Asian Roast Pork with Broccoli Slaw and Pasta

I recently spent a wonderful relaxing weekend in the sun with three girlfriends and we made this recipe together. It's actually considered a salad and can be served either warm or at room temperature. It's very light and  healthy although it's full of flavor - a perfect spring dish.  Although it came out great that weekend, I re-created it for this post back at home instead of using that experience for the visuals.  The reason has to do with what I call "full-bore blogger mode", which is what a food blogger is in when they're creating a blog recipe.  It goes something like this.

Dining with a Food Blogger
1.  Expect that the entire process of making the dish will be interrupted repeatedly for photo ops.
2.  You may be pressed into service as a hand model for action shots (see The Lawyer below for an example).
3.  When the recipe is done, the blogger will carefully and painstakingly plate and garnish one serving, then disappear to whatever part of the house has the best light for pictures (for example, the bathroom - bathrooms have great light).  You, on the other hand, are left to your own devices to plate your food.
4.  Particularly if other props are involved, the blogger could be gone for several minutes at which time the food may or may not still be hot.
5.  As you eat, you'll discuss the recipe.  Generic comments like "it tastes good" are nowhere near adequate.  You're expected to comment on the colors, visual appeal, plating, balance of flavors and textures, overall flavor profile, and what (if anything) should be changed.
6.  You may be interrupted as you eat if the blogger is particularly struck by how your plate looks and needs a picture.
7.  After you're finished, don't be surprised if you're left with a kitchen of dirty dishes as the blogger dashes off to the computer to check out all the visuals.

OK, that might be slightly exaggerated, but not much.  Now you know why the only person I regularly subject to blog recipes is the The Lawyer.  All I can say is that he's a very patient man.  Certainly I didn't want to do that to my friends, whose sole goal for the weekend was to relax and lay in the sun.

Not that this is a difficult recipe at all.   The hardest part is figuring out how to grate a carrot without grating your fingernails or knuckles in the process.  (If you can find a bag of shredded carrots at your store, go for it.)

Basically you make an Asian barbecue sauce out of hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger and garlic, then rub some of it on a pork tenderloin and roast it in the oven, saving the rest of the sauce to serve over the finished dish.

The Lawyer as a hand model

While the pork roasts, you briefly blanch some broccoli slaw and toss it with the carrots, cilantro and a little sesame oil.  (If you don't like cilantro, just leave it out.)

Then you cook some pasta and toss that with sesame oil also.  All that's left is the plating.  And the photography, of course.

printable recipe

Asian Roast Pork with Broccoli Slaw and Pasta

Serves 4

For the sauce:

1 ¼ cups hoisin sauce

5 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons rice wine or dry white wine

2 ½ tablespoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped

1 pork tenderloin, approximately 1 lb

6 oz broccoli slaw

1 ½ cups carrots, grated or shredded

¼ cup chopped cilantro

½ lb spaghetti, broken in half

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided

Salt and pepper

For the sauce:  mix all ingredients with ¾ cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until thickened, approximately 5 minutes.  Let cool.

Preheat oven to 350d.  Line a roasting pan with foil.

Put the tenderloin in the roasting pan; spread 1/3 of sauce over all surfaces.  Roast 25-35 minutes, until the internal temperature is 140d (temperature will continue to rise as the meat rests to the eventual target of 145d).  Remove and let cool slightly.

Reheat the remaining sauce to a simmer.

Bring water to a boil in a large pot; add broccoli slaw and cook 30 seconds.  Using a strainer, remove vegetables (do not dump the hot water) and refresh in cold water, then drain again.  In a medium bowl, toss the broccoli slaw, carrots and cilantro with 1 teaspoon sesame oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Reheat the water and cook the spaghetti according to directions.  Drain and toss with the remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil.

Cut the pork across the grain into thin slices.  Arrange pasta on each plate, top with carrot/broccoli slaw mixture and some pork slices.  Drizzle some sauce over the mixture and serve the remaining sauce on the side.

