Easy Char Siu Pork Belly

It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve, and bad things are very easy to get. – Confucius

“Easy” is a well used, and loaded, word. Common sense seems to indicate that anything worthwhile takes effort to achieve. But do all things have to be difficult at every step? 

Consider for a moment a stone being worn away by water droplets. It is not an easy task, as each small drop seems to make no difference. If you come back in a decade, century or millennium, you would see the hard work the water has accomplished. Minimal effort, albeit for a long time, will leave its mark – literally.

So why am I waxing philosophical about the word “easy”? It’s two-fold. 

The first is because most people think that “authentic” Chinese cuisine takes great effort and is extremely complex – the antithesis of “easy.” The best recipes are usually “home” recipes, and as such have no difficult preparation techniques. It’s just not from our familiar North American homes.

The second is that there is a hidden meaning in the word easy. Many equate easy with “quick.” That is not always true. To illustrate, many of the bread recipes on this blog rise for at least 8 hours – some even longer. They're not difficult. They just take time.

There are many recipes that take minimal effort, but (like the water droplets) take more time than others. In this way, time can sort of become a “difficulty,” if you’re looking for something quick to eat.

This recipe is easy. If you can chop garlic, close a Ziploc® bag and turn on an oven you’re in the clear. You just have to wait 24 hours. So it’s time consuming, but very, very easy. 

Char Siu, is an Asian classic. Meaning “fork roasted” due to it being originally roasted on long forks, this is the Cantonese roast (BBQ) pork so popular in many better Asian restaurants. You can use many different cuts of meat, but pork belly produces among the most tender and moist end result.

Char Siu is a common dish in many Asian cuisines, including those of China, Southeast Asia, Japan and Pacific Rim countries. The dishes that are served with it are as varied as the influences from each country.

I served mine with leftover steamed rice, that was tossed with sautéed garlic and ginger, lime juice, green onion and cilantro – with 2 beaten eggs cooked in the hot rice just for good measure.

Char Siu Pork Belly

Prep: 10 min  |  Marinade 8-24 hours  |  Roast: 30 min

This is 1 lb of pork belly slices. Buy thick ones, or even
pork belly "ends." My 1 lb cost under $3.

2 lbs pork belly strips

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup dry sherry

2 tbsp soy sauce, preferably dark

1 “ fresh ginger, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1-1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

Mix all of the ingredients, except the pork, together in a bowl. 

Place the pork in a large resealable freezer bag, pour in the marinade and seal the bag. Work the marinade around on the meat so all surfaces of the pork are covered. 

Place the sealed bag in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or even 24 if doing the day ahead. 24 hours is best. Work the marinade around on the pork at least once during this time.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place a baking rack on a rimmed cookie sheet.* The rack allows air to circulate completely around the meat. Remove the pork from the marinade and arrange on the rack. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked.

Serve with the Chinese style side dish(es) of your choice.

* To ease cleanup, line the cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

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Basic Pulled Pork

Variety is the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavour. – William Cowper

Summer is almost upon us, starting here in Nova Scotia 9:02am on Saturday. So let the outdoor feasting begin!

You may not think of pulled pork right away as a barbecue staple, but it most certainly should be  backyard staple for you this season. It’s unbelievably useful, and doesn’t have to be done on the barbecue, so can be made any time of the year.

But there’s upsides and downsides to everything. The upside is that a 2, 3 or 4 kg piece of pork makes quite a lot. The downside is that it makes quite a lot. If you’re not feeding a crew you will have leftovers. So what can you do with it?

Most think of pulled pork as barbecue flavoured, sometimes made with the introduction of barbecue sauce after it is cooked, but it doesn’t have to be that way. A basic recipe, without barbecue sauce, gives you the tender strands you want, without a specific flavour. So you can add different spices to it later as you want.

Liquid should come half-way up the meat.

Here’s some uses for pulled pork you may not think of: in quesadillas or enchiladas, mixed with macaroni and cheese, in Cajun rice and beans, on pizza, in Asian stir fries and even with salads. You can see by the list that BBQ sauce wouldn't always be desirable.

