Sweet and Sour Pork

Hello friends,

I realize it’s strange to post about my weight-loss and then immediately post about deep-fried pork, but everything in moderation!

I recently married a Chinese-American man.  His dad is renowned for his bbq pork buns (cha siu bao), and his grandma makes the absolute best chicken curry.  I want our kids to grow up and learn Cantonese, understand the traditions, and eat the delicious homemade cuisines of Hong Kong.

Which is why I have been attempting to create fabulous Chinese dishes at home.

After I stocked my pantry with a few Asian staples, I found that cooking was not as intimidating as I thought.  (Keeping soy sauce, chili sauce, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, and oyster sauce on hand helped a lot.)

This recipe for Sweet and Sour Pork came from Easy Chinese Recipes.  The pork was restaurant-quality, but it was also very easy to make.

To start, cut the pork into bite-sized pieces and marinade in 1 tsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. corn starch, and 1/2 tsp. rice wine or sherry.

Then chop up your veggies and set aside.  I used onion, bell peppers, green onion, garlic, and pineapple.  You could easily add snap peas, carrots, or whatever your little heart desires.

Kitchen trick: If you place a paper towel behind your cutting board, you can scrape the yucky bits off of the board for easy cleanup!

Jonathan’s heart is easily won over by pork, so this recipe was an instant hit!

While your 2 inches of vegetable oil is heating up to 350 degrees in the pan, whip together the fry batter.  (Fry batter=1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 egg white, 1/3 cup water, 1 Tbsp vegetable oil, shake-o-salt)

Make this step look really good.

Making kitchens sexy since 2012.

Everything tastes better deep-fried.  Amiright?

Kitchen tip: If you want to keep your fry oil for future frying adventures, put it in a mason jar in the fridge. Then bring it to room temperature before your next sweet and sour pork dinner!

Deep fry the pork until golden brown, turning occasionally.  Babysit that pork with love.  When it’s done, drain off the excess oil on a paper towel, just like you would with bacon.

My babies.

Grab another pan and heat up 1 Tbsp. of oil.  Get to stir-frying those veggies!  Once the veggies are slightly softened, add the sweet and sour sauce.

Sweet and Sour Sauce = 2 Tbsp. ketchup, 1 Tbsp. plum sauce, 1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire, 1 tsp. rice vinegar, 1/2 Tbsp. oyster sauce, 1 tsp. sugar, 4 Tbsp. water, 1/4 tsp. sesame oil, 1 tsp. cornstarch

Once the sauce starts to thicken, add the pork and toss to coat.  Serve over rice.

What is your favorite ethnic cuisine?  What is the most intimidating cuisine you have attempted to make in your home?  Did it work or did you have a kitchen disaster?  

-Mads

p.s. You can substitute a lot of the ingredients for sweet and sour pork if you don’t have a lot of Asian sauces.  This website is a great resource for food substitutions: http://www.foodsubs.com/

 

 

Life Changer

I will post more about wedding stuff soon, blah blah blah.

BUT my life was drastically changed tonight when I discovered something magical on the internet.

MAGICAL.

This blog boasted the best umami flavor in a grilled hamburger ever.  Umami is that crazy smack of flavor that wakes up your taste buds and has you saying, “What was that?” (more about umami here).

The White on Rice Couple said their secret to the best umami burgers ever was fish sauce.  That’s right, the Vietnamese sauce that seems to go well with all Vietnamese dishes…but in an American burger.  As soon as I read that, I smacked my forehead.  Of course you should put fish sauce in a burger.  D’oh!

Three Crabs is the brand we use. (Click on image to be redirected to photo source)

Fish sauce is filled with glutamates, which are those nummy little amino acids that give umami flavor to soy sauce, worcestershire, meats, and anything delicious.

I followed their recipe to a T, and I can honestly say it was the best burger of my life.  I’ve never been able to grill anything remotely close to that awesome flavor.

Ignore my freckled skin and peach fuzzed arms.

I topped my burger with feta cheese, caramelized onions, basil, and Trader Joe’s Red Pepper Sauce.

p.s. This is awesome…as if you ever doubted the awesome power of a Trader Joe’s sauce.

I was literally hooting and hollering on my patio.

Life=changed forever.

Please try this.  Even if you have to buy a jar of fish sauce, you can always use the rest of the bottle for stir fries (frys?), fried rice, AND ALL THE BURGERS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

Thank you for your time,

Mads

Turkey decisions in time for Thanksgiving

I was going to post my day in Tweets, but last night I found out that I won Pioneer Woman’s giveaway for a turkey set!

I have never made a turkey before, let alone been in charge of the Thanksgiving turkey.  Now I don’t have any excuses because I have this:

Roaster

The fact that Jonathan’s family is Chinese works greatly in my favor because they don’t quite know what to expect with a Thanksgiving bird.  Their taste buds aren’t biased and expectant of an herb-buttered golden moist bird.

Which brings me to the point of how to make the Thanksgiving turkey.  The internet is SO divided on this topic.  Some are briners, some are basters, some use fresh fowl, some use frozen, some use herbs, some use citrus…there is just no way of knowing what is the best.

Here are some recipes I found that intrigued me (click on the photo for the original recipe and photo source):

Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey. This recipe uses some crazy aromatics like apple, onion, and cinnamon. With over 3000 reviews, this recipe is 5 stars.

Ree Drummond's favorite brine. This one uses apple juice, oranges, and peppercorns. Such creativity! This one didn't get the same stellar reviews as Alton Brown, but it could be tweaked.

The New York Times has a meaty rendition of Thanksgiving, involving Italian sausage and pancetta. I know this will be Jonathan's vote, but it's not the traditional bird.

My tried and true bloggy friend, Comfortably Domestic, has a citrus herb roasted recipe. This involves a bunch of herbs and lots of butter. You really can't go wrong with that.

Needless to say, my mind is spinning with ideas.

What recipe do you use for your turkey?  Are you a traditional bird person or do you like funky twists on an old fave?

-Mads

Fall recipes I’m dying to try

Fall always gets me in the mood to bake, roast, and mash all of the best comfort foods.  There’s nothing like curling up with a bowl full of homemade chicken soup or digging into a slice of piping hot apple pie.

This fall, I’ve decided to commit to a new approach.  I’m going to make recipes that I’ve never attempted before.  This could result in epic failures, but I have a feeling it will be more delicious than anything else.

Here’s what I’m committed to making this fall:

Miss InsideNanaBread’s Head’s POSOLE!  NanaBread is on a vacation from blogging, but I promise she is worth checking out when she comes back.

Mexican-style stew with hominy

Pam’s pie crust for apple pie (featured on The Pioneer Woman).  I have never made my own crust (shhhh), but I am determined to try this flaky goodness.  I have also never ventured into baked fruit pies, but apple pie is in the game plan.

101 Cookbook’s Easy Little Bread.  My track record with bread is not stellar.  Usually I end up with a cement lump or a dough ball of goo.  This no-knead bread promises that it will be easy and totally doable for a baking beginner like me.  101 Cookbook is a great blog with BEE-U-TI-FUL food photography.

Comfortably Domestic’s Mediterranean Inspired Chicken Wraps with Dill Cucumber Sauce.  Jonathan and I have been on a Mediterranean kick and anything by Comfortably Domestic is sure to be a win.

Kitchen-tested and children-approved

(Click on any of the pics above to find the original recipes.  These pictures are all from the bloggers linked in the text.)

Hopefully I remember to post my adventures in these dishes here, but let’s face it, I frequently forget who I am and what I’m doing.

Are you trying out any new recipes this fall?  What’s your favorite blog source for recipes?

-Mads