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Yummy Lummy Slow cooker Ham Hock recipe

Posted by Gary
Saturday dinner. Slow cooker ham hock on sesame sweet potato mash with pickles. I cooked the ham hock for 8 hours. Mashed roasted sesame sweet potato. I made pickles with capsicum, red onion and spring ions.
Saturday dinner. Slow cooker ham hock on sesame sweet potato mash with pickles.
I cooked the ham hock for 8 hours, mashed the roasted sesame sweet potato, and made pickles with capsicum, red onion, and spring onions.

Yummy Lummy Slow cooker Ham Hock recipe

This slow cooker ham hock is prolonging my porcine cravings. I thought about making pea and ham soup but instead pulled pork from the ham hock with some roughly mashed sweet potato and pickled vegetables.

Recipe

Yummy Lummy slow cooker ham hock with mashed sweet potato and pickled vegetables

Here’s a comforting slow cooker ham hock with mashed sweet potato and pickled vegetables meal for one with enough leftover for lunches.

Ham hock bits

  • Ham hock
  • Chicken stock

Sweet potato bits

  • Sweet potato
  • Sesame oil
  • Sesame seeds
  • Poppy seeds
  • Olive oil
  • Iodised salt
  • Black pepper
  • Sour cream

Pickled vegetable bits

  • Capsicum
  • Spring onions
  • Red onion
  • Lime juice
  • Vinegar
  • Iodised salt
  • Brown sugar

Ham hock part

  1. Put the ham hock into the slow cooker

  2. Cover the ham hock with about 1 litre of chicken stock
  3. Cook the ham hock for 8 hours
  4. When the ham hock has cooked remove it from the cooking vessel and discard the liquid
  5. Remove and discard the skin and fat

  6. Shred the meat and leave in a bowl

Sweet potato part

  1. Wash the sweet potato

  2. Cut the sweet potato into cubes roughly 1 cm3



  3. Put them into a mixing bowl and add a good spurt of sesame oil and a slug of olive oil

  4. Use your hands to make sure you coat all the surfaces of the cubed sweet potato with the oil
  5. Add in the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, iodised salt and black pepper and use your hands to mix it all thoroughly

  6. Spread the sweet potato out on a baking tray and place it into a hot oven (250 °C/480 °F) for 35 minutes or until the sweet potato is soft enough so a butter knife penetrates it easily with almost no resistance
  7. Put the the sweet potato into a mixing bowl and mash it roughly
  8. You can do it smoothly if you like but I like being rough with my mashed starches
  9. It’s quite satisfying to have a rough mash, the mouthfeel in my opinion is better

Pickled vegetables part

  1. Wash a green capsicum and them roughly dice it
  2. Chop a red onion into small pieces
  3. Slice a spring onion
  4. Put the capsicum, red onion and spring onion into a sealable container
  5. Add some white vinegar
  6. Add some lime juice
  7. Add some iodised salt
  8. Add some brown sugar
  9. I did this a few hours ahead of time and made enough so I’d have some for the following night for dinner

The plating up part

  1. Spoon some mashed sweet potato onto a dinner plate

  2. Add the pulled pork from the ham hock on top of the mashed sweet potato
  3. Spoon some of the pickled vegetables and place next to the mashed sweet potato
  4. As an option add a dollop of sour cream

The blogging part

  1. Shoot a photograph
  2. Eat the meal
  3. Wash the dishes
  4. Write the recipe
  5. Write the blog post
  6. Hope your friends and readers share the post on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest

Disclaimer

I have no culinary training nor qualifications.

This post is not intended to convey any health or medical advice. If you have any health concerns about anything you read, please contact your registered medical practitioner.

The quantities are indicative. Feel free to vary the quantities to suit your taste.

I deliberately do not calculate energy for dishes. I deliberately default to 500 Calories or 500,000 calories because I do not make these calculations.

Main Course
Australian
Ham hock, Mashed sweet potato, Pickled vegetables, Slow cooker

Photographs

This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one thumbnail to open the gallery and then scroll through the photos.

