Spicy Braised Korean Pork

Tonight's recipe comes from the Top Chef Cookbook, from a group challenge to create a dish using the flavors of either Korea or Vietnam. I opted to make brown rice, instead of the sticky rice ... I used up the rest of my sticky rice stash the other day! Instead of the Kim Chee, which takes 4 days to make, I purchased some marinated bok choy from H-Mart, our local Asian market. I'm pretty busy these days, and the idea of a 4-day process just wasn't striking my fancy. I found that you can view this specific recipe from the Amazon preview, so check it out here.

Because the pork shoulder needed to brown by itself for about 20 minutes on the stove, I prepped that before gathering the rest of my mise en place. I used a 4-pound pork shoulder, as opposed to a 6-pound one. There's only two of us, and we like leftovers, but eating pork for the next two weeks isn't very appealing. I rubbed the pork with 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons paprika, 2 tablespoons curry powder, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. In the process, I ran out of paprika and curry powder! Looks like a spice shopping spree is in order!

I placed this in a large, ovenproof pot with some heated vegetable oil, and allowed it to brown on all sides, for about 20 minutes total. Meanwhile, I gathered everything else!

2 Bosc pears, peeled, cored and diced

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced yellow onions

10 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 quart apple juice

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

By the time I'd prepped all of my ingredients, my pork was nice and browned on all sides!

That looks good, huh!? It smelled delicious! I removed the pork from the pot and added the pears, carrots, celery, yellow onions, garlic cloves and ginger. I sauteed the mixture until softened, about 10 minutes.

After those 10 minutes, I added the apple juice and brought it to a boil over a medium-high heat.

I added the pork to the pot, turned it over a few times to coat and transferred it to a 350-degree oven, to cook for about 3 hours, turning every half hour or so.

Cut to three hours later, a few loads of laundry, and some good ol' puppy playtime, and the pork is ready! Remove the pot from the oven, and transfer the pork to a plate to rest, tented with aluminum foil.

Meanwhile, put the potted veggies and apple juice mixture back to the stove, and bring it to a boil. Allow it to boil until thickened, for 15 minutes, while the pork rests. After the time has passed, season the mixture with rice vinegar, salt and pepper.

To plate, I put some seasoned bok choy on each plate, and a nice mound of brown rice. I placed a thick slice of pork on each mound of rice and then topped it with some of the sauce. The pork was done PERFECTLY, and the spices were fantastic. This was a really hearty Sunday dinner...one for the books, people. One for the books!

A Successful Attempt at a Korean Favorite

Remember my recent post about all different types of Asian cuisine and their differences? Well, tonight I made an attempt at a Korean favorite of ours, Bibimbap. Traditionally, Bibimbap is a dish served in a warm clay pot, consisting of rice, vegetables, thinly sliced beef and a fried egg, topped with a Korean red chile paste. The recipe I decided to use is a part of The Professional Chef, a textbook from The Culinary Institute of America. I usually use this book as a reference guide, in order to master techniques, but I thought I'd give this recipe a shot, and I'm very glad I did!

From Flickr - by Eunmi Han

This particular version of Bibimbap called for some skirt steak to be marinated in some soy sauce, garlic, ginger, green onions, sesame oil, crushed sesame seeds and pepper. The marinade was really tasty and added some great flavor to the dish. Once I'd made the marinade, I put the vegetables together. The recipe called for daikon, radish, carrots and cucumbers all julienned. One of my cucumbers had gone bad in the refrigerator :( and I didn't have any daikon, but I used some jicama instead, and also added some julienned shiitake mushrooms as well. Even though the recipe called for raw vegetables, I threw them in the wok with some peanut oil for a few minutes, just to soften the carrots and take the chill off the rest of the veggies. Everytime I've ever had Bibimbap, the vegetables have been cooked so I altered that part a little bit. I threw them in a stainless steel bowl and topped it with a pot lid so that steam could continue to cook the veggies a little bit while I finished off the rest of the dish.

While my rice cooked in my wonderful rice cooker, I threw the marinated beef into the wok with a bit of vegetable oil. It didn't take more than a few minutes for the small pieces to cook through, and while that was happening, I fried two eggs in a skillet, keeping them "sunny-side up" so that they would be runny when the yolk was broken over the dish. My rice cooker clicked when it was finished and I spooned some sticky rice onto each plate. I topped the rice with my steaming carrots, jicama, radish and shiitake mushrooms. I sprinkled some chiffonade of iceberg lettuce on top of that, and as it started to wilt from the heat, I piled on some beef. Lastly, I laid the fried egg on top of all of this!