Chicken Chow Mein

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It might sound dorky but I've loved chicken chow mein since I was a little kid.  It was the first "exotic" food we ever had as take-out.  I liked the little white boxes with metal handles but what really sold me was the transluscent paper bag of crunchy noodles.  Chow mein is not chow mein without the crunchy noodles.  I now realize that most takeout chow mein is green goo with little bits of diced meat on the top so I was happy to find a healthy and updated version a few years ago.  In this recipe, the flavors are vibrant and the overall texture is very crunchy from crisp-tender celery, onions, and water chestnuts. Did I mention the shiitake mushrooms? Gourmet chow mein, indeed.

It might seem odd to post a chow mein recipe during the holidays but you can't eat cookies and fruitcake every day for the next month, right?  Do your body a favor and give it something healthy to eat every once in a while.  Six ounces of chicken for four servings doesn't sound like much, but chow mein has lots of vegetables too.  I think you'll be surprised at really how much chicken there is per serving when you're done - much more than in the takeout versions. 

If you haven't made many stir fries from scratch you might not be familiar with oyster sauce and dark sesame oil.  Both are readily available in the Asian section of your grocery store and give the sauce wonderful flavor so don't be tempted to leave them out.  Just be aware that sesame oil comes in two varieties - regular which is pale in color like other oils, and toasted which is dark in color.  The flavors are completely different.  The toasted variety may or may not say "toasted" on the label, so the most reliable way to know is simply to look at the color.

Left to right in the photo above you see oyster sauce, regular sesame oil, and toasted sesame oil.  Oyster sauce is very thick and dark with a mild flavor that I can't describe, you just have to try it. (But it doesn't taste like oysters.)  Regular sesame oil also has a mild flavor and is so pale it almost looks clear in the little glass bowl above.  Toasted sesame oil is much stronger with a rich nutty aroma and flavor, and it's always used sparingly in recipes for that reason.  If  I come across a recipe that specifies sesame oil but not the specific variety, I make a decision regarding which they intended based on the amount called for - toasted sesame oil is rarely specified in amounts greater than a teaspoon or two.  If you're intimidated by the unfamiliar ingredients, don't be.  They come together in a very tasty sauce and you would never guess the specific ingredients.

Like all stir fries, once you start cooking everything goes fast and you can't stop, so prep all your ingredients in advance.  The whole recipe takes maybe a half hour to prepare from start to finish with most of the time spent slicing ingredients, so this could be a great weeknight meal.

* * click here for a printable recipe version * *

Chicken Chow Mein

serves 4

Note: prep all ingredients in advance – cooking goes really fast once you start.

½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 T. oyster sauce
1 T. dark soy sauce, plus more for the table
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, about 6 ounces, cut into thin 2” long strips
1 teaspoon dark (toasted) Asian sesame oil
2 T. peanut oil
1 heaping tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 scallions, white and green minced, divided
salt
black pepper
½ medium yellow onion, thin sliced
2 stalks of celery, thin sliced on the diagonal
10 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps thin sliced
1/3 cup thin sliced canned water chestnuts
6 ounce bag of chow mein (rice) noodles
6 ounces fresh bean sprouts


Whisk together the chicken broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar in a small bowl and set aside. Season the chicken with the dark sesame oil, salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat. Heat the two tablespoons of peanut oil until hot, then add the ginger, garlic and one minced scallion and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the chicken and stir fry until lightly browned, about 90 seconds. Add the onion, celery and mushrooms and stir fry until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the water chestnuts and spread the ingredients to the outside of the pan to make a well in the center. Pour the chicken broth mixture into the well, bring to a boil, and stir to coat all ingredients. Remove from the heat and season generously with black pepper.

Place approximately one cup of chow mein noodles on each plate, then top with the chow mein mixture, bean sprouts, and remaining green onions.  Serve with additional soy sauce, if desired.