Most important for success is the cut of meat you use. One of the best is pork shoulder (called pork butt in the USA). It has lots of in-muscle fat and connective tissues that render down during the slow cooking process. This is what makes the meat so tender. You cannot make pulled pork with a lean cut. You just can’t.

Another, sometimes overlooked factor, is the introduction of acid into the braising liquid. It helps tenderize. I used pineapple juice, but any acidic juice could be used. You could even use beer. The FDA gives pineapples an acid pH ranking of approximately 3.35 to 4.1, so any liquid that’s somewhat acid will do the trick.

I added smokey barbecue sauce, cumin and more oregano to my pulled pork after it was cooked. Delicious!

And yes, I still have leftovers...

Test by pulling with a fork.

Basic Pulled Pork

Prep: 15 min  |  Cook: 2+ hours

2kg pork shoulder

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp chilli powder

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

pineapple juice, or other light acid

2 tsp dried oregano

6 garlic cloves, whole peeled

1 medium red onion, sliced

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Remove the skin and majority of fat from the pork shoulder and discard.

Mix together the chilli, salt and pepper and rub the mixture into the surface of the meat. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven and sear the meat on all sides.

Add just enough pineapple juice to come half way up the side of the pork. Sprinkle with oregano and nestle in the garlic and onion. Bring to a simmer, cover, and place in the oven for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, test the meat by trying to pull it apart with two forks. If there is resistance continue to cook for half hour intervals until it does. The meat will be falling off the bone. My 2Kg took 2 hours. Larger cuts will take longer.

After the pork is done, remove from the pot, let cool and pull into long strands with forks or your fingers. 

Reduce the remaining liquid, garlic and onion in the pot by half on top of the stove. Add the shredded pork and let cook until nearly dry.

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Spam. The kind you eat and the kind you don’t.

Start every day off with a smile and get it over with. – W. C. Fields

If you have a blog you’re going to dine on spam. Sometimes lots of spam. I get spam on a regular basis. Alas, but none to eat.

Did you know that “Spam” the product is SPiced hAM, first introduced by Hormel Foods in 1937? It’s supposedly good for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Mmmm... It’s never touched my lips. It does make one wonder what the folks who make Spam actually think of the word being used for junk.

But back to my spam. I thought I would share with you this week’s platter. Who do they think they’re fooling? Idiots. I know that it is automatically generated, but please. If you’re going to spam me at least have the courtesy to spell correctly –  or make sense. My “real” comments do, for the most part! 

I have to say Blogger’s spam filter is pretty good. I’ve only had a few slip through in my years of blogging. I know there’s ways to lessen getting it, but then what would I read?

So without further ado, here’s a few. I thought you might enjoy them. A link to actual Spam (meat?) recipes follows at the very bottom. Incorrect spelling is from cut and paste.

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Hello! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing many months of hard work due to no data backup. Do you have any solutions to prevent hackers? Here is my blog post; meet new people online...

But now, if you want to dine on spam that’s more filling take a look here. There seems to be a preponderance of “sushi” spam recipes. Kind of turns one off their breakfast (lunch or dinner), but lots of fun none the less.

http://www.spam.com/recipes

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Pork, Spinach & Chickpea Stew

Frugality is for the vulgar. – Francois Rabelais

Well, then, I guess I’m vulgar. Or at least I try to be. I suppose, anyone who knows me personally would agree, but not for how the word is used above!

It’s hard to be frugal at the grocery store. Packaging is not geared toward a standard family. If you look closely, their packaging tries to make you buy either too little or too much.

This is what I mean: pork chops are usually packaged in 5; steaks in 3; shrimp (especially at Sobeys) in 3/4 of a pound. Divide those amounts into a standard family of two parents and two children, or equally annoying, a family of two. You can’t do it. 

Check almost any recipe using shrimp. You never see 3/4 of a pound as a listed quantity. The idea is to make you buy two packages for the recipe you want to make, and then a third to top up your "leftovers."

Costco is  different story altogether, to the opposite extreme. If you don’t have a family of 8 (as the saying goes in Nova Scotia) you’re sh*t out of luck. You really have leftovers if you shop there.

