Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Sweet and Sour Pork


This recipe was on cooks.com and was kind of poorly arranged.  However, it made some of the BEST sweet and sour pork ever!  I can't leave any recipe alone, and there were some things we didn't have in our kitchen so I've posted this as I cooked it.  The time investment wasn't too high and it was absolutely worth it in the end!

10 oz. pork tenderloin or boneless pork chops cut into bite sized cubes
OR 10 oz. chicken tenderloins cut into bite sized cubes
Marinade:
1 tbsp. not soy sauce
1/2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1 1/2 tbs cornstarch
Marinate pork your marinade for 15-20 minutes.  Fry in 3 tbsp of canola oil at Medium-High heat.  Drain and set aside.
Body:
3 tbsp. canola oil
1 clove garlic
1 small bamboo shoot thinly sliced (optional)
1 cup sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 small onion diced
1 carrot shredded or julienned
1 1/2 cups of diced colored peppers

3/4 can of diced or cubed pineapple (drained)

Heat oil. Add garlic, onions, mushrooms, (bamboo shoots), carrots, and peppers. Stir Fry quickly at Med to Med-High heat. Add sauce (see below) and bring to a boil.

Sauce:
1 tbsp. ketchup
6 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp.
 not soy sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/2 Edward & Sons Vegetable Bullion
1 cup water

Pour in a mixture of 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup water. Add 3 tbs white vinegar.  Add fried pork and pineapple.
Mix well.
Serve while hot.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Soy Free Soy Sauce OR Soy Sauce Substitute

It's been forever since I've posted, but I'm going to try to make a comeback.  This recipe which I've gleaned from allrecipes.com is downright amazing!  It can be used to substitute in Asian dishes or for Worcestershire sauce!  And not only is it soy, peanut, malt, sesame free, it's also vegetarian!  I (of course) modified it a little bit, but here it is:

Ingredients

  • 6 cubes of Edward & Sons Not Beef bouillon
  • 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons dark molasses (brown sugar can be substituted here)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 cups water

Directions

  1. In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the bouillon, balsamic vinegar, molasses, ginger, pepper, garlic powder and water. Stirring frequently, boil gently until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup, about 15 minutes.

Notes

15 minutes is just about dead on for reduction time as long as the mixture has a constant boil.  We found that once ours cooled it seemed to separate (the bouillon has palm oil in it) but it did not effect the flavor in any way.  Happy Soy Free Cooking!