Sweet & Sour Pork

Yeah, we can get Pork in the UAE and good quality pork at that!  Anyway, it has been a very long time since I made a Sweet and Sour dish and considering that I've been using Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food a lot lately, I thought I'd give his version a go.  It was worth making - it was really tasty, very easy to make and I easily adapted it to suit the girls and what they like to eat.

Jamie served his dish with a gem lettuce and a sprinkling of sesame seeds, which I did not.

My Sweet and Sour Pork 

Taken from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food, pg 64/65, published 2008

Serves 2
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g long-grain or basmati rice
200g pork filler
1 small red onion
1 red or 1 yellow pepper (or 1/2 of each)
a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 - 1 fresh red chilli, to your taste
small bunch of coriander
groundnut oil
1 heaped teaspoon five-spice
1 teaspoon cornflour
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 x 227g tin pineapple chunks
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

To prepare your stir-fry
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the rice.  Cook according to the packet instructions.  Drain the rice in a sieve, put back into the pan and cover with foil to keep warm until needed.
Halve the pork fillet and cut into 2cm cubes.  Peel and halve the red onion, then dice into 2cm cubes.  Halve the pepper, deseed and cut into 2cm cubes.  Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic.  Finely slice the chilli.  Pick the coriander leaves and put them to one side.  Finely chop the coriander stalks.

Top left - browning the pork cubes ; Top Right - cooking chopped ingredients
Bottom Left - All ingredients cooking ; Bottom Right - Final serving on bed of rice

To cook your stir-fry
Preheat a wok or large frying pan on a high heat and once it's very, very hot add a good lug of groundnut oil and swirl it around.  Add the pork and the five-spice and toss or stir them around.  Cook for a few minutes until browned, then transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
Carefully give the wok or pan a quick wipe with a ball of kitchen paper and return to the heat.  When it's really hot, add 2 good lugs of groundnut oil and all the chopped ingredients.  Toss or stir everything together and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in the cornflour and 2 tablespoon of soy sauce.  Let everything cook for 30 to 40 seconds, then add the pineapple chunks with their juice, the browned pork and balsamic vinegar.  Season with black pepper and a little more soy sauce if needed.  Break open a piece of the pork, check if it's cooked through and remove from heat.  Reduce the sauce to a gravy-like consistency by cooking for a few minutes more.

To serve your stir-fry
Divide the rice between two bowls or plates.  Spoon the pork, veg and sauce over the top and sprinkle with reserved coriander leaves.

Crunchy Pork Chops

A nice coating to try on your pork chops next time...  I served mine with scalloped potatoes and roasted capsicums...

*Taken from Nigella Lawson's 'Feast', pg 345, published 2004*

Ingredients

2 x 250g pork chops

1 egg

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp dried oregano

50g breadcrumbs

1 tbs freshly grated Parmesan

250ml groundnut oil or similar for frying

Method

Trim the thick white fat off the pork chops, cutting carefully around the outside edge.  Lay the chops between two pieces of clingfilm and, using a mallet or a rolling pin, beat them until the meaty part of the chop is half as thick.  You will need to beat around the bone, so turn them over once as you go.

Beat the egg in a shallow wide bowl with the mustard, oregano and salt and pepper.  And, on a large plate or platter, combine the breadcrumbs with the Parmesan.

Press each of the chops into the egg mixture, coating both sides.  Then dip the eggy chops into the breadcrumbs, covering them evenly.  Let them lie on a wire rack to dry slightly while you heat the oil in a large frying pan.  When a small cube of bread sizzles if dripped into the oil, you can get frying.  You need to cook the chops until they're a deep golden colour, about 5-7 minutes a side (depending on how thin you've managed to get them and how cold they were before going into the oil).

Serves 2

Pork Chops with Apple and Red Onion Chutney

This was quite nice (please excuse the crap photo I took of it!) and the chutney was delicious. I served this with hassleback potatoes, a recipe I will indeed post another time!) The recipe also states to use green cabbage, but I used the ordinary everyday white-type one. Is there much difference?

*Taken from Murdoch Books 'Fast Food'*

Ingredients

125 g butter

2 small red onions, sliced

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, then cut into quarters and sliced

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/3 cup honey

4 pork loin chops (about 250g each)

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp caraway seeds

725g green cabbage, thinly shredded

Method

To make the chutney, melt 50g of the butter in a saucepan, then add the onion, apple, cloves and honey. Simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes over low heat. Increase the heat to medium, cover and cook for another 20 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to a thick chutney. Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, season the chops well on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and 50g of the butter in a large frying pan and saute the chops over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes on each side, or until browned and cooked through. Remove the pan from the heat, leaving the chops to rest for 2 minutes.

While the chops are cooking, melt the remaining butter in a large saucepan, add the caraway seeds and cabbage and cook, covered, over medium-low heat, tossing a few times with tongs, for about 12 minutes, or until tender.

