the dill to turnips and toss well, then cook for a further 10 minutes.

4. Slice the pork into cutlets, place on a plate and serve with turnips and fennel.

Tip

Take pork out of any packaging, place on a tray and leave open in the fridge a day before serving, this dries out the skin and gives a better crackle.

Recipe courtesy of

600g pork shoulder picnic bolar, trimmed and cut into thin strips
440g fresh flat rice noodles
½ cup (125ml) chicken or vegetable stock
2 tbsp (30ml) soy sauce
3 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 brown onion, cut onto wedges
2 tbsp finely chopped lemongrass
2 bunches (400g) broccolini, trimmed and cut into bit size pieces
1 bunch (250g) baby bok choy or baby pak choy, quartered
⅔ cup coriander leaves
Lime wedges to serve

Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water for 1 min, using tongs to gently separate them. Pour the stock, soy, sugar and fish sauce in a small bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves, set aside. Heat half of the oil in a wok over high heat. Stir-fry the pork in batches for 1–2 mins or until browned and cooked. Remove from the wok and set aside. Add remaining oil, onion and lemongrass and cook for 2 minutes or until the onion begins to soften. Add the broccolini, Asian greens and the stock and sauce mixture to the wok and cook for 2–3 mins. Add the noodles and pork to the wok and cook for 1–2 mins until noodles are coated with the sauce. Toss through the coriander and serve with lime wedges.

2kg pork belly
2 tsp vegetable oil
3 tsp table salt
2kg Sebago potatoes (or any mashing potatoes), peeled and chopped
100g butter
¾ cup (185ml) milk
¼ cup bottled horseradish
1 tbsp (20ml) olive oil
1 clove garlic crushed
400g baby spinach
Salt and ground white pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 230C fan-forced/250C conventional. Dry the skin of the pork belly, then using a sharp knife, score the skin in 1–2cm intervals (or ask the butcher to do this). Pour the oil and salt onto the scored skin and rub in well.

Lay the pork skin side up onto a wire rack in a baking dish and place into the oven. Cook for 45 mins, then reduce the temperature to 140C fan-forced/160C conventional and roast for 1 hr 15 mins until the pork is tender. Rest for 15 mins.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in a large pot of salted boiling water until tender. Drain and place back into the pot over a low heat. Add the butter and milk and mash until smooth. Add the horseradish and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To make the spinach, heat the olive oil with the garlic in a large pan over medium high heat for 1 min. Add the spinach and toss for a few minutes until just wilted. Season to taste.

To serve, cut the pork belly into portions and serve with the horseradish mash and sautéed spinach.

Tip

All ovens differ, so if you find the crackling isn’t crunchy enough, simply place under a hot grill for 1–2 mins until blistered and crisp.

8 x 125g pork collar butt steaks
½ cup (125ml) olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp cracked black pepper
½ bunch thyme, tied with string
4 baby eggplants, halved lengthwise
1 red capsicum, sliced
2 large zucchini (450g), sliced
1 Spanish onion, sliced into rounds
Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup flat leaf parsley, leaves only

Combine the oil and the garlic in a small bowl. Immerse the thyme brush in the oil to infuse.

Preheat a barbecue or char-grill pan over high heat. Brush the vegetables with the infused oil and cook for 4 mins per side. Set aside.

Drizzle the steaks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3–4 mins on each side, rest for a few minutes.

To assemble, place a steak on the plate and top with 1 piece each of eggplant, capsicum, zucchini and a few onion rings. Repeat, so that each portion has 2 of everything. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with parsley leaves to serve.