Thai Pork and Noodles

1 pound thin boneless pork chops, fat trimmed

8 ounces wide Thai rice noodles

1 cup fresh cilantro (leaves and stems)

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime

2 slices peeled ginger

2 cloves garlic, smashed

3 red jalapeno peppers, seeded and roughly chopped

2 shallots, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

4 tablespoons peanut oil

1/4 pound green beans, split lengthwise and cut into pieces

Directions

1. Place the pork in the freezer about 10 minutes to make it easier to slice. Soak the noodles in very hot water until just tender, about 10 minutes; drain. Snip the noodles with scissors into shorter lengths. Cut the frozen pork crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips.
2. Puree the cilantro, lime zest and juice, ginger, garlic, jalapenos, shallots, fish sauce, brown sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a food processor until smooth, scraping down the processor as needed.
3. Heat 3 tablespoons peanut oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add half the cilantro mixture and stir-fry 1 minute. Add the pork and stir-fry until no longer pink, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the pork with a slotted spoon to a plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil to the skillet; add the green beans and stir-fry until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the noodles, pork and 2 tablespoons of the remaining cilantro mixture. Cook, tossing with tongs, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining cilantro mixture to taste.

Grilled Pork Kebobs

2 (12-ounce) pork tenderloins, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons five-spice powder
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cornstarch
4 ½ tablespoons hoisin sauce
Vegetable oil spray
2 scallions, thinly sliced

You will need four 12-inch metal skewers. We prefer natural pork, but if your pork is enhanced (injected with a salt solution), do not salt it in step 1.

INSTRUCTIONS
Toss pork and salt together in large bowl and let sit for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk five-spice powder, garlic powder, and cornstarch together in bowl. Add hoisin to five-spice mixture and stir to combine. Set aside 1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin mixture.

Add remaining hoisin mixture to pork and toss to coat. Thread pork onto four 12-inch metal skewers, leaving 1/4 inch between pieces. Spray both sides of meat generously with oil spray.

FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.

FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s).

Clean and oil cooking grate. Place skewers on hotter side of grill and grill until well charred, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip skewers, brush with reserved hoisin mixture, and continue to grill until second side is well charred and meat registers 140 degrees, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Transfer to serving platter, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with scallions and serve.

NOTES:

• These were good enough to blog, but I'd make a few changes next time.
• Most notably, they were too salty.  Either use less salt or rinse the salt off before adding all the spices and sauce.
• I had a Costco pork roast which made enough for 6 kebobs
• I faked the 5-spice blend but am looking for the authentic version for next time

Cashew Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry

Sauce
1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
 Dash ground red pepper

Vegetables and Chicken
4 cups broccoli florets
3   stalks celery, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices
3   green onions with tops, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons finely chopped, peeled fresh gingerroot, divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
2   garlic cloves, pressed, divided
2 packages (3 ounces each) ramen noodles, any flavor
1/3 cup cashews or peanuts

DIRECTIONS
For sauce, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey and ground red pepper in Small Batter Bowl; mix with Stainless Whisk (mixture will not be smooth). Set aside.

For vegetables and chicken, cut broccoli, celery and green onions using Chef's Knife. Finely chop peeled fresh gingerroot using Food Chopper. Set vegetables aside. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in Stir-Fry Skillet over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add chicken, 1 teaspoon of the gingerroot and 1 garlic clove pressed with Garlic Press. Cook and stir 6-7 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from skillet; keep warm.

Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to skillet. Add broccoli, celery and remaining gingerroot and garlic. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Add green onions and continue cooking 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Return chicken to skillet. Stir in sauce; bring to a boil. Remove skillet from heat.

Meanwhile, bring 4 cups water to a boil in (2-qt.) Saucepan. Break noodles and add to boiling water (discard seasoning packets or reserve for another use). Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally; drain. Stir noodles into chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cashews. Serve immediately.

Yield:
4  servings

NOTES:

• It's easy to overcook pretty much everything here, but better if you take care not to.
• This is another in my series of "getting rid of cookbooks that feature all the recipes online" project.  This one is from Pampered Chef.
• I prepared the vegetables and chicken the night before and it came together very quickly when we all got home from work/school.

Slow-Cooker Asian Braised Beef Short Ribs

Serves four to six.
(Source)

• 1/4 cup chicken broth 
• 3/4 cup hoisin sauce 
• 3 scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin 
• 4 teaspoons Asian chili-garlic sauce 
• 1 tablespoon instant tapioca 
• 5 pounds bone-in English-style short ribs, excess fat trimmed 
• Salt and pepper 

Combine broth, hoisin, scallion whites, chili-garlic sauce, and tapioca in slow cooker. Season short ribs with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker. Cover and cook until beef is tender, 9 to 10 hours on low or 6 to 7 hours on high.

