Tag Archives: pork

Asian Fusion Soba Noodles

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The fact that I haven’t shared a recipe in so long should really highlight that: this recipe is worth sharing.

No surprise, America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook blasted us away with another awesome number. After realizing my life wouldn’t be complete until I shared it with you all, I made it a second time just for the purpose of blogging.

Think: amazing pork. Amazing mushrooms. Amazing texture. Amazing and I love it.

Okay, wow. Obviously I haven’t blogged about food in way too long, because I can’t think of a single adjective beyond “amazing,” which is such a subjective evaluation that it means nothing to anyone . . . so let’s try again.

Umm . . . it’s got umami! That magical salty/sweet/savory thingamaging that I barely understand but know that I love. It tastes fresh and light but also has depth. The pork is so flavorful and juicy it makes me want to become a vacuum cleaner just so that I could inhale it.

The recipe is a little more involved than some, but still nothing crazy. And it’s so darn good that the very first chopstick-full of crunchy green onion and delicate noodle dripping with the sweet/savory sauce makes up for any extra knife work involved. It’s good with noodles as the recipe has it, but the pork sauce itself would be great over rice too.

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Even Alice endorses it!

Right, sweetie?

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(Sorry, but without a gratuitous picture of Alice my mom is sure to speak up . . . so here you go, Mom! This one’s for you.)

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

¼ cup soy sauce
3 TBS sugar
2 TBS oyster sauce
2 TBS chili garlic sauce
1 TBS sesame oil
4 tsp mirin OR sake (different—but both work)
1 lb boneless country-style pork ribs, sliced crosswise thinly
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS minced ginger
4 tsp peanut oil
6 baby bok choy, sliced crosswise
8 oz white button mushrooms, sliced
4-8 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
8 oz dried soba noodles
1 bunch scallions, sliced on the bias

1. Whisk together first 6 ingredients.

2. Combine 3 TBS of the mixture with the sliced pork and marinate in the fridge for 5 minutes. Reserve the rest of the sauce.

3. Combine garlic, ginger and 1 tsp of the oil in a small bowl.

4. Start to boil some water in a large pot for the noodles.

By the way, I’d never cooked with soba noodles before. So in case this is helpful to anyone, here’s what my package of noodles looked like:

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5. In a large 12’’ nonstick skillet, heat 1 tsp oil. When shimmering, add half the pork in one layer. Let it sit for 1 minute, then stir for 2 more minutes until browned. Remove, and repeat with the remaining pork.

6.  Heat the last teaspoon of oil in the now-empty skillet. When hot, add the mushrooms and bok choy; cook 5-7 minutes, until browned.

7. Clear a space in the center of the skillet and add the garlic/ginger/oil             mixture. Smash it around with your spatula and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.

8. Add the pork and sauce to the skillet; stir it all around and simmer for             about 1 minute, until the sauce has thickened. Cover and set aside.

9.  When the pot of water is boiling, add the noodles and cook for a couple minutes, stirring often. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water, and when the noodles are tender, drain them immediately.

10. Put the noodles back in the pot and add the pork, tossing them together. Add the ½ cup cooking water if you need to loosen up the mixture. Sprinkle on the green onions and serve!

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Mustard Pork Chops

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Why have I been blogging about food so much recently? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s a simple progression of facts that goes something like this:

brother-in-law John staying with us = less (read “no”) leftovers = what are we going to eat?? = must cook more = increased perusal of cookbooks and magazines = exciting meal plans = utter deliciousness = must share via blog

When John leaves us mid-August to pursue his MA, I know it will be a shock to our systems. Suddenly there will be leftovers in the fridge. I’ll start asking myself in a confused fashion, “why is there so much food lying around?” (I can see this coming because this is exactly what happened last summer after he moved out) Leftovers will start decaying before we even have time to eat them. This will lead to guilt, which will lead to less cooking, which will lead to less awesome recipes being made.

Noooo!

What I’m trying to say is that I enjoy cooking for more than two people. And I will miss John’s table-side enthusiasm for the things I make.

But now it’s time to stop talking about John and start talking about pork.

I love the idea of pork, but it’s so easy to cook it wrong and end up with a mouthful of dried-out blah. Another delicious recipe from Nigella Express, I love these chops. If your experience of pork is a dry, flavorless affair, this just might be the recipe that will change everything.

It’s simple to make: a little tenderizing (to get your aggression out), a little frying, and three simple ingredients for a sauce that will send you to the moon.

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Also, a brother-in-law can come quite in handy for wielding the meat-smashing mallet.

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And for clean-up, I recommend that you obtain a couple of willing men so that you can put your feet up afterwards and demand that bonbons be brought to you pronto.

Aaaaaah.

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Ingredients

(Serves 3-4)

4 pork chops
1 ½ TBS olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 cup hard cider
2 TBS wholegrain mustard
2/3 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. To make the garlic oil, put the garlic through a garlic press and immerse in the oil for about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic, and the oil is ready to go.

2. Trim the fat off the pork chops. Score a light diamond pattern on both sides with a knife and the smash them until they’re thinned out. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet. When hot, add the pork chops and cook them for 5 minutes on each side. Remove them to a covered plate to keep them warm.

4. Pour the cider into the pan and let it bubble up, scraping up any brown bits.

5. Add the mustard and cream to the pan. Let the sauce cook for a couple minutes, stirring. You can consider the sauce done at this point; it will be light in color, runny, and perfectly delicious.

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6. Or, you can let the sauce continue to bubble away for 8-10 minutes, stirring only occasionally, and it will thicken into a gravy-like gelatinous consistency with a stronger flavor. Also delicious!

7. Pour the sauce over the pork chops and serve.

For your reference, here’s a picture of the chops with the lighter sauce:

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And here’s a picture with the darker sauce:

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Oodelally it’s good. Thanks, Nigella. Or, as my sisters and I like to say in the most obnoxious, glitzed-out movie-star voice you can muster, “spanks!”

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