So most times you’re stuck buying two packages of whatever you’re after, or one way too big, and then having to deal with whatever you don’t use later on That’s why I threw together this recipe. It helps you deal with some of those leftovers. 

I’m really guilty of letting things “age” in the refrigerator until they need to be thrown out. It happens a lot and isn't very frugal of me. So any recipe that can help me deal with the contents of my refrigerator, and stretch a little meat into a full-on meal at the same time, is a keeper.

This one uses two pork chops to serve a family of four, and creates something that’s filling, nutritious and wonderful. Coincidentally, it also uses up leftovers from a package of fresh basil. The recipe couldn’t be simpler, and only takes one pot. So bonus all around.

Pork, Spinach & Chickpea Stew

Prep: 5 min  |  Cook 45 min  |  Serves 4 easily

2 thick-cut pork chops, whole

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, diced

28 fl oz can diced tomatoes

3 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine

1 tbsp fresh oregano (1 tsp dried)

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/2 tsp chilli powder

19 oz can chickpeas, drained

4 cups spinach, roughly chopped

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cracked black pepper

buerre manie: 1 tbsp butter & 1 tbsp flour, kneaded

optional: grated parmesan

Place the whole pork chops, onion, garlic, tomatoes, stock and wine in a Dutch oven or other large pot with a lid. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the chops and dice the meat; then add it back to the pot. Add the drained chick peas, spinach, oregano, basil and chilli powder. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat again and let cook 15 minutes. Taste for salt and adjust.

Knead the flour and butter together. Stir into the pot and cook for a further minute or two until the stew juices are slightly thickened. (Making a beurre manie ensures your thickener doesn’t cause lumps – try it when making gravy.)

Ladle the stew into bowls and top with more cracked black pepper and parmesan if desired.

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Tuscan Kale Stew

My philosophy of dating is to just fart right away. – Jenny McCarthy

I don’t eat enough cruciferous vegetables. Do you? Kale is a cruciferous vegetable, as are many other vegetables I don’t eat enough of – especially in winter.

The list of cruciferous vegetables is long. It includes some you would expect, like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. But it also includes some you might not think of, such as turnip, watercress, radish and wasabi. So what do they have in common to fit the name?

Cruciferous vegetables are all in the family Brassicaceae (also called Cruciferae). The family takes its name (it's Latin for "cross-bearing") from its four petal flowers, in the shape of a cross.

They also have one other thing in common: gas. To some people they can be extremely gas-inducing; others don’t suffer quite so much. This is caused by a type of sugar known as raffinose, that most people have difficulty digesting. Luckily there’s an up-side, unless you find farts funny. I know some who do...

After simmering for 2 hours. The pork becomes fork tender.

All cruciferous vegetables contain a multitude of vitamins and minerals, and fibre, although some have more than others.They also contain phytochemicals that may aid in detoxifying certain cancer-causing substances before they have a chance to cause harm in the body.

So all good. And gassy too.

This post also references something from my last post where I told you if you see something odd in the grocery store to buy it. I saw Tuscan kale. Gorgeous stuff.

Kale isn’t an odd ingredient to see, but "Tuscan kale" was, and sadly kale is too odd in our kitchens. It was its beauty that made me buy it. It called to be a star in a pot of something...

Tuscan Kale Stew

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook 2h 15 min | Serves 8

1 tbsp olive oil

600 g pork loin roast, 2” cubes

1 medium onion, quartered

4 garlic cloves, peeled and whole

300 g crimini mushrooms, quartered

28 fl. oz diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken stock

A full pot of deliciousness.

1 tsp whole fennel seed

2 tsp dried oregano (or 2 tbsp fresh)

2 tsp dried basil (or 2 tbsp fresh)

1 tsp dried sage (or 1 tbsp fresh)

350 g penne

19 fl oz cannellini (or black) beans

1 bunch Tuscan kale, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

In a Dutch oven, brown the pork in the oil with the fennel seeds. Then add the onion, garlic and crimini mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Then add the tomatoes with their liquid, the chicken stock, oregano, basil and sage. Add some pepper and salt, but not too much salt. Adjust that at the end of cooking.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and let cook, covered, for about 2 hours.

