Mahlzeit - Food without Borders

I just came up with that name. Don't get me wrong. I found that to be very tasty, but it has a lot of fat. More then I want in my diet. In any wevent, here we go. 2 x 1" slices about 5" long of pork belly Marinate that for 24h in 1/4 cup soy sauce 4 slices of ginger 1 large crushed garlic clove 2 tsp of hoisin  sauce 1 dash of hot asian pepper powder Cut them into 1.5" pieces. After 24h (give or take 3-4 hours) In a dutch oven, add 1tbsp of veggie oil and sear the pork belly from all sides including the skin side. Then add 2 cups of water and cook for 1 hour  at 350F for 1h in an oven. Remove the belly from the pot, add a rack right above the pot, put the pieces back onto the rack, but try to place them over the dutch oven to catch the drippings. But the oven to broil for 5-10 min for each side. I used Mondamin to thicken the the sauce a bit. Aside from this serve with potatoes and a side salad. -Mahlzeit- The Thai Spice Pork Belly

Yesterday I was at my favorite Asian Grocery store again. I worked my way through their spice isle. I have no idea what I am looking at most of the time.  On jar caught my attention. It looked like one of the very hot spices that I usually get at a Thai restaurant. So I picked one up. I also got chicken hearts. In my fridge there are still chicken thighs (no bones, no skin). This should make a good chicken noodle soup Britta's Thai style. 4 bone and skinless chicken thighs 2 packs of chicken hearts 8 cups of water 8 tsp of Knorr chicken bullion 3 carrots peeled and cut 1.5 cups of chopped celery 3 kaffir lime leaves 3 inches lemon grass, chopped into 1/4 inch chunks All of this goes into a pressure cooker. Use the chicken/meat program + 3 minutes In the mean time cook any pasta you like according to the package instructions. When the pressure cooker is done, make sure to release the pressure before opening. Serve in a bowl with cilantro or parsley as garnish and th