Full to the Brim

     

     I am full in so many ways. My apartment is full of delicious foods. My oven was full, my slow cooker is full, my fridge is full. I adore this fullness. I am also full myself, I have eaten far too much. My dinner was amazing, absolutely amazing. Are you looking at it? Are you jealous? You should be. You might also be wondering where Part II of the Great Cake went, don't worry it is coming. I just thought it might get monotonous if I kept posting one cake after another (or not as suspenseful). So, we are looking at my dinner tonight instead. And drooling. At least I am.

     This dinner was a very spur of the moment thing. I happen to have a very large pork shoulder defrosting in my fridge. Well, I had taken it out of my freezer yesterday to defrost. As you have probably guessed, it did not. It was still frozen solid when I took it out of the fridge this morning. So I dumped the whole thing into a brine. By 2, the edges were a little more thawed. Exasperated, and extremely hungry, I began hacking away little pieces of it and throwing them into a bowl. And I mean little bite-sized pieces. I threw them into said bowl, covered them with Korean marinade from H-Mart, and then promptly forgot about them. (That was the Great Cake Part II's fault).

A Balanced Meal

     Today, it took me a very long time to get around to eating. I mean, of course I ate my Fruits and Cream Quaker Oats Oatmeal this morning before class. I promise I'm not an ad, it is just actually what I eat every morning because it is the deliciousest fast breakfast there is. Anyway, of course I ate that. But between having class till 1 and then getting caught in a torrential downpour and having to seek shelter in a friend's house, I did not get around to cooking till 3:30. And then, I decided to cook something that would take an hour and a half. Why? Because I knew it would be worth it. (And I still had some peanut butter bar to eat..)

     It was pork. Do you know that bright red roast pork you get at Chinese take-out restaurants? It was that pork. Just, not bright red because that beautiful color comes from....guess what? Food Coloring. Of course, it would. Also, my pork was not exactly authentic Chinese because it was Yakibuta, the Japanese version of the Chinese Char Siu, from a recipe I found on the lovely site Just Hungry. And, I was all prepared to make this great dish! Last night before work, I filled a bowl full of marinade and dumped the pork in. So, all I needed to do was stick it in the oven, and it would be done. 

     Was it really as simple as that? A bowl of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and a star anise, and then just turning on the oven the next day? Yes, yes it was. This is why I love the oven, you can put things in and not worry about them and then suddenly you have a plate of lovely food! Well, I had some intermediate steps of course. To make sure my meal made up for my previous lack of meals, I made rice and bok choy as well. The bok choy was easy. It was just a version of the bok choy I made previously without the garlic, with a little extra ginger, and with some shitake mushrooms thrown in before I started cooking the bok choy. 

     I love my meals nowadays. The pork was ridiculously moist and tender, with that subtle taste of sweetness which I can't seem to find an adjective for except Asian, and that is utterly unworthy of this marinade. I started boiling down the marinade at a low simmer once I put the pork in the oven, and then I used some of it as a sauce for my rice. It was delicious. With the bok choy, finally making me feel a little healthy, this was just a perfect little meal.

Japanese-style Chinese Pork 

Adapted from Just Hungry

1/2 lb Pork Shoulder 

3/4 cup Soy Sauce 

1/2 cup Water 

1 Star Anise

1/4 tsp Ginger Powder (or a small chunk Fresh Ginger) 

1 Garlic Clove, Minced 

1 tsp Sugar

Trim the skin and excess fat off the sides of the piece of pork. Place it in a medium bowl, add the soy sauce, and then enough of the water to fully cover the pork. Add the star anise, ginger powder, and garlic clove and mix it in the soy sauce. Turn the pork a couple of times to make sure it is properly covered. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and place it in the fridge overnight or for at least three hours. When you are ready to cook the pork, pre-heat the oven to 280 degrees. Sprinkle both sides of the pork with sugar. Then, place it in a baking dish with about 1 cm of water. Bake it for about an hour and a half, turning the pork over every half an hour, until you can stick a knife in it and the juices run clear (not red). 

Note:

You may have to add more water after an hour or so to keep it at 1 cm. 

