Pulled "Char Siu" with Scallion Pancakes

Well hello there... long time no see! Life kind of got away from me for a bit. Taught a summer course, sister moved to a different continent, tried (it's an ongoing battle) to write about my dissertation topic...

But enough about me: on to the food.

This is a slow cooker recipe. This is because it was actually three billion degrees here (five billion with the humidex) and I could not bear to turn on the stove, let alone the oven. We tried once, and it ended in tears. Tears and pizza, but tears none the less. If you don't have a slow cooker, just stick it in the oven on low for a few hours (have fun with the heat!) and it'll be fine.

These "Chinese Tacos", as they are now called in my house, have been so popular that we have made them twice in the past month -- something that doesn't happen that often, actually.

You need:
A slow cooker: mine was a wee little 1.5 litre one; 3 litres would do fine also
2 pounds of pork, the cheaper the better. Shoulder works really well.
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c hoisin sauce
2 tsps 5 spice powder
2 tsps minced ginger
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp sriracha chili sauce (optional)
1 tsp dark sesame oil

1. Put everything in the slow cooker (or covered baking dish) and stir it around so it gets all mixy. Mmmm mixy.
2. Turn the slow cooker on low for 8 hours. Go away.
3. Come back later. The pork will be all nice and shredable now. Take it out and shred it in a bowl, or shred it in the crock - your choice. If you shred it in a bowl, when it is all shreddy put it back in to soak up all the juices. YUM!
4. Serve with the scallion pancakes you find below, and maybe some Goose Island IPA you'd been saving from your trip to Chicago a while back.

Scallion Pancakes (makes 12):

3 c all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
6 green onions/scallions, white and light green parts only, finely sliced
2 tsp baking powder
2 TBS vegetable oil
1 TBS dark sesame oil
1 c water


1. Mix the dry ingredients together, except for 1 cup of  the flour. Make a well in the centre and stir in the wet ingredients. Add in the scallions.

2. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the flour if you need it.

3. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, covered with plastic wrap, then divide the dough into 12 pieces.

4. Form each piece into a ball, then flatten it and roll it out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. Each dough piece should make an 8" circle when flat.

5. You can cook these in the frying pan with a bit of sesame oil over high heat for a minute or two on each side, but we did ours on the barbecue, because of that problem with the heat and the oven and the tears. A minute or two each side - til grilled and bubbly - worked really well.

6. Serve with the above pork recipe and the sliced green parts left over from the scallions!

.

Grilled Lemon Pork Chops

This one is an easy one, but so good.


You need for the main:

two 4oz pork loin chops (or chicken, or turkey, etc.)
1/4 c lemon juice
1/4 c olive oil
1 tsp coarse salt
2 tsp dried oregano
copious fresh ground pepper

On the side:
2 cups of broccoli
a small spaghetti squash


1. The night before (or an hour before you want to eat, but longer is better), put the meat in a shallow dish or a ziplock bag and add the marinade ingredients (lemon juice, oil etc). Just let that sit in the fridge.

2. 40 minutes from when you want to eat, split your spaghetti squash in two lengthwise and clean out the seeds.

3. Arrange skin-side up on a baking tray and put into a preheated 350º oven for 30 minutes.

4. Cut up your broc so it's all ready for when you need it.

5. When your squash has 5 minutes left, preheat your grill. I just got a new grill pan and this was its inaugural use and I am very pleased with its performance!

6. When the grill or pan is hot, toss on your meat. It should sizzle - that way you'll get nice grill marks! At this point it's probably time to remove your squash and turn on the broc to steam. You can let the squash cool on the counter for a little while.

7. When you have nice grill marks on one side of the meat (this should only take 4 minutes or so), flip it and do the other side. When the other side is done, so should the meat be, but if you're cooking with pork you should just make a little cut and check: no pink for pig!

8. Cut up your squash, plate your dinner, and you're good to go! Easy!

Note: One spaghetti squash is a lot for two people. Unless you're cooking for more, you'll have leftovers. But fear not! You can freeze the flesh! Just take it off the skin, put it in a baggie and you're good to go. :)

Maple-Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

This is my favourite way to eat pork - it is juicy, tender, and full of flavour. The recipe is fairly low-effort, too - just mix, marinate, and cook! Pork tenderloin was on sale at my grocery store, but I imagine it would work just as well with chops, maybe even ribs! The recipe is from Cooking Light Magazine from 2005 - my family has been making it since then, and it is delicious!!

The marinade also doubles as a lovely dressing for peppery or bitter greens, such as arugula or endive, and it works well as a marinade with dark-meat chicken or turkey, if you're not a fan of pork. I imagine even beef would be nice this way.


For the marinade:

1/2 c tomato juice
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c maple syrup
1 tbs minced fresh rosemary
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced (or shallots - we had a guest with a garlic allergy and used that sub)
2 1/2 tbs olive oil

1. Combine everything but the oil and mix well. Then gradually mix in the oil and whisk until everything is combined. You can at this point refrigerate the dressing for up to five days, or you can use it immediately.

Look! I even have calorie counts etc because it's from a magazine! Per 1 tbs: 39 calories, 2.3g fat, 0.2g protein, 4.7g carb, 0.1g fiber, 118mg sodium



For the Tenderloins:

2 (3/4 lb) pork tenderloins
1/2 c (1/2 recipe) Maple-Balsamic dressing, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1. Butterfly the tenderloins - cutting them lengthwise but not all the way through, so they have a hinge and can lay open and flat. Marinate in a large plastic bag or a large dish, covered, in the fridge for 20 minutes or up to 8 hours. Make sure you turn the tenderloins every once in a while, so that all the meat gets a chance to soak up the flavours.

2. Now, here's the thing. Usually, you'd do this on the grill - it is AMAZING on the grill, and this was our plan. But we had terrible rainy weather when we were making this and so we roasted ours in the oven - still delicious! I'll tell you what to do either way.

3a. For GRILL: Heat grill to medium-high heat. Sprinkle meat iwht salt and pepper and grill 9 mins on each side or until the meat is cooked through (this is really important with pork!!)

3b. For OVEN: Heat oven to 375F. Roast uncovered for 30-40 minutes, or until pork is cooked through (this is really important!!).

4. For both methods: Place the remaining 1/4 c marinade/dressing in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer until it thickens into a nice sauce.

5. Slice the meat, when it is cooked, into portions, and drizzle with the sauce you made. We served ours with roasted peppers, roasted asparagus, and roasted baby new potatoes.

And nutritionals for the pork: (3 oz serving) 176 cals, 6.2g fat, 24g protein, 4.8g carb, 74mg cholesterol, 1.6mg iron, 372mg sodium