The add the pasta, bring back to a boil and let cook for the pasta’s recommended time minus 1 minute. Add the drained, washed black beans and chopped kale. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes.

Taste for salt and pepper, adjust and serve, with a lovely crusty country-style bread on the side.

This can be reheated easily. If doing so, add a little water as the pasta will absorb the liquid in the pot as it cools.

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If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share using any of the links below. Feel free to comment. I'll always try to respond. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is that you credit me and share a link back to the original.

Phad Thai, the best recipe for it I know

I am easily satisfied with the very best. – Sir Winston Churchill

Photo: jay galvin, Flickr ccl

This is an old post of mine, stretching back to the early-ish days of 2011. I had only been blogging for a little over two months. It's even before I had a camera to take food shots! But it's so, so very good I had to repost. Because I currently have a craving for it. When you itch, I say scratch. So scratch we shall... with abandon.

Have you ever had a craving at home for Phad Thai, that amazing peanut-y pile of noodles that is such a staple of Thai restaurants? Well look no further for the solution. It’s extremely easy to make, and not too expensive if you have an “international” pantry. Like most Asian cooking, the devil is in the preparation. Prep for what seems like hours, and it’s ready in five minutes.

Tamarind. Photo: BBC World Service
Bangladesh Boat, Flickr ccl

You don’t actually chop for hours, just minutes. Finding the ingredients isn’t that difficult either. So what are you waiting for? I’m posting this recipe as much for me as for you. 

It’s an exceptional recipe for Phad Thai, and I always have trouble locating it because the basis is from a cookbook I don’t often use. In my opinion this recipe outshines most Phad that you get when you dine out, at least in Halifax…

The book in mention is “Hot Foods,” published in 2004 by Select Publications. It doesn’t refer to only spicy food, but any food brought steaming to the table. There’s many good recipes in it. 

I think I might have too many cookbooks. We used to run to Winners on weekends and buy marked-down cookbooks for about the same price as a food magazine. No ads, and far more informative and useful.

I have altered the basic recipe to more closely resemble one in a cookbook that I no longer have. It went away in a break-up, with many other things I valued. But they were only "things," not necessities. Apparently including the person who I told to leave...

My result is quite close to the one in my missing book, using the basics from “Hot Foods.” If you’re familiar with Phad Thai, and you look closely at this recipe you will see there are certain things that make Phad Thai, well, Phad Thai. 

This recipe has the balance “right.” An uncommon ingredient that brings it all together is tamarind. You can find it in blocks, or liquid form, in most grocery stores in the international section. So I tip my hat to the cookbook I do have that was the inspiration for this recipe.

Phad Thai

Prep: 20 min  | Cook: 15 min  | Serves 4

This picture is pretty close. Photo: Manuel W, Flickr ccl

250 g dried flat rice stick noodles

1 tbsp tamarind (either sauce or from a pressed block, finely diced)

1 2" thai red chilli, finely chopped with seeds

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1-1/2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp lime juice

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

2 tbsp oil
2 eggs, beaten

150 g (1/3 lb) pork, diced

1/2 lb shrimp

100g (3 1/2 oz) fried tofu puffs, julienned (optional)

1 bunch spring onions, chopped in 1/2” pieces

1 cup bean sprouts

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/4 cup coriander, chopped

lime wedges, to serve

Soak the noodles in warm water for 20 minutes, or until they are al dente. Keep in cool water to avoid sticking.

Combine the tamarind, chilli, garlic, sugar, fish sauce and lime in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat a wok with 1 tbsp of oil and swirl to coat the sides. When hot, add the egg and swirl to coat in a thin layer. Let cook, undisturbed. Roll up in the wok, remove and slice into thin strips.

Hear the remaining oil in the wok. Add the Chilli mixture and fry for 1 minute. Add the pork and fry for 2 minutes. Then add the shrimp and cook until just done. Blend in the peanut butter.

Add in the noodles, egg, tofu, bean sprouts and green onions and toss together until heated through.

Serve immediately with the peanuts, coriander and lime wedges in bowls on the table.

