Pata Tim

Pata Tim! It's one of those oriental dishes that makes me salivate.Hmmmm...

Long before I stumbled on the perfect Pata Tim recipe I'm about to share with you today (thanks to FOOD magazine!), I thought, whenever I eat this dish in restaurants, that it is probably difficult to prepare. But lo and behold! When I tried preparing this recipe, I found out, it's not difficult at all!

I'll tell you my little cooking secret.

Pata Tim is actually prepared in 4 stages. But I discovered based on my own experience that I can do it one stage at a time according to my convenient schedule.

So, let me give you the recipe and I'll insert my own cooking tips as I go along with the cooking procedure.

PATA TIM

Ingredients:
1 front pata, about 1 kilo
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. ginger extract
2 stems spring onions, chopped
oil for cooking
2 cups water
1 beef broth cube
1 tbsp. rice wine
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. sesame oil

For the veggies-
1/2 cup butter
chinese pechay, sliced
carrot, cut into your desired design
red bell pepper, sliced
spring onions, sliced

Procedure:
1. Combine soy sauce, ginger extract and spring onions. Rub them on to the pata. Let stand at least for 1 hour.

Cooking Tip: You can do this the night before you plan to cook the Pata Tim.

2. In a wok, fry the pata in hot cooking oil until brown. When done, remove pata from wok and transfer it to a pressure cooker.

Beware: Do not overcook the pata to the point that the meat is already falling off from the bone. Keep it intact yet tender!

Cooking Tip: If you wish to stop here and continue for later, you can do so.

3. Pressure cook your fried pata in 2 cups of water, beef broth cube and rice wine. Cook until the meat is tender. Transfer the pata to a platter and reserve the sauce.

Cooking Tip: In many instances, this is actually the stage where I often "park" my cooking, and wait until we are about to serve the meal before I continue. That way, I always serve my Pata Tim hot, and the vegetables are not overcooked.

4. Dissolve cornstarch in the 1/2 cup water. Add to the reserved sauce of the cooked pata.

5. In a separate pan, combine sugar and sesame oil and heat until sugar is dissolved. Add to the cornstarch mixture. Heat in a saucepan, stirring constantly until smooth and thick.

6. Pour sauce over pata before serving.

7. Cook the vegetables. Stir fry the vegetables over heated butter. Put the carrots first followed by bell pepper, pechay and then the spring onions. Serve as side dish to the Pata Tim.

Cooking Tip: I like serving the vegetables laid underneath the pata and on the sides of the serving plate. Choose a nice serving dish. It would make your Pata Tim look more palatable!

Wheeew! Just sharing this with you makes me crave for Pata Tim!

This recipe yields 6 servings.