Transfer short ribs to serving platter, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes. Skim excess fat from surface of sauce. Pour sauce over short ribs and sprinkle with scallion greens. Serve over rice.

Teriyaki Stir Fry

I'm a little embarrassed to post this right after Holly's pasta masterpiece, but here goes.

Teriyaki stir fry mix from Aldi

• I bought this product at Aldi and we thought it was pretty good.
• It required the same basic skill level as boxed macaroni and cheese, but there were lots of actual vegetables involved and the sauce was not over salted or sweet.
• This version is vegetarian and 37 ounces.  It says 8 servings, but I'd guess closer to 5 or 6.
• I added shrimp, but it would also be good as is or with leftover pork or chicken.
• Anyway, not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but a perfectly acceptable meal when a quick one is needed.

Thai Coconut Chicken

3 chicken breasts(1.5-ish lbs) cut into large cubes
1 can coconut milk
3/8 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/8 cup fish sauce
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 tsp curry
2 tbsp sriracha(or to taste)
2 cups steamed veggies(broccoli, carrots, snap peas)

Whisk together coconut milk, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, peanut butter, curry & sriracha. Add chicken cubes to sauce and let marinate for 15 minutes to 3 hours. Pour chicken and sauce into a pan and cook for ~10 minutes over medium/high heat until chicken is cooked, add veggies right at the end.

Serve over rice.

Makes 5 servings.

Pad Thai with Shrimp

4 c. water

6-8 ounces linguine-style stir-fry noodles (rice stick noodles)

1/3 c lime juice

1/3 c water

3 tbls. brown sugar

3 tbls. fish sauce or soy sauce

3 tbls. soy sauce

1 tbls. rice vinegar or white vinegar

3/4 tsp. cayenne

3 tbls. vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 med. shallot, finely chopped, or 1/4 c finely chopped onion

2 eggs, beaten

12 oz. cooked peeled, deveined shrimp

1/4 c chopped dry-roasted peanuts

3 c fresh bean sprouts

4 medium green onions, thinly sliced

1/4 c packed cilantro leaves

1. In a 3-qt. saucepan, heat 4 cups water to boiling. Remove from heat; add noodles (push them into the water if necessary. Soak for about 3-5 minutes or until soft, but firm. Drain, rinse with cold water.
2. Mix lime juice, 1/3 c water, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, red pepper, and 1 tbls. oil. Set aside.
3. In wok or skillet, heat remaining oil. Cook garlic and shallot (onion) about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add eggs. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring gently and constantly, until scrambled but still moist.
4. Stir in noodles and lime juice mixture. Increase heat to high. Cook about one minute, tossing constantly with 2 wooden spoons until sauce begins to thicken. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro. Cook 2-3 minutes, tossing with 2 wooden spoons until noodles are tender. Place on serving platter. Sprinkle with cilantro. Garnish with additional peanuts and green onions if desired.

NOTES: I bought the fish sauce because we were feeling adventurous, but I'm not sure it was necessary. On it's own, it's not so nice, but it really was good in this recipe. I'm not sure what I'll do with the rest of the bottle. Alas.

I used more green onions instead of the shallots.

I didn't use all the sauce. It seemed like a lot, and we weren't sure everyone would like it at that point.

Everyone liked this recipe. The rice noodles, in particular, were good. It would also be good with chicken.

Served 5

Source: Betty Crocker

Peanut-Chicken Bowl

2 3-oz. pkg. Oriental-flavored ramen noodles

3 cups cut-up frozen Oriental mix vegetables

1 ¼ cups water

¼ cup peanut butter

¼ cup soy sauce

2 tbsp. packed brown sugar

1 tbsp. cornstarch

½ tsp. crushed red pepper

13 oz. can chicken breast, drained

1 8-oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained

¼ cup chopped peanuts

1. Set aside one seasoning packet from noodles to use in recipe; store remaining packet for another use.
2. In a large saucepan bring 2 quarts water to boiling. Break up noodles slightly and add to water along with vegetables. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Drain and return to saucepan.
3. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a medium saucepan whisk together the 1 ¼ cups water, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, crushed red pepper, and seasoning packet. Whisk until smooth.
4. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Add chicken and water chestnuts; heat through.
5. Add to noodle mixture in saucepan. Toss to combine. Top with peanuts.