Two, for the price of zero.
Jun. 8th, 2015 12:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe, with a bonus because they were conceived as a meal rather than as two separate dishes: Stir-Fried Pork with Sweet Paste and Dry-Fried Green Beans.
3/4 boneless pork loin
4 scallions
about 5 tsp Sichuanese sweet bean paste
1/3 cup peanut oil (I used less)
marinade:
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp cold water
1 tsp rice wine or sherry
sauce:
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp chicken stock
Cut the pork into thin slices and then into long thin slivers, ideally about 1/8" thick. Place in a small bowl, add the marinade ingredients, and stir in one direction to combine. Leave for about 15 minutes. Cut the scallions into 4" sections and then lengthwise into fine slivers, leaving in a bowl of cold water to refresh. Dilute the sweet paste with 1 Tbsp water to give a runny consistency. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
When you are ready to cook, drain the scallions and set aside. Season the wok, then add the oil and heat over high flame until it begins to smoke. Add the pork slivers and stir-fry briskly. After a minute or so, when they have separated and are becoming pale, push the pork over to one side of the wok, tilt the wok, and let the oil run to the other side. Place the sweet paste into the space and stir-fry for 10-20 seconds until it is fragrant. Tilt the wok back to normal, mix the paste and pork together, and add the sauce. Mix well and turn onto a serving plate. Top with the scallion slivers to serve.
What worked: This was good. A bit sweeter and blander than I prefer, but it went well with the veg side dish (below). Like many dishes from this book it seems like a lot of work, really isn't, and cooks very quickly.
What didn't: See above.
Will I make it again? Probably.
10 oz green beans or haricots verts (I used green beans)
2 scallions
peanut oil
8 dried chiles, snipped in half
1/2 tsp Sichuan pepper
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (Ha! I used... more.)
an equivalent amount of fresh ginger, also thinly sliced
salt to taste
Remove strings from bean edges and trim tops and tails. Break into 2" sections. Cut the scallions at a steep angle into thin 1 1/2" long slices.
Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a wok over medium flame. Add the green beans and stir-fry for about 6 minutes, until they are cooked and tender with slightly puckered skins. Remove and set aside. Heat 2 Tbsp fresh oil over high; add the chiles and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry very briefly until fragrant. Quickly add the garlic, ginger, and scallions and stir-fry until they are all fragrant. Throw in the beans and stir and toss the ingredients together, adding salt to taste. Serve.
What worked: Good. The spiciness of this dish complimented the sweet bland of the pork.
What didn't: I couldn't get fresh haricots verts and used thick green beans, which took longer and weren't cooking quite the way I expect these should. Damn surface area geometry. I forgot to add the garlic and ginger until just before serving (I was cooking these on one burner in a cast-iron skillet, with the pork in the wok on the other) and had to add a couple more minutes so the garlic/ginger wouldn't be raw and bitey.
Pedantic complaint: if you're using oil, they aren't dry-fried. They are fried.
Will I make it again? Probably.
3/4 boneless pork loin
4 scallions
about 5 tsp Sichuanese sweet bean paste
1/3 cup peanut oil (I used less)
marinade:
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp cold water
1 tsp rice wine or sherry
sauce:
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp chicken stock
Cut the pork into thin slices and then into long thin slivers, ideally about 1/8" thick. Place in a small bowl, add the marinade ingredients, and stir in one direction to combine. Leave for about 15 minutes. Cut the scallions into 4" sections and then lengthwise into fine slivers, leaving in a bowl of cold water to refresh. Dilute the sweet paste with 1 Tbsp water to give a runny consistency. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
When you are ready to cook, drain the scallions and set aside. Season the wok, then add the oil and heat over high flame until it begins to smoke. Add the pork slivers and stir-fry briskly. After a minute or so, when they have separated and are becoming pale, push the pork over to one side of the wok, tilt the wok, and let the oil run to the other side. Place the sweet paste into the space and stir-fry for 10-20 seconds until it is fragrant. Tilt the wok back to normal, mix the paste and pork together, and add the sauce. Mix well and turn onto a serving plate. Top with the scallion slivers to serve.
What worked: This was good. A bit sweeter and blander than I prefer, but it went well with the veg side dish (below). Like many dishes from this book it seems like a lot of work, really isn't, and cooks very quickly.
What didn't: See above.
Will I make it again? Probably.
10 oz green beans or haricots verts (I used green beans)
2 scallions
peanut oil
8 dried chiles, snipped in half
1/2 tsp Sichuan pepper
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (Ha! I used... more.)
an equivalent amount of fresh ginger, also thinly sliced
salt to taste
Remove strings from bean edges and trim tops and tails. Break into 2" sections. Cut the scallions at a steep angle into thin 1 1/2" long slices.
Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a wok over medium flame. Add the green beans and stir-fry for about 6 minutes, until they are cooked and tender with slightly puckered skins. Remove and set aside. Heat 2 Tbsp fresh oil over high; add the chiles and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry very briefly until fragrant. Quickly add the garlic, ginger, and scallions and stir-fry until they are all fragrant. Throw in the beans and stir and toss the ingredients together, adding salt to taste. Serve.
What worked: Good. The spiciness of this dish complimented the sweet bland of the pork.
What didn't: I couldn't get fresh haricots verts and used thick green beans, which took longer and weren't cooking quite the way I expect these should. Damn surface area geometry. I forgot to add the garlic and ginger until just before serving (I was cooking these on one burner in a cast-iron skillet, with the pork in the wok on the other) and had to add a couple more minutes so the garlic/ginger wouldn't be raw and bitey.
Pedantic complaint: if you're using oil, they aren't dry-fried. They are fried.
Will I make it again? Probably.
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no subject
Date: 2015-06-08 08:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-08 09:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-09 12:45 am (UTC)I suspect marketing.
Date: 2015-06-09 03:34 am (UTC)"We need something evocative but meaningless, like - I don't know, Land of Plenty?"
"Brilliant!"