To serve, place a port chop on each plate and serve the cabbage on the side. Top with a spoonful of chutney.

Serves 4

Old-School Pork Chops with Apples and Sage

I made these a while back and remember they were very delicious and went well with Savoy Cabbage with Worcestershire sauce and crispy roast potatoes, which is what is suggested by Jamie. With the cabbage it was as easy as using a Savoy cabbage and frying it with some Worcestershire sauce for about 8 minutes and finishing it off with a large knob of butter after it has been removed from the heat. I need to make these again.

*Taken from Jamie Oliver's 'Cook with Jamie'*

Ingredients

4 x 250g pork chops

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

olive oil

2 good eating apples (I used Fuji) unpeeled, cored and each cut into 8 wedges

a knob of butter

a handful of fresh sage leaves

Method

Preheat oven to 200C. Lay the pork chops out on a board and using a sharp knife, cake 2cm/1 inch deep cuts all along the fatty side of them, about 1cm apart. It helps render out the fat and will also make the skin crisp. Sprinkle the chops with the salt and pepper.

Pour a glug of olive oil into a hot pan. Carefully place your chops in it and cook them for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until they are golden brown. If you need to, open out the little pieces of fat along the edge so they don't stick together.

When the chops are nearly done, lift them out of the pan and put them on to an oiled baking tray. Add the apple wedges and a knob of butter to the pan and fry until lightly golden. Lay 4 wedges of apple on top of each pork chop. Dress your sage leaves in a little olive oil and top each apple stack with them. Put the baking tray into the oven for 4-6 minutes until everything is golden.

Serves 4

Caramel Pork and Pumpkin Stir-Fry

I was a little unsure what this recipe would taste like but when I say "Oh. My." you know it must be good. It was so very delicious and if I had of served it up in Asian Takeaway Plastics then you would have sworn it was from a restaurant. Yep - it was that good. It kinda tasted like Cantonese food. I will definitely be making it again, especially because Monet liked it so much, along with her father!

The recipe calls for a pork fillet, but I used butterflied pork steaks (?). To thinly slice raw meat for Asian-type meals, what I do is partially freeze the meat as it makes cutting so much easier. Trust me on this. I didn't use my wok either. I used my ever-trusty large frying pan. I also cooked my Asian greens in my steamer I use in a saucepan, rather than the method stated here.

*Taken from the Murdoch Book 'Fast Food'*

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups jasmine rice

500g pork fillet, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2-3 tbs peanut oil

300 g butternut pumpkin, cut into 2cm x 4cm pieces about 5mm thick.

1/3 cup (60g) soft brown sugar

1/4 cup (60 ml) fish sauce

1/4 cup (60 ml) rice vinegar

2 tbs chopped fresh coriander leaves

1.25 kg mixed Asian greens (bok choy, choy sum, gai larn)

Method

Bring to the boil, a large saucepan of water. Add the rice and cook for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain.

Combine the pork with the garlic and 2 tsp of the peanut oil. Season with salt and plenty of pepper.

Heat a wok until very hot, add 1 tbs oil and swirl to coat. When just starting to smoke, stir-fry the pork in two batches for about 1 minute per batch, or until the meat changes colour. Transfer to a plate. Add the remaining oil to the wok and stir-fry the pumpkin for 4 minutes, or until tender but not falling apart. Remove and add to the pork. Keep warm.

Combine the sugar, fish sauce, rice vinegar and 1/2 cup (125ml) water in the wok and boil for about 10 minutes, or until syrupy. Return the pork and pumpkin to the wok and stir for 1 minute, or until well coated and heated through. Stir in the coriander.

Put the mixed Asian greens in a paper-lined bamboo steamer over a wok of shimmering water for 3 minutes or until wilted. Serve immediately with the stir-fry and rice.

Serves 4

Pan-roasted Pork Cutlets with Balsamic Vinegar and Thyme

This dish was surprisingly very beautiful to eat. It would also be lovely omitting the pork and adding beef steak... I served it with some steamed carrots and on a bed of garlicky, cheesy mashed potatoes, which is recommended in the recipe.

*Taken from Tobie Puttock's 'Daily Italian'*

Ingredients

2 x 200g pork cutlets

1 tbs thyme leaves

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

1 tbs olive oil

2 1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar

Method

Using a sharp knife, cut a crisscross pattern into the flesh of the pork. Mix the thyme with a pinch of salt and pepper, then massage the mixture into the grooves created by the incisions.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the pork for 1-3 minutes on each side, or until the flesh is nice and brown.

Splash in the vinegar, making sure to turn the pork over so that both sides get a coating. Once the vinegar has nearly evaporated, remove the pork from the pan and allow it to rest. Add 2 tablespoons of water to the pan, and give it a shake to loosen the vinegar. Arrange the cutlets on plates, and drizzle with a spoonful of the pan juices. Serve with a green salad and mash potatoes.

Serves 2