Ham hock ready for the slow cooker.
Ham hock ready for the slow cooker.
Diced sweet potato
Diced sweet potato
Diced sweet potato with seasoning
Diced sweet potato with seasoning
Diced sweet potato with seasoning in a baking tray.
Diced sweet potato with seasoning in a baking tray.
Sweet potato out of the oven, ready for mashing.
Sweet potato out of the oven, ready for mashing.
Slow cooker ham hock
Slow cooker ham hock
Saturday dinner. Slow cooker ham hock on sesame sweet potato mash with pickles. I cooked the ham hock for 8 hours. Mashed roasted sesame sweet potato. I made pickles with capsicum, red onion and spring ions.
Saturday dinner. Slow cooker ham hock on sesame sweet potato mash with pickles. I cooked the ham hock for 8 hours. Mashed roasted sesame sweet potato. I made pickles with capsicum, red onion and spring ions.
Saturday dinner. Slow cooker ham hock on sesame sweet potato mash with pickles. I cooked the ham hock for 8 hours. Mashed roasted sesame sweet potato. I made pickles with capsicum, red onion and spring ions.
Saturday dinner. Slow cooker ham hock on sesame sweet potato mash with pickles. I cooked the ham hock for 8 hours. Mashed roasted sesame sweet potato. I made pickles with capsicum, red onion and spring ions.

Questions and answers

Why rough rather than smooth?

It’s like peanut paste; I always go for crunchy rather than smooth. Smooth suggests fancy. I’m not fancy. Rough is also tough. Rough gonococci, unlike smooth gonococci, can evade the complement system and go on to cause disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI) and create havoc in joints, the heart and occasionally the brain.

Final thoughts

Do you like eating ham hock?
Do you like it rough?
Did you ever think I’d mention gonococci in a recipe post?

Crispy pork crackling may help smarten kids

Posted by Gary

Yummy Lummy
Yummy Lummy
Crispy pork crackling may help smarten kids



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Crispy pork crackling may help smarten kids

Crispy pork crackling may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you are pregnant but this week it was salty goodness that had me thinking. I need to back up a bit to explain.

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Iodine deficiency

This post does have a recipe I promise you but it is really written to get any readers who may be pregnant or who are thinking about having children to be very aware of the role of iodine in the intellectual development of children. The role of iodine is important from the time of conception when a zygote forms and an embryo implants, through the gestation and then in the early life as a baby and infant.

This post isn’t a physiology lesson but I’d appreciate if you look up the role of iodine and perhaps visit my other blog where I describe a lecture I attended last week on iodine deficiency and the ramifications for the intellectual development of young Australians. The bottom line is that iodine supplementation during pregnancy is something to seriously consider.

Iodised salt

Sources of iodine include dairy products (albeit not as much as previously [see my other blog about that]), bread (because most bread in Australia is made with iodised salt), and iodised salt.

Obviously, too much salt is a problem for heart health, but if you need to add salt, use iodised salt and avoid fancy new age crap like seas salt and rock salt that offer no additional health benefits and may, in fact, be noxious to your health. Iodised table and cooking salt are also usually cheaper.

Saxa iodised table salt

This is not an advertisement for the Saxa brand

crispy pork crackling iodised salt

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Recipe

Crispy pork crackling

Crispy pork crackling

This is a never fail recipe for getting crispy crunchy pork crackling.

  • Pork rashers
  • Iodised salt
  • Chilli flakes
  • Sesame seeds
  1. Cut the skin off each rasher and lay the skin on some baking paper on a thin oven tray.
  2. Sprinkle liberally with iodised table salt
  3. Place into an oven at 200 °C/400 °F for one hour
  4. Place the skinless rashers into a frying pan lined with baking paper
  5. Sprinkle on the meat some sesame seeds and chilli flakes
  6. Place into an oven at 200 °C/400 °F for one hour
  7. When cooked, pull out the rasher meat and place onto absorbent paper and allow to cool a little. Do the same for the crackling too.
  8. Cut the rashers into small bite-sized chunks
  9. Serve on a plate with the crackling
  10. Eat with chopsticks and serve with a dipping sauce. Rick and Morty’s Sichuan Teriyaki dipping sauce would work a charm here.
You may want to eat this with a cup of tea. It’s really quite fatty.

Please note I never check the energy values. I use 500 Calories as my default. 

 

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Photograph

The finished product

Crispy pork crackling. This would go well with my Rick and Morty Sichuan Dipping Sauce.

crispy pork crackling iodised salt
Crackling and pork

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Questions and answers

What sort of salt do you normally buy?

I usually buy iodised table salt. I have also bought sea salt and rock salt. I reckon the only good use for rock salt is when making something like salted caramel when you want a concentrated hit of salt surrounded by sweetness.

What do you think of Himalayan rock salt?

After listening to Prof. Eastman the other night I’ll never buy it again. He reckons the murky colour is due to impurities like heavy metals which may be noxious to human health. I’ll probably also avoid Murray River salt too for the same reason. I mean have to see the crap in the Murray River.

Are you going to tell your daughters to supplement with iodine when they become pregnant?

Of course, I want bright grandchildren, not idiots.

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Podcasting

I’m thinking of starting a cooking podcast. I’m happy to receive suggestions.

 

 

Leftover KFC Casserole

Posted by Gary

Like the owner and head chef from OTIS Dining Hall (Damian Brabender), I have a thing for KFC. Although for me, it’s more of a deep-abiding adoration. I know I shouldn’t eat it too often, but I can’t help buying it when I think about it for too long on a Friday. Fridays are my traditional takeaway dinner day. I spent the day practising medicine at Canberra Hospital and Health Services in ACT Pathology. Yes, I know, practising medicine and eating KFC don’t go together.

Recipe

Leftover KFC casserole

When I buy a 21-piece bucket I consume the thigh and wing pieces after purchase and then put away the breast and other pieces into the refrigerator. Leftover KFC makes for a delicious chicken casserole.

  • 8 Leftover KFC pieces
  • 1 handful Parsley
  • 2 Large mushrooms
  • 1 small tin Green peppercorns
  • 1 cup White wine
  • 1 handful Cashew nuts
  • 1 tin Cream of chicken soup
  • 2 sticks Celery
  • 1/2 Onion
  • 1 cup Frozen vegetables
  1. In a casserole or sturdy baking dish place the leftover pieces of KFC
  2. Add some sliced flat mushrooms
  3. Toss in the cup of frozen vegetables plus some sliced celery and onion and poke the vegetables in between the pieces of KFC.
  4. Pour over a can of condensed cream of chicken soup and rinse out the can with a little white wine and pour that in too. You want to ensure the liquid gets about halfway up the side of the baking tray so there is sufficient water to keep everything juicy and moist.

  5. Sprinkle in your nuts, well not your nuts but some cashews and if you can throw some cash around, some Queensland nuts from the genus Macadamia.

  6. Open the tin of green peppercorns and pour them in.

  7. Once everything is in the baking tray, seal it with a lid if it has one or cover in aluminium foil and make sure it is a snug fit.

  8. Place in a hot oven 200 °C/400 °F for one hour.
  9. After one hour remove the lid and sprinkle on a little grated cheese and then return to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
  10. Once the cheese has become brown and crispy remove the tray from the oven and allow the casserole some rest.

  11. Serve up on a plate and shoot a photograph.
  12. Eat the meal.
  13. Wash the dishes and write the recipe.
  14. Write a blog post and share it later.

In the old days, I could eat a 21-piece bucket in one go. Now I prefer to leave leftovers so I can keep enjoying the chicken and the herbs and spices!

Main Course
Australian

Photographs

This was my dinner on Friday night. I decided after a piece of good news that I’d spoil myself with some KFC.

KFC for dinner, a selection from a 21 piece bucket. Gary Lum
KFC for dinner, a selection from a 21 piece bucket.

This is the leftover KFC casserole after it came out of the oven

Leftover KFC casserole straight out of the oven Gary Lum
Leftover KFC casserole straight out of the oven

This is the leftover KFC casserole ready to be eaten

Leftover KFC casserole straight out of the oven Gary Lum
Leftover KFC casserole straight out of the oven

Questions and answers

Why do you like KFC?

I like the crumb coating and the finger licking good flavour of the 13 herbs and spices. Yes, I like licking my fingers.

Surely KFC is too fatty and greasy?

It certainly is. I don’t eat it every day or every week or every month. I like spoiling myself with flavours I like and things that taste good, especially if it tastes good as I lick my fingers.

Could you make the casserole without KFC?

Sure, you could use any pre-cooked roast chicken. In Australia, that includes Red Rooster and chickens from Coles and Woolworths.

Other posts you may enjoy

KFC Casserole recipe
https://yummylummy.com/2015/03/21/quinoa-and-kfc-casserole/

How to make super green pea and ham soup | Yummy Lummy

Posted by Gary

I’ve made some really fart worthy pea ham soup for Yummy Lummy before but the focus in this recipe is to get it to look green and taste good too. My previous attempts have focussed on the taste and flavour [My first go http://yumlum.co/2k2oA4Z and then the repeat a week later http://bit.ly/2ki5w0c] but they ended up looking a yellow-brown colour.

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Super-green Pea ham soup made by Gary Lum
Super-green Pea ham soup

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Pea and ham soup with an emphasis on the green | Yummy Lummy

This recipe is about two things, flavour and looks. I wanted the soup to be green rather than a yellow-brown like my previous attempts.

  • 1 Ham hock
  • 500 g Green split peas
  • ½ Potato ((small cubes))
  • ½ White onion ((diced))
  • 500 g Frozen peas
  • 2 L Chicken stock
  1. Wash the split peas and empty them into the slow cooker chamber.
  2. Add the onion, cubed potato and the packet of frozen peas.
  3. Place the ham hock on top of everything and then pour in 2 litres of chicken stock.
  4. Put the slow cooker bucket into the slow cooker and seal it with the lid. Set the timer to 6 hours and let it cook.
  5. After the 6 hours, remove the cooking vessel and then remove the ham hock and begin to peel off the skin and pull the muscle bundles apart and put into a clean bowl. Discard the bones.
  6. With a stick blender, process everything in the cooking vessel until it is smooth.
  7. Plate up by adding some ham to the bottom of a bowl and add a dollop of sour cream plus ¼ of a teaspoon of chilli flakes for a spicy kick.
  8. Garnish with spring onions and chives.
  9. Shoot a photograph and then eat the soup.
  10. Wash the dishes and then write the recipe up.
  11. Write a blog post and hope your friends on social media share the recipe and make you famous 🤣🤣😂
This is enough soup for 4 servings. If you live alone, I suggest freezing aliquots and then using a microwave oven to heat it up for lunches and/or dinners.

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Frequently asked questions

Will this make me fart?

I reckon it will. It all depends on your bowel’s microbiome. If you’re lucky, you can really stink up the place. Just don’t light a match if you fart under the sheets.

Can I make this soup vegetarian?

Yes, but it wouldn’t be pea and ham soup. If you don’t add the ham hock and if you use vegetable stock, you’ll have pea soup. I reckon it would taste okay, but for me, I need the ham in it for the flavour.

Can I eat this for lunch?

Yes, definitively, just don’t attend meetings afterwards if you’re prone to farting a lot.

Can I eat this soup cold the next day?

Yes, but all the fat would be congealed and it wouldn’t be that appealing in my opinion.

Social media

Please follow me on my food-based social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. What I’d love you to do is share this post on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else you’d like, even Google+

Gary Lum QR Code

The Mystery Bloggers Award

Over the weekend my friend Jennifer nominated Yummy Lummy for an award. I’ve been trying to focus this blog on recipes and so I wrote about the Mystery Bloggers Award on my other personal journal blog.

Pumpkin soup made easy

Posted by Gary

Pumpkin soup is a fantastic way to warm up on a cool or cold Autumn night. It was a perfect meal on Easter Sunday on a cool Canberra night.

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Pumpkin soup tonight #yummylummy

A post shared by Yummy Lummy Gary Lum Food Blog (@yummylummyblog) on

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Easter Sunday spicy pumpkin soup Gary Lum Pumpkin soup made easy
Easter Sunday spicy pumpkin soup

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Pumpkin soup

Pumpkin soup is a favourite of many. I added some red chillies, jalapeño pepper and chilli flakes to make this soup a bit spicy along with a good nob of ginger to add a slight Asian feel. 

  • 1/2 piece Kent pumpkin (It can be any kind really)
  • 2 pieces Potatoes (Any kind will do)
  • 1/2 piece White onion (diced)
  • 100 grams Bacon (diced)
  • 1 nob Ginger (fresh, cut and crushed)
  • 1 teaspoon Chilli flakes
  • 1 teaspoon Curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
  • 1 piece Red chilli (diced)
  • 1 piece Jalapeño pepper (diced)
  • 1/2 bunch Parsley (chopped)
  • 1/2 cup Cream

  1. In a large saucepan sauté the onion and bacon until softened

  2. Add the ginger and stir until it’s soft

  3. Tip in the pumpkin and potato pieces

  4. Pour in boiling water halfway up the level of the top piece of visible pumpkin or potato to avoid the soup being too thin

  5. To the soup add the garlic powder, curry powder and chilli flakes

  6. Bring the soup to the boil and simmer with a lid on for 30 minutes

  7. Process the soup with a stick blender

  8. Add the chopped red chilli and jalapeño pepper

  9. Pour in the cream and stir

  10. You could fold in some parsley but I just blended it in

  11. Then you plate it up in a bowl and garnish with more parsley

  12. Shoot a photograph and drink the soup

  13. Edit the footage from two cameras and keep swearing about the slow upload speeds in Belconnen

  14. Post the blog post hoping people will read it and share it on social media

One of the nicest pumpkin soups I’ve made. If you try it please let me know. 

If you try this pumpkin soup please let me know how it went.

Social media

Please follow me on my food-based social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. What I’d love you to do is share this post on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else you’d like, even Google+