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If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share using any of the links below. Feel free to comment. I'll always try to respond. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is that you credit me and share a link back to the original.

Black Braised Pork with Kale

Too many people just eat to consume calories. Try dining for a change. – John Walters 

Mr. Walters was right. We so often sit down and shovel food into our open maws with hardly a thought as to what’s going in there.

This simmers, covered, for three hours.

I’m as guilty as the next person. But every once in a while it’s nice to treat yourself to something healthy AND extraordinary, as long as it's not too labour intensive.

This recipe does not take a whole lot of work. What it does take is time. Three hours of braising, to be exact. But it’s well worth the wait. Pick a day when you’re trapped inside either by pouring rain (like today is going to be) or snow.

This recipe seems quite simple when you look at it, and it is. But something magical happens when all that time elapses: the onions and garlic disappear into the sauce and all the flavours infuse into the meat.

This is not “blackened” in the Cajun cooking sense. If anything this is more Mediterranean (Italy or Provence) than anything. So whence cometh the name?

I called this recipe “black” for two reasons: the black pepper and portobello mushrooms. The decent amount of cracked pepper adds a nice background spiciness, while the portobello gills break down and make the liquid in the pot a very, very dark colour. It certainly makes the green kale pop!

The result.

This is a deep, delicious and complex tasting dish. If you want to step it up a notch try adding 1/2 cup of white wine to the pot if you don’t think you have enough liquid just before you thicken it. Just make sure it’s wine you would actually enjoy drinking.

Here’s a sage word of advice. Choose a piece of pork that is well marbled. It will break down as the dish cooks and render the meat unbelievably tender. Pull apart tender.

This recipe is quite filling. Both the portobello and kale helps in this regard, I believe. A little goes a long way. It’s a bit of an anomaly, because usually dishes that taste this rich are loaded with calories. I can state with almost certain conviction that this one is not.

I do have to admit that this is one of the best things I have made in quite a while.

Black Braised Pork with Kale

Prep: 10 min  |  Braise: 3 hours  |  Serves 4, easily

1.5 lb pork roast

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1-1/2 medium onions, quartered

3-4 portobello caps, diced large

3 lg garlic cloves

3 cups chicken stock

2 tsp cracked black pepper

1 tsp dried sage

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp flour

2 tbsp water

4 cups chopped kale

Heat the butter and oil in a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot with a lid. Sprinkle the roast with a little salt and pepper and sear on all sides.

Add the onions, mushrooms and garlic to the pot. Then add the chicken stock, the 2 tsp of pepper, sage and a little more salt.

Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Let cook for 3 hours. Check periodically to ensure there is still liquid in the pot.

At the end of the time, remove the roast to a plate. You should have between 1.5-2 cups of liquid. Mix the flour with the water to make a smooth paste. Add to the pot. Increase the heat to medium and stir until the sauce thickens.

Add the chopped kale, stir in well, cover and let cook for 5 minutes.

To serve, tear the pork apart into bite-sized pieces. Place some sauce on the bottom of the plate. Pile some pork in the centre and serve.

Be prepared to serve seconds, because you WILL be asked.

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Feel free to comment. They’re always appreciated. I’ll answer quickly and as best I can. Feel free to share this post. All I ask is if you repost, please give me credit and a link back to the original on this site.

Comfort food. Spice Rubbed Pork Roast

What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality. – Plutarch 

Yes, I sliced it with the grain. I used a blade roast. It was hard to figure out.
It was still tender, moist and wonderful.

This time change has been rubbing me the wrong way. Ever since we set out clocks back one hour last Sunday morning I’ve been waking up at an ungodly time. The other day it was 3:45am. For reference I usually wake a few minutes before 6.

But this morning – success! I first woke at 4:30am, but (unlike the rest of this week) was able to convince my body to sleep for an extra hour. Hopefully that is the start of settling into this time change business.

I can’t believe how fast the time is flying by. As the days shorten our opportunities for getting outside and staying active lessen. Winter slothfulness slowly starts to settle in. The new reality...

