Sweet and Sour Pork
(or Chicken!)
This recipe is a little time consuming- or maybe it is
just me, but it is well worth it. If you follow the directions, the
flavor is dead-on perfect. Just make sure that you have everything
ready to go ahead of time (this is called mise en place, everything in
place) and you can create something really wonderful. I’ve always used
chicken instead of pork, just for personal preference, but it always
comes out moist and delicious.
A little note about the oil- this recipe calls for peanut oil, which
really is the best thing to use for any type of frying as it imparts
no flavors to the food and it has a really high smoke point. (It can
get really hot without causing a lot of smoke and burning.)
1 lb lean boneless pork, preferably butt (or chicken)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp salt
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup flour
¼ cup chicken stock
3 cups peanut oil, or flavorless vegetable oil
1 clove finely chopped garlic
1 large green or red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch squares
1 medium carrot, scraped and sliced into 2 inch julienne strips, ¼
inch wide x ¼ inch thick
½ cup chicken stock or broth
4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp water
PREPARE AHEAD
- Trim the pork or chicken of any excess fat and cut into 1 inch cubes.
- In a large bowl mix together the egg, ¼ cup cornstarch, ¼ cup flour, ¼ cup chicken stock and salt-set aside.
- For the sauce have the oil, garlic, bell pepper, carrot, remaining chicken stock, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and cornstarch mixture within easy reach.
Drop half of the meat cubes into the batter, then, one by one, into the hot oil that has been heating in a wok. Fry for 5-6 minutes, regulating the heat so that the meat turns a crisp, golden brown in that period without burning. Remove the meat with a strainer or slotted spoon to a small baking dish lined with paper towels and keep it warm in the oven. Fry the other half and add it to the first batch.
To make the sauce, pour off any oil remaining in the wok. Add 2 tbsp oil, the garlic, then the pepper and carrot and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until the peppers and carrots darken somewhat in color. Pour in the ½ cup of chicken stock, sugar, vinegar and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Boil rapidly for about 1 minute, or until the sugar has thoroughly dissolved. Immediately give the cornstarch mixture a quick stir to re-combine it and add it to the pan. Cook a moment longer, stirring constantly. When the sauce is thick, pour the entire contents of the pan over the meat and serve. (Make sure you have already removed the paper towels before you pour on the sauce!)
Pork Chops and Spanish Rice
4-6 pork chops
1 garlic clove, crushed
¼ cup dry vermouth
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups canned tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp chili powder
Spread the garlic onto the pork chops and allow to marinate,
refrigerated, for 30 minutes. Brown the chops in an oil filmed frying
pan then place them in a casserole dish, add the vermouth, cover
tightly with foil and bake in a 325 degree oven for 45 minutes,
Meanwhile, sauté the onion and green pepper in oil. Add the rice and
stir till heated through, then add the other ingredients. Bring to a
simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes.
Remove the pork chops from the oven, add the liquid to the rice, and
bury the chops partially in the rice mixture. Cover and bake in the
oven for 30 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is
done.
Pork Chops in Mushroom Soup
4 pork chops
1 can mushroom soup
salt and pepper to taste
Season chops with salt and pepper and brown oil filmed frying pan. Add mushroom soup, cover pan and cook for 30 minutes, stirring and turning chops occasionally. Serve with steamed rice.
3 lbs beef (chuck or round) cut into 2 inch squares
Dry meat with a paper towel and brown thoroughly in oiled hot Dutch oven.
Add:
2 cups red wine
2 cups beef stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 bay leaf
½ tsp thyme
pinch of dried orange peel
2 mashed cloves of garlic
Bring to a simmer, cover and place in a pre-heated 325 degree oven. Cook 1 ½ hours or until tender.
Meanwhile:
Peel 24 small white onions simmer in one layer in a skillet with 1 cup
water and 1 tbsp butter for about 20 minutes or until tender.
And:
Sauté ¾ lb quartered mushrooms in 2 tbsp butter until browned.
Drain liquid from meat into saucepan and skim off the fat. Add
the liquid from the onions and boil down until flavor concentrates.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and thicken with a roux. Add
onions and mushrooms to meat and pour sauce over all.
May be cooled and refrigerated at this point. Before serving, simmer
for 5 minutes.
Marinated Pork Roast
PER POUND OF PORK: (Use about a 2-3lb pork loin)
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp ground thyme
1/8 tsp ground bay leaf
pinch of allspice
½-1 clove mashed garlic
Mix all of the ingredients together and rub them into the surface
of the pork. Place in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 1-2 days,
turning bag over 2-3 times a day. (I have also marinated it for as
short as 3 hours and it isn’t as good, but still palatable)
Scrape the marinade off of the roast and brown in a Dutch oven in hot
oil, then cover and roast in a 325 degree oven for about 1 ½ hours
until done. Potatoes and carrots can be added in for the last ½ hour.
Remove the meat and vegetables from the pan and deglaze (to remove all
of the wonderful pan goodies and flavors from the pan) with ½ cup dry
vermouth. Spoon this sauce over the sliced meat after it is plated.
Sauerkraut and Ribs
If you haven’t had this before, I’m sure it sounds really strange, but it is surprisingly great. The pork fat in the sauerkraut is just sinful. I especially love it with mashed potatoes. Just make sure you get good quality ribs, because any rib recipe will be nasty with bad ones.
2 lbs sauerkraut
1 slab pork ribs
½ (or so) tsp pepper
1 tsp poppy seed
1/4 cup gin
Drain sauerkraut. Spread in an 8 ½ x 13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle gin, pepper and poppy seeds onto sauerkraut. Put ribs on top- salt and pepper, bake at 325 degrees for about 1 ¼ hours.
Barbeque Ribs
1 medium chopped onion
¼ cup molasses
6 oz tomato paste
1 tbsp Dijon style mustard
2 cups beef stock
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
several grinds of black pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
Sauté onion until light brown.
Combine remaining ingredients and simmer for a few minutes. Adjust
seasoning to taste.
Grill ribs over hot coals until nicely browned (about 45 minutes.) Cut
into serving pieces and place in casserole. Cover with bbq sauce and
bake at 325 degrees until very tender. This can take a couple of
hours.
Ham Loaf
2.5 lb finely chopped ham
1.5 lb finely chopped pork
2 tbs Dijon mustard
1 cup bread crumbs
4 eggs
2 tsp salt
Pepper
12 oz fire roasted peppers cut in ½ inch pieces
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Form into loaf shape in 9 x 13 pan.
Bake at 400 degrees until thermometer inserted into center registers
165 degrees, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Let set 10 minutes before
slicing.
Rhami’s Ribs
So Rhami, at 8 years old, is already a creative cook. One day
recently I was making some bbq ribs, and he decided that he would like
something a little different. I groaned inwardly because as it turns
out, when I’m cooking my autistic tendencies come out, and I really
don’t like to deviate unless it is a recipe that I know really well
and I’ve given how I would like to improve it a lot of thought.
So, the boy’s recipe wasn’t even a deviation, but something completely
new. I bit the bullet, gave him a bowl to mix up what he wanted, and
cooked it with about 6 ribs. As you can see, because I’m including it
here, they were delicious.
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup lemon juice
3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
3-4 cloves garlic, cut in half
Mix all of the above ingredients together and let stand.
Meanwhile, brown your ribs either on the bbq or in a 500 degree oven.
Pull out from your sauce the rosemary and garlic, (they have infused a
lovely flavor into the sauce already and will burn if you leave them
in,) and pour the sauce over the ribs. Cook for about 45 minutes or
until done and enjoy!