For the sauce, the recipe really just called for Korean Red Chile paste but I wanted to thin the paste a bit so I mixed in some fish sauce, some rice wine vinegar and a little bit of sweet rice wine. It did exactly what I wanted it to do, and thinned down to more of a sauce...which was great for dripping over the already delicious concoction.

Normally, this dish is served in a clay dish that stays warm for an extended period, and continues to cook the rice while you eat, making it crispy and crunchy on the sides of the bowl. It adds something special to the dish, but even without those clay dishes, I really think I nailed the authenticity. It was so delicious and reminiscent of our trips to Korean restaurants! It's always a good feeling when you know you can make something that you love to order out - less money spent, more confidence in my culinary achievements! Try making your favorite restaurant dish at home...and share your experiences with us! We're rooting for you!

Also, check out my new and improved Stock Your Kitchen page. I've renovated it so that you can automatically add my recommendations to your Amazon shopping cart, should you be interested in purchasing something that I've mentioned in any of my posts. Hopefully, this will be more convenient!

A Late Night and Some Thai Food

Welcome to the middle of the week, and that day that I spend two hours at the gym after work - doing Zumba and then yoga. I know, I JUST got home! My husband is at a Bruins' game tonight as well, so it looks like I'm on my own for dinner. I just placed an order for some Thai food, which made me think about the generalities that Asian food receives, but doesn't deserve!

All Asian cuisines intrigue me, and they are some of my favorite foods, but no two are alike, I'll promise you that. I think it's a common misconception to think that Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai foods, for example, are similar in any way! On the contrary, my dear Watson, they are very much dissimilar. Sri Lankan, Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese and even Indian food can also be considered Asian cuisines, but the most common four, I'd say, are the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai foods.

My favorite Chinese meal is a Cantonese delicacy, Dim Sum. Now, this is the epitome of instant gratification. When you go to a Dim Sum house, you are seated at a table, no menu required. You'll notice carts passing through the aisles stacked high with goodies! All you have to do is pick what you want from the carts, get your card stamped (for paying later) and voila, you've got lunch! It's quick, it's affordable, and it's delicious! Some of the options you'll find are shumais, dumplings, and my favorite...these yummy doughy sesame balls filled with bean paste. Mmm... :)

From Flickr - by GucciBeaR

Now, when we think about Japanese food, the first thing we think of is sushi, one of my favorite foods on this planet! However, there is much more to Japanese food than raw fish! Tempura, Katsu, and teriyaki dishes abound in this cuisine...but also, BENTO BOXES. I love bento boxes because you get to try a bunch of things in small amounts. Traditionally a lunch time option in Japan, a bento box has about 5 separate parts to the dish, each filled with another yummy treat. White rice and a salad are usually involved, as are tempura and teriyaki, along with a bit of sushi. Every restaurant has a different spin, but usually, you can order an "entree" and then it comes with all of these side dishes in the box. If you've never tried this form of lunching, I highly suggest it.

From Flickr - by Route79

Korean BBQ is a really fun night out, if you've never tried it. You order meats and veggies that are then grilled in front of you, on your table...that's right, your table is the grill! Bulgogi (thin slices of meat in a sweet and spicy sauce) is one of the most popular dishes, I'd say. However, my husband and I have another favorite: Bi Bim Bap. This dish is served in a hot clay pot, so it's still cooking when it comes to the table. In this pot, you'll find white rice, all sorts of vegetables, thinly sliced beef, and on top of all that, a fried egg, sunny-side up! When you burst the yoke and stir it into the dish, along with this spicy red sauce, it's heaven in a hot bowl! And the best part about Korean food...their tradition of little plates of appetizers that come with every dish. Marinated spicy zucchini, daikon and carrot slaw, kim chee...the options are different at every restaurant...and it comes with your meal!

From Flickr - by Gee!Bee

Finally, when we think of Thai food, I think the first thing that comes to mind is Pad Thai, but there's so much more to this delicious cuisine. Curries, delicious soups, and spices galore! Since I ordered Thai tonight, I'll tell you what I had! I had a Thai version of shumai, a steamed dumpling made of ground chicken and shrimp wrapped in a wonton wrapper, served with ginger sauce. For my entree, I chose the healthy option tonight...I did just come from the gym after all! I had Bangkok Garden, which is boiled chicken (it sounds boring but when cooked right, it's extremely juicy and succulent) with broccoli, summer squash, carrots, baby corn and onions. This dish comes with a delicious peanut sauce which you can pour over the dish at your discretion. I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner tonight!

So, experiment with those Asian cuisines and learn the differences for yourselves...you'll be amazed how  things so different have been lumped into such a broad category!