When Slowly Starving

     

     Some days are long. So long because you have work in the morning, class in the afternoon, work at night, and then you get home and you just want to EAT something but you don't know what. So what do you do? Well, I putter aimlessly around the kitchen for five minutes. There is pork in the fridge but what to do with it? Baking it is obviously not an option, not if my stomach is making certain grumbling noises.

     But, this Thursday I got lucky. My aimless puttering landed me in front of our giant bag of rice and I realized I knew exactly what to make which would be quick, simple, satisfying, and delicious. Fried Rice. Who doesn't like fried rice with pork? Except Vegetarians, who don't count (hush I'm making a point here).

     So, I marinated my pork for ten minutes while I cooked rice in the microwave. In case you ever don't have time to use the rice cooker (since mine generally takes 20 minutes) and want to make rice for just yourself: Put 1/2 cup of rice in a microwave safe bowl, add 1 cup of water, cover the bowl with a microwave safe lid and microwave for about 8 minutes. 8 minutes makes the rice perfect with my microwave, but it took much trial and error to find that out. You may have to fiddle with a few different times. Double the amount of rice and water for two people and so forth. 

     Anyhow, my fried rice ended up containing pork, egg, and kale. There is kale now defrosting in my fridge, as you may recall, and it needs to be used up. I love fried rice. To me, it is comforting in a french fries and burger kind of way. It has an unhealthy-tummy filling-utterly delicious vibe, but when you make it at home, it's not actually that unhealthy. What else could one ask for? I was so happy with it, I gulped it down in five minutes flat. My soy sauce-hoisin sauce-honey marinade made my pork taste great and just like restaurant pork. The kale made me feel a little healthier, and gave everything a fresh taste. And the rice was delicious. I love that this fried rice actually reminded me of take-out fried rice. Maybe I should package some in those little white boxes, except I wolfed it all down too fast. Next time. 

Pork Fried Rice

For Pork:

1 Thin Boneless Pork Chop 

1 tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tsp Hoisin Sauce

1/2 tbsp Honey 

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil 

For Fried Rice: 

1 Thin Boneless Pork Chop worth of Cooked Pork 

1 Egg, Beaten 

1/4 cup Pre-Boiled Kale 

1 1/2 tbsp Vegetable Oil 

1/2 cup Rice, Cooked and Cooled (Note: See Post Above) 

1 tbsp Soy Sauce 

To Cook the Pork

Trim the pork chop of excess fat. Then, cut it into bite size (1/2'' by 1/2'' pieces). In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and honey together. Drop in the pieces of pork and turn them to allow each piece to be thoroughly coated with marinade. Allow the pieces to marinate in the bowl for 15 minutes while cooking rice, etc. Then, heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan at medium heat. Cook the pork for 2 mins on each side until each piece is cooked through. Transfer it back into the bowl with the remaining marinade. (I used the oil left in the pan to scramble the egg in.) 

To Cook the Fried Rice: 

After cooking the pork, pour the beaten egg into the frying pan and scramble it. Set the pan aside. In a wok or large saucepan (what I had), heat up the vegetable oil at medium heat. Add the rice and and soy sauce, and mix them together thoroughly. Add the pork, the remaining pork-marinade, eggs, and kale, stirring till everything is well combined. Allow everything to cook together for a few minutes, and you are ready to serve! 

Necessity, Invention, and All That

Yay Star Anise!

     I still have not gone grocery shopping, not really. It is awful, I know, but where is the time? On the other hand, what will I eat? Well, whatever is left in the fridge. A few carrots, I love the hardiness - and long life - of carrots, green beans, and some Korean pork my mom packed for me to bring home. What to make of all this? 

Korean Pork looks menacing...

     Well, the easiest solution to this problem, if you know me, is not hard to figure out: some sort of - preferably Asian themed - soup. I'm sorry for the overload of these, but I can't help it! I must put food in my mouth in the shortest time possible, and soup is generally the way to go. So, what's new about this soup? Well, for one thing I don't think any self-respecting Asian of any kind would come up with it because it doesn't not belong to any one part of Asia. Star anise, coriander, oyster sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce might all kind of go together but then there's the Korean pork and the rice cakes. This soup owes allegiance to no country. 

Yes, I know it is sideways.

     Have you ever had rice cakes, or as my friends here seem to call them: rice lumps, before? They are disks of glutinous rice pounded together and you can cook them like noodles, and eat them the same way. I mean, in the sense that both provide carbs. To taste, rice cakes are flat chewy disks of goodness that soak up lots of delicious flavor when cooked in soup. At least each of my soups has something new! 

     So, what did my creation taste like? Well the best part about making recipes up is that you can just keep adding things to it until it tastes really good. My soup tasted delicious. The carrots were just right, not too mushy but not crunchy, the green beans made me feel healthier (I don't really like green beans...so I can't wax eloquent here, sorry), but the broth was just perfect. Actually, at first it was a little bit sweet and seemed to lack some tang. I kept looking around for something spicy to add to it, and then realized that the pre-marinated and pre-cooked (by my mother) Korean pork that I had would do just that. It made the broth perfect. You could add any protein you have lying around for this soup, or fish cakes, or I think the Chinese Roast Pork I once made would go really well. If your meat isn't spicy though, throw in a squirt of Sriracha to make the broth that perfect combo of spicy and sweet that I got. I love quick meals. 