There’s a lot of “new reality” for me to deal with besides the time change and resulting early darkness. It’s also been one month since I said farewell to my best buddy, our Bouvier, Henry. If you remember, the plan was for him to keep me company while my spouse is away at college. Damned cancer – I hate you.

Massage the wet rub into the meat and then let sit in the
refrigerator. The longer it sits, the more flavour you'll have.

I have a lot of unwelcome realities to accept. But, to paraphrase Plutarch, our reality is shaped in great part by how we deal with life. My plan is to shape a better, albeit different than expected, reality for myself. We’ll see how that goes.

How we feel about life is truly over 50% due to our way of dealing with things. Life at times can cause us stress and sadness, but the degree of its severity is always self-imposed.

November can be a wet, cloudy, chilly and depressing bout that lasts 30 days, or it can be viewed as the start to one of my favourite seasons. I don’t mean winter or Christmas. I’m talking about comfort food season. 

Yes, warm days are past. But that means the kitchen is now bearable when the oven is on. And since there isn’t much to do outside because of the weather, there’s the opportunity to spend more of that time inside, making comfort food.

One of the signatures of comfort food is roast. If you’re afraid of roasting, go buy an instant read thermometer. For a few dollars you can guarantee to never overcook another chunk of meat. Seriously, go buy one. You’ll use it 12 months of the year.

Since I was somewhat trapped inside the day I made this (I believe it was cold and raining) I had time on my hands. This recipe uses a “wet rub” – a thick paste to impart flavour. It takes minutes to mix together, but should be applied to the roast for at least a few hours for real benefit. You could even do it for 24 hours.

Words for the wise: always allow your roast (pork, beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, duck...) sit for a few minutes before you cut it up. It lets the juices settle back into the mea. IF not, you run the risk of making your meat drier than it needs to be.

This roast was tender, moist and flavourful. There’s really little that can help drive away the November blues more than bringing a perfectly browned and juicy chunk of meat to the table. 

The smell while it’s in the oven is amazing, and there’s a bonus. You can roast all your vegetables at the same time. Who doesn’t love oven-roasted veggies?

Spice Rubbed Pork Roast

Prep: 10 min  |  Sit: 3 hrs  |  Roast 2 hrs  |  Serves 4-6

2-1/2 to 3 lb pork roast

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin, ground

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp dried cilantro

1 tsp dried mustard powder

1 tsp cracked black pepper

1 tsp salt

Choose a roast cut that has some marbled fat through it. You could use loin roast, but they tend to dry out quickly. The fat helps tenderize the meat as it roasts.

Mix the wet rub ingredients together in a bowl. Massage into the meat. Place in a roasting pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours, or for a whole day. Longer is better.

When ready to roast, preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the plastic and roast for 2 hours, or until internal temp reaches 160°. (This is the new USFDA approved internal temperature for pork. It used to be 170°.)

Let the roast sit for 10 minutes for the juices to redistribute through the meat.

Slice and serve!

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Feel free to comment. They’re always appreciated. I’ll answer quickly, and as best as I can. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is if you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Pork, Corn, Rice & Chillie

Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise. – Anonymous

Risky refrigerator raiding? No. Quick and healthy? Yes.

This is my 1,000th post. Wow. I seem to have a lot to say, eh?  :-)  – Docaitta

Sometimes you just don’t have time to fuss over dinner, right? So wouldn’t it be nice to have a recipe that you can just stick on the stove and let go – all within less than 1/2 hour?

This one’s it. Stir, cover and go do something else important. Not that dinner isn’t important. You still have to put something nutritious on the table. But what if your dinner problem is compounded by having leftovers to deal with? No problem there either.

We barbecued some boneless pork chops a few days ago and made too many. It’s difficult to buy chops on sale for two. Luckily there are many uses for pre-cooked pork. And barbecued adds a nice, smokey flavour.

I have to admit, I took a risk and made this recipe up on the spot. I had the chops, an opened jar of tomato sauce, and some local corn I had purchased a few days previously. Things had to be dealt with.

This one’s a good recipe. It has all the flavours of Tex-Mex food, with the addition of rice right in it to extend it to a one-pot meal.