Gingered Turkey and Spinach Salad

It's always been a mystery to me why more Americans don't eat turkey year-round.  It's a very lean protein, delicious and cheap at the store.  What more could you want?  I think one reason why people don't eat it more is because the traditional Thanksgiving whole roasted turkey thing can be so daunting.  Not to mention that if you have a small household you'll be eating turkey forever. Luckily, you can find smaller turkey cuts readily available in the stores these days.  This recipe uses a split boneless skinless turkey breast that makes just four servings.  When I bought it at the store it cost slightly more than $5.00 as a bone-in breast that I skinned and boned myself.  Not bad.

The following recipe has a definite Asian flavor but not at all like a teriyaki.  The turkey tastes primarily of ginger with light garlic and cinnamon notes.  It's much more complex than your regular heavy soy-sauce taste.  Although the salad is light and healthy it's surprisingly filling due to the crunch of the noodle/nut/seed combination.  Altogether it's a wonderful light dinner that I really encourage you to try.  (The turkey also makes an amazing sandwich on whole wheat with sliced cucumbers, lettuce and mayo.)


Note that this recipe requires some advance planning as the turkey needs to be marinated and roasted in advance.  Sometimes this can be an advantage -  this past weekend is a great example.  I knew we would be visiting an Alpaca farm on Sunday afternoon due to The Lawyer's highly developed sense of whimsy.  I marinated the turkey on Saturday and roasted it Sunday morning, then threw it in the refrigerator before heading off to Alpaca Land.  Note that the afore-mentioned sense of whimsy combined with a passion for photography can lead to some pretty interesting pictures.  The Lawyer recently created a photographic series of Domestic Animal Noses and Beaks.  What can I say?  You can't make this stuff up.

alpaca photos courtesy of The Lawyer

When we returned home from the Alpaca adventure, all we had left to do was mix a quick salad dressing, slice the turkey, toast some crunchies and toss the whole thing - 20 minutes tops.  Obviously this would be a great recipe for any busy night (including work nights) if you marinate and roast the turkey in advance.  Even if you aren't heading to an Alpaca farm.


** click here for a printable recipe version **

Gingered Turkey and Spinach Salad

Serves 4

Note:  plan ahead as the turkey needs to be marinated and roasted in advance.

For turkey

1 (2 lb.) turkey breast, skinned and boned (weight is before skinning and boning)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¾ tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger root
¼ cup unsalted chicken stock
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For salad

4 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 3-oz bag Asian noodle soup mix (such as Top Ramen), noodles coarsely crushed
1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 6-oz bag of baby spinach
6 green onions, white and green tops thinly sliced

To Make Marinade:

Combine garlic, cinnamon, ginger root, stock, sesame oil and soy sauce in a gallon zip top bag.

To Prepare the Turkey

Put the turkey in the bag and turn several times to make sure it is evenly coated.  Refrigerate, turning occasionally, for at least 8 hours and preferably overnight.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Remove the turkey from the marinade and scrape off any excess garlic and ginger.  Reserve the marinade and allow the turkey to come to room temperature while the oven preheats.  Heat the vegetable oil in an oven proof skillet over medium-high heat.  Saute the turkey until golden brown on the first side, then turn and continue cooking for one minute.  Put the turkey in the oven for 45 minutes.  While it bakes, bring the reserved marinade to a boil and remove from heat.  After 20 minutes, remove the turkey from the oven and baste with the reserved marinade, then return to the oven for the final 25 minutes.  The thickest part of the breast should read 165d on a meat thermometer when it comes out of the oven.  Let rest until cool, then place in a fresh zip top bag with any accumulated juices in the refrigerator for several hours.

To Make the Salad:

Whisk 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the sugar, vinegar and soy sauce together in a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the noodles (reserve seasoning packet for another use), nuts and sesame seeds and stir until toasted and golden, about 5 minutes.  Pour contents of skillet into a large bowl and cool 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, slice the turkey into thin slices.  Add the spinach and onions to the large bowl and toss with enough dressing to coat.  Divide between plates and place turkey slices on top.  Drizzle turkey with any leftover dressing.

after browning, before roasting