Rice Cake Soup 

1 Star Anise

1/2 tsp Coriander Seeds 

2 cups Water 

1/2 cup Rice Cakes 

1 tbsp Soy Sauce 

1/2 tsp Oyster Sauce

1 tsp Hoisin Sauce 

3 mid-sized Carrots, Peeled and Sliced not too thin  

1/2 cup Green Beans, Sliced (or from frozen, like me) 

1/2 cup Protein of your Choice, Cut into Thin Slices or Small Chunks 

In a small frying pan, toast the star anise and coriander seeds for three minutes until they are fragrant. Add the water to a separate large saucepan at medium heat, and then add the spices to the water. Stir in the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and hoisin sauce as well. Add the rice cakes, carrots, and green beans. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer until the rice cakes and carrots are soft (it took me about 10 minutes). Because my meat was very very thin and pre-cooked to perfection, I only added it to my soup after I had poured it into a bowl, which was enough to get it hot. If you meat is thicker and will need to be heated up more thoroughly, add it to your soup now while it is simmering in the pot, and then serve the soup after two minutes. Enjoy! 

A Happy Day

     

     Some days are just perfect. Even if you have three classes and then a lab practical, sometimes you are in a really good mood. You come home, you go to the supermarket, and let me come out of my dreamy tone for a second: Did you know that Supreme Shop and Bag on 43rd and Walnut has spices for 99 cents????  They have bags and bags of beautiful spices. Finding that out was probably the start of my dreaminess. So, I bought the amazing star anise you see above and the coriander seeds. And what did I need this bounty for?

Best Dinner Ever. 

     Pho. The soup that is the joy of Vietnam. The only thing I ever get at a Vietnamese restaurant even though I always say I will order something else -- how can I order anything else when I know there is pho simmering away somewhere in the kitchen? It's even one of Anthony Bourdain's favorite foods! (Pride of the travel channel? Amazing host of No Reservations? Anyone?) I have been wanting to make it for so long. I bought pho noodles and pork shoulder in Chinatown for that sole purpose. Today, I finally got a chance to make it! The joys of not scheduling any work.

How to Make Pho Noodles

     So, I bought my spices. I toasted them, tossed them in my big pot with chicken stock, water, onion, fish sauce, and the pork. Forty-five minutes of simmering later, I had the best food in the world. The rich, flavorful broth, noodles to slurp, and tender pork all topped with the crunch of onions and the freshness of cilantro and lime juice. I want more just writing about it, especially with my empty bowl staring at me. My pho tasted just as good as restaurant pho - and I didn't even have to leave the house.

Cilantro, lime, onion, fish sauce, hoisin sauce-and the empty bowls where pho was.

     Now, I get to sit, blog, and watch Friends with PN. I am pleasantly full of pho, and I have writing part of my kid's book to look forward to. That's not sarcastic- I'm really looking forward to writing, finally. And, best of all, PN is Vietnamese and she loved the pho! I am very happy with the day. Second best of all, there is still a little pho left. I love knowing I will get a good meal tomorrow.

Pork Shoulder Pho 
Adapted from Guilty Kitchen        

Serves 2 

For the Soup:

1 Star Anise
2 Cloves 
1/2 tbsp Whole Coriander Seeds 
2 1/2 cups Chicken Stock 
1 1/2 cups Water
1/2 Mid-Size Onion, Finely Chopped 
1/4 tsp Ginger Powder (or a small chunk of Fresh Ginger) 
1/2 tbsp Sugar 
1 1/2 tbsp Fish Sauce   
1/2 Pork Shoulder (about 1/2 lb) 
1/3 pack Pho Noodles (about 2 cups) 

To Prep the Pork Shoulder:

Cut the skin and fat off the top of the 1/2 lb piece of pork shoulder. Trim some of the excess fat off of the sides. Cut it in half. Then, place it in a large bowl filled with water

To Cook the Soup: 

First, pour the chicken stock, water, chopped onion, ginger powder, sugar, and fish sauce in a large saucepan without turning on the heat. Stir them to mix. Then, place the star anise, cloves, and coriander seeds in a frying pan at medium heat (without any oil). Toast them for 3-4 minutes until they are fragrant. Once they are done, pour them into the saucepan. Place the pieces of pork in the pan as well. Turn on the heat to medium-high, and bring the pot to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about forty five minutes. Turn off the heat, pull the pieces of pork out and cut them (careful, it will be hot) into smaller pieces. Place them back in the broth.

For the Noodles:

Find a rounded sieve or colander whose insides will fit inside a saucepan. Fill the saucepan with enough water that the sieve would be submerged. Bring the water to boiling and reduce the heat slightly, enough to keep the water boiling. Place half the pho noodles in the sieve, and dunk it in the boiling water. Use chopsticks to stir the noodles around in the water till they are soft. Then, transfer them to a bowl. Repeat with the rest of the noodles.

For the Toppings: 

1 Lime, Cut in Half 
1/2 Onion, Sliced 
1 Handful Cilantro
Hoisin Sauce 
Fish Sauce 

Put your soup in a bowl, add noodles, and top with the toppings! It will be so delicious.