If you know what you’re doing you can steer almost any dish towards a certain region’s cuisine. I’ve mentioned this before – what makes something Italian, Greek, French, etc. All it takes is sone chutzpa.

The lesson I learned from all this? Don’t let “leftover” bits in your fridge deter you from culinary bravery, or a good dinner your family will enjoy.

This could just as easily have used beef or chicken. So if you have barbecued leftovers, perhaps think about bringing them in and putting them in a pot with some rice and corn. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how good, and filling, "leftovers" can be!

I love one pot meals. I'm dishwashing averse.

Pork, Corn, Rice & Chillie

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook 20-25 min  |  Serves 4

300 g pre-cooked cubed pork (2-3 chops)

3 ears corn kernels

1 cup long grain rice

1 cup tomato sauce (or thin salsa)

3 cups water

1 med onion

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 or 2 jalapeños, diced

1 tsp cumin seed

1/2 tsp thyme, ground

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

salt and pepper, to taste

sour cream and hot sauce, optional at table

Combine all ingredients (except for the sour cream) in a large pot. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Let cook for 15 minutes, then remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes more.

Serve with sour cream and hot sauce at the table.

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Red Chinese Pork Chops

When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves. – Viktor E. Frankl 

Soy, honey, rice wine, five spice powder... plus more.

Well, the weekend is here again. So it’s time for the barbecue.

It’s hard to imagine that there is only this, and next, weekend before life returns to normal again, whatever normal may be for you and your family.

For mine there are significant changes afoot. In a little over a week my husband is packing up to be a student again. Off to NSCC in Dartmouth. I’m very proud of him. Luckily we’ll see each other on weekends. I will be doing my part to keep costs down by sending back some meals to defray costs. It's hard to cook for two, let alone one. Watch for some interesting stuff from the "Docaitta Kitchen." He's living with a vegetarian friend. Challenges = opportunities.

I am writing this at an ungodly hour – 5am. I woke up 4:45am with the unpleasant sensation of being chilly. Yes, the weather is slowly turning to... I can hardly bring myself to say it... fall. I guess that’s a situation I cannot change, though.

We’ve accomplished a lot over this summer, with lots more to do, and I’ve learned some very valuable lessons about myself in the process. I’m a work in progress, as we all are.

One of the unexpected things that sprang upon us was needing to put in a well, which destroyed half a flower bed. Oddly, besides getting better, reliable water, it also let us start afresh in that area. It looks better now than it did before. It looks “planned.” Funny, that.

We also now have a fairly large egg-shaped beach stone standing upright among the new flowers. I’m quite proud of that. Thanks to my husband for the muscle to lug it up over the bank to the truck.

Yesterday started early with rock collecting to build a second flower bed spiral. Then the requisite wheelbarrow loads of the dirt and transplanting of some other rescue plants from areas of our yard where they weren’t doing as well as hoped. Those two new beds have transformed the garden.

Then there was a trip to town, watering in the new grass seed, installing solar lights (now on sale), etc., etc., so it was a busy, hot day. It’s good to have a barbecue on your deck so your kitchen doesn't overheat the house at end of day.

It’s also good to have options for on that BBQ. I like Chinese pork. Unfortunately in our small village we don’t seem to have a Chinese grocery, so one must be creative.

This marinade imparts some of the flavours I love so much. It’s also a great change of pace from the more usual BBQ fare. It also was extremely tender.

As far as side dishes, it also opens up possibilities for a mutltitude of Asian-inspired accompaniments. We had bok choy, cucumber and tomatoes tossed in a sesame oil and rice wine vinaigrette. I should have added sesame seeds.

Give this recipe a try. You’ll be amazed at how much Chinese barbecue flavour a little marinade can impart!

Red Chinese Pork Chops

Prep: 5 min  |  Marinate: 1 hr  |  Serves 4

8 pork shops

4 tbsp honey

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine

1 tsp five spice powder

1 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

10 drops food colouring

Mix together the marinade ingredients. Marinate the pork for at least 1 hour on the counter, turning twice.

Broil or grill until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. Let rest for 5 minutes and serve.

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You know, I really like comments... I really do.

Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.