Pork and pineapple are two of my favorite ingredients. Sweet and Sour Pork from almost any Chinese restaurant makes me happy. Simply Delicious finally put these two powerhouse ingredients together in this recipe for 7-13: Thai Pork Loin.
Looking at the size of the chunks in the sample photo, I see how I could have cut my ingredients differently, however, I still stand by the choices I made. The method of preparation I chose is what Jamie and I would prefer versus what the book tells you to do.
The TIPS section suggests to add fish sauce, an ingredient which Jamie insists we keep in stock at all times. It is a proven flavor booster for almost any buttery, saucy dish. Fish sauce blends into soy sauce and helps to cut the harshness of salty flavors.
Here’s the ingredients, the cornstarch and soy sauce combo has become my go to for a quick pan sauce.
The roast pictured above is cut from a side of pork that we purchase from Costco. The side can be broken down into two roasts and about 12 pork chops. I like purchasing pork this way because I can cut the chops as thick or as thin as I want. The spare pork chops and roasts are stored in the freezer, sometimes marinated in sauce.
I cut the pork in this fashion because it cooks evenly and each chunk is bite-sized. I didn’t like how the recipe calls for cooking the roast in large chunks. The meat can reach a safe internal temperature before the outside burns by cutting the meat small and cooking over medium heat.
The golden brown spots are the visual signs of flavor. Keep cooking the pork until most of the outside is golden brown, then pull from the pan.
The pork is draining on a bed of paper towels. The onion I chopped while the pork was browning gets tossed into the pan to cook until soft.
Add some water…
…and some hot sauce…
…and some cinnamon. I think the cinnamon is in place of a more traditional Thai ingredient like lemongrass. If I made this dish again, I would experiment and use a different spice because cinnamon did seem a little off.
Next I have to prepare the leek. I think they intended green onion, but the editors of Simply Delicious swap the two constantly.
Jamie taught me the technique in the photo, but she learned it from Simply Delicious. Make a slurry of cornstarch with some water and pour it into the pan with the ingredients. This will cause the sauce to thicken up and turn the drippings and soy sauce into a delicious pan sauce.
Voila! A final dish that I was very proud of. The cut leeks added some crunch and green flavor to an otherwise meaty dish. I served the pork on a bed of rice with plenty of pan sauce. The leftovers were great for lunch the next day and I have made dishes similar to this on my own now that I learned the technique from Simply Delicious.
GRADE: A+