I cut the pork into slices to serve. Feel free to cut it into cubes, or small strips, in order to put it in rice, noodles, salad, or whatever else your heart desires. You can also cut it up and then freeze it to have it for later!

"Study Time"

Do you know what this is?

     So, whenever I talk to you, I always seem to be talking about my hectic life, my constant exams, and my cooking-for-the-future-freezing-extra-food-because-I-have-no-time-ness. I mean, that is true, but only to a certain extent. I also spend my time being a couch potato in my friends' (PVL and BJG and RG and CC's) apartment on campus watching tons of Food Network and not getting anything done. It is a good balance.

A new base of operations.

   Yesterday, I got off work (still kind of full of hot soup) and went home. Almost immediately, I saw a text from PVL: "Are you coming over tonight?" I wanted to, but I had to cook! But, he was all alone in that whole apartment. What a dilemma. So, I did the only thing that made sense. I took all my cooking materials to his dorm. Pork chops. Check. Panko and flour. Soy sauce, ketchup, and vegetable oil. Black pepper and salt. An egg wrapped in a paper towel. Check check check. 

     Have you guessed what I'm making? Well, maybe you have an idea, you just don't have the exact name. Here it is: Tonkatsu, or Pork Katsu, a Japanese pork dish. It's basically fried pork chops with a delicious sauce. And I have been craving it for oh so long.

     It is also, just like everything I seem to make, so easy! I know I had to buy panko for it, but panko is just the best kind of bread crumb that exists. If you ever plan to make anything of pure goodness involving coating with bread crumbs and frying, you should buy some right now! I'm sure you get it at regular grocery stores (I got it at Chinatown). 

    However, tonkatsu is generally deep-fried, and I am not a deep frying kind of person. Luckily, I found a recipe online for katsu from Amy at Nook & Pantry, who is apparently not a deep frying person either! It was great. I only changed it a very little, mainly to cut it down to size for my lovely, extra thin, boneless pork chops. Where she tenderized her meat with the spiky side of a waffle iron and then a pan, I battered mine with a plastic fork. I mean - it was mostly for stress relief, do those little chops even need tenderizing? Regardless, it was fun.

And then after frying pork chops, I fried the egg used for dredging...and ate it.

     So, that is why, after getting off from work at 9:15, after finishing writing my blog by around 11 (there was a lot of talking and Food Network-ing alongside), I made pork katsu, and we ate it for an almost-midnight snack. I split two of the chops with RG, and one with PVL (basically I am a little piggie sometimes), and that is how I ended up with no pork katsu lunch for the next day. But it's OK, because it was so good that of course none would be left over. It doesn't seem heavy, because the pieces are so small and it doesn't taste oily at all. The panko is crisp, the pork stayed moist and tender, and the katsu sauce...that sweet tanginess just brought everything together. It made me feel warm and full and good. Which is especially important on a night that ended up looking like this.

More Snow. Ah well.

Pork Katsu 

Adapted from Nook & Pantry 

Serves 3 (or the same number as the thin, boneless, pork chops you use - if you multiply, make sure to multiply the flour and panko amounts) 

For the Frying: 

3 Thin, Boneless Pork Chops (If you have fatter pork chops: you will have to debone them, and you will have to tenderize them more- See Nook & Pantry for details) 

Salt

Pepper 

1/8 cup Flour 

1 Egg, Beaten 

3/4 cup Panko 

Vegetable Oil 

First, trim the excess fat off the pork chops. Tenderize them by hitting them with the flat side of whatever utensil you have on hand, on both sides until they are flattened to about 1/4 in. Sprinkle a very little salt and pepper on both sides of the chops, rubbing them in. Then, lay out a frying line: put the flour in one deep plate, the egg in another, and the panko in the last. First, place the first pork chop in the plate of flour, turn it to cover both sides, and then shake off the excess. Next, put the chop in the egg, turning it to cover both sides, and letting the excess drip off. Lastly, put it in the plate with the panko, dropping panko onto the top-side to cover it as well. Don't shake, you want as much panko to stick as possible. Set aside and do the same for the other chops. Then, heat 1/4 in of oil in a large frying pan at medium heat. Once it is hot, put the pork chops in. Let them cook for about 3-5 minutes, then flip them, and cook them for 3-5 minutes on the other side, until both sides are golden brown. Place on a paper towel after they are fried, and pat them dry, so they are rid of excess oil. Cut into strips, and serve drizzled with Katsu Sauce! 

For the Sauce: 

1/4 cup Ketchup 

2 tbsp Soy Sauce 

1 1/2 tbsp Honey 

2 tbsp Teriyaki Sauce 

1 tsp Sugar  

In a medium bowl, mix the ketchup, soy sauce, honey, teriyaki sauce, and sugar thoroughly. Drizzle onto pork. Now, try to eat slowly. 

Note:

This is my own version of Katsu sauce because I didn't have the worcestershire sauce or mustard Nook & Pantry's recipe called for. Feel free to use hers or experiment by adding whatever else you would like! 

How Best to Cook

My view of Downtown Philly. Beautiful even on a gloomy day.

     Sometimes, the best way to cook is what I call the throw-everything-into-the-pot method. Generally, for me, this results in piping hot, veggie-rich, Asian flavored (considering the variety of Asian sauces I have now acquired) soup. Today, was no different. It was overcast and gloomy. It was cold, and as I've already been bemoaning the change in weather I will go no further with that. I missed my classes because I got sick. I was in a bad mood. What fixes a bad mood on a cold day? Not fussing over dishes I've never made before and would have to follow instructions for. Just making a good old - very comforting - soup.

Shiitake Mushrooms!

     I also have a lot of ingredients on hand, as you might have heard. I went mildly crazy at both Chinatown and Reading Terminal buying fresh fruits and veggies. You might know that I Rarely Ever have fresh produce, believing strongly in the power of the frozen food. So, what do I do with all this wealth? Well, I eat it as fast as possible, so none of it has a chance to go bad. And, when I know I can't eat an entire bush of kale (that is what it is - a bush), I boil some off to freeze it. Isn't it ironic that even when I buy fresh produce I turn it into frozen food? Ah well, that is the way of the world.

     Some of the fresh kale does make it into my soup though. Joining it are a bunch of shiitake mushrooms and a scallion, both of which I used to practice my julienning skills. Hurrah fancy Food Network words. Then, I look in my fridge. Hey! I still have more pork chops. In one goes. Life is beautiful when ingredients are on hand. And, isn't it just great that all you need for a soup base is water, soy sauce, and a little oyster sauce? I'm pretty sure you don't even need the oyster sauce, I just wanted to add a little something something more from my fully stocked pantry.

     So, for once, not only did I cook in the hour I had between class and work, I also got to eat. After a fast twenty minutes of cooking, I got a whole thirty to sit and enjoy! Imagine that. Slurping in the slightly bitter kale, the soft shiitake mushrooms, and that savory stock, I was utterly contented. Even leaving my apartment to find it chilly and snowing on my way to work didn't get me down. Everything is so different with your belly full of hot soup.

Quick Asian Kitchen-Sink Soup 

3 cups Water 
1/2 cup Kale
1/2 tsp Salt 
1 tbsp Soy Sauce 
1/4 tsp Oyster Sauce 
1/4 tsp Ginger Powder  
3 large Shiitake Mushrooms, Sliced Thinly 
1 Thin Boneless Pork Chop, Sliced Thinly (with excess fat trimmed off)  
1 Scallion, Sliced Thinly 
1 Egg  

Boil the water in a medium saucepan. Then, lower the heat to medium-low, and add the kale and the salt. Cook for about 8 minutes, then stir in the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and ginger powder. Next, mix in the shiitake mushrooms. Cook for about 3 minutes. Then, add the pork chop pieces and scallion. After stirring in, try to create an empty space in the middle of the pan (it might be hard). Crack the egg, and drop it into that space. Let it cook for a minute, not agitating it too much. Then pull it apart with long chopsticks or a spoon, just making sure all of it is cooked. This will probably only take a minute, after which you are ready to serve!