Fresh, frozen and marinated artichokes are actually the flower buds of a thistle, a type of sunflower. One of the items permanently on my shopping list, artichokes tempt me whenever I spot them on a menu.

That happened recently in the tented splendor of a Bali-style terrace at the newly opened Moon Stone restaurant bar in Causeway Bay. Perusing the menu with Chef Shin he suggested a dish of slow-cooked pork cheeks and fresh artichokes served with a syrup-y vinegar dressing - it was truly delicious.

This chef's take on melding the flavours of East and West are unique. Shin comes from Sapporo in Japan, and he worked in France and Vancouver for a number of years and he has succeeded admirably in adapting the flavours and textures of East and West cuisines.

Here is my take on his Pork Cheeks and Braised Artichokes; You will need to have patience as the pork cheek takes hours to prepare and cook, or you can cut time and effort by buying ready-cooked pork cheek at your nearest delicatessen.

You can use frozen artichokes for this dish or - at a pinch - marinated artichokes in a jar. When using fresh artichokes you will need to avoid air getting to the trimmed parts of the artichokes, it will turn them an unpleasant brown. To do this, have a bowl of acidulated water handy - 1 litre of water to the juice of 1 or 2 lemons. Cut off the prickly tips of the artichokes, break off the toughest outer leaves and trim the stalk. Cut each artichoke into quarters, vertically, use a spoon to dig out the choke the fuzzy part in the middle above the heart. As soon as prepared drop each artichoke immediately into the acidulated water, to avoid discoloration.

To cook, drain the artichokes well on kitchen paper, and gently fry with 3 chopped garlic cloves for 5-6 minutes in 4 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, turning them once. Add a half-and-half mixture of white wine or vegetable stock and water - just enough to cover and cook for a further 16-20 minutes, set aside to cool before placing on a plate with slices of pre-cooked pork cheek and add the dressing. You can steam the artichokes if you prefer.

The dressing; in a small saucepan, very gently heat a few drops of mirin - or shin-mirin which has much less alcohol - together with tspn brown sugar 1 tspn balsamic vinegar and 2 Tbsn olive oil. Remove the dressing from the heat after 3 minutes, stir and dress the dish of pork cheek and artichokes. nb. As the mirin may be a salted version (shio-mirin) taste before adding salt and black pepper.

To cook a 1lb tenderloin yourself: Trim and place in a brine of 3 pints of water with 3 tablespoons of rock salt (plain old large grain un-treated salt) and refrigerate for about 12 hours. Remove and dry on kitchen paper, rub with a little oil and pepper. You can cook sous vide (cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath for several hours), or on a very hot barbeque or under a hot grill.

Grill on each side - the tenderloin is long and round so you will need to rotate it bit by bit to make sure its cooked on the outside all the way round. Total time of grill cooking is around 12-15 minutes. If you use a meat thermometer it should read 145 degrees F/ 62 degrees C. Remove from heat, lightly cover in foil and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Don't be tempted to put it between two plates as it will steam and loose some color. Keep out of draughts and away from air-con.

To drink with; a good Cotes du Rhone red, or a Pinot Noir from New Zealand's Framington winery. Pinot Noir is a deliciously fragrant red wine with aromas of raspberries, ripe black cherries, organic strawberries and luscious mulberries.

Food Column

(HK Edition 08/27/2011 page4)