Asian Spicy Pork and Eggplant over Rice

 If you love the spicy eggplant and tofu dish that is served in some Chinese restaurants, you’ll probably like this.

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant, peeled and cut into ½ inch slices
• Salt
• 1 pound of boneless pork, cut into cubes (I use country style pork ribs)
• ½ cup shredded carrots
• ½ cup of chopped parsley (Use cilantro if you like it spicier)
• ½ a red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons of crushed garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1 teaspoon hot chili oil
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (Use more if you like it spicier.)
• 2 cups of brown or white rice

Preparation:
Lay the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle generously with salt. Allow it to sit. This step will take the bitterness out of the eggplant before cooking it.
Cook the rice in boiling water according to package directions.
Cook the pork in one tablespoon of oil until browned on all sides.
Rinse the salt off the eggplant and dry it on paper towels.
Remove the pork from the pan and cook the eggplant until tender in the same pan.
Place the eggplant with the pork.
Place the parsley, bell pepper, green onions, and garlic in the pan.
Mix the hot chili oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, and crushed red pepper. Pour the mixture over the vegetables, and sauté until they begin to get tender.
Add the eggplant and pork to the pan and continue to cook until the sauce thickens.
If it doesn’t thicken, mix 2 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, and stir it into the mixture.
Serve over warm rice.



More great recipes are at my Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner website.

Never miss a post!
Follow me on Twitter as @Dinnermagic.
Subscribe to the RSS feed for the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner and the Sacramento Budget Wine Examiner or have the articles emailed to you.

Stir Fried Chicken with Bok Choy

This healthy dish takes about 20 minutes to prepare. It is filling on its own, but it can also be served over a bed of rice. Don’t worry if you don’t have a wok; it can be cooked in a large skillet. This recipe will serve four large portions.

Ingredients:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized cubes
2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
½ teaspoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoons oil
1 portobello mushroom top, cubed, or 4 ounces crimini mushrooms, cut in halves
½ onion, sliced
1 small bunch of baby bok choy, cut into pieces no longer than 3-4 inches (4-6 cups)
¼ cup teriyaki sauce

Preparation:
Place the chicken in a zip top bag with the vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, and sesame seeds.
Allow the chicken to marinate for about 20 minutes while you rinse and cut up the bok choy.
Heat the oil in a pan.
Cook the mushrooms 1-2 minutes, just until slightly brown.
Add the onion and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken to the pan and cook for ten minutes over medium high heat.
When the chicken is thoroughly cooked, add the bok choy and the teriyaki sauce.
Stir fry the chicken dish until the bok choy is dark green and softened.
Serve hot with or without rice.

For more recipe ideas, be sure to check out the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner or follow me on Twitter as @Dinnermagic.

Photo/Suzanne Pitner, DinnerMagic

Stir Fried Pork and Green Beans

Wine Pairing: Gewürztraminer

This is similar to the chicken and green beans you can get at Chinese food restaurants. Serve it over a bed of rice.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon of rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I prefer the Pearl River Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce brand)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 pound pork, cