MCO 4.0 - Day 21

 21 June 2021     Day 21 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        Today, the Northern Hemisphere formally welcomes Summer with the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. London will be enjoying 16.5 hours of sunlight today, with sunrise at 4.43 a.m. and sunset at 9.21 p.m. And in North Cape, Norway, there will be 24 hours of daylight! This evokes memories of our June 2011 visit to North Cape, Norway, where we witnessed the spectacular Midnight Sun. We were there in early June, so it didn't coincide with the Summer Solstice. But we saw how bright it was throughout the night and day. Around midnight, the sun just dipped into the sea for a brief rest and promptly rose again. I could still remember going for an incredibly early morning stroll in the woods behind our hotel at 2 o'clock in the morning!

Cold and windy at the North Cape at around 11.00 p.m.!

Breathtaking Midnight Sun at the North Cape

        Our Summer Solstice dinner was not difficult to prepare, but required quite some time to be ready. The Pork Rib Stew with Chu How Sauce had to be braised for around an hour to produce the melt-in-the-mouth-fall-off-the-bone effect. Chu How sauce can be obtained ready-made in bottles, but I've always made my own concoction (2 parts of Hoisin sauce and 1 part of taucu plus some ginger powder). 

        To make the dish, I sauteed garlic and ginger before adding the pork ribs. As I was making a fairly huge portion today, I wished I had a bigger French oven. Without that, I had to use my stainless steel wok. After the meat had browned, I poured in the Chu How sauce, a dash of oyster sauce and some sugar. I gave everything a good mix before adding water, turning down the fire and allowing the pork ribs to stew in the lovely juices. Fifteen minutes later, I added Shaoxing wine and the white ends of spring onions. After another fifteen minutes (half way through the braising), soaked and softened beancurd sheets joined the pork ribs. When the dish was almost done, I did some tasting, decided to add a little soya sauce, swirled in some sesame oil and turned off the fire. That's the Pork Rib Stew with Chu How sauce for dinner and the next two days' brunches.

Our Summer Solstice dinner : Pork Ribs with Chu How Sauce, Stir-fried Angled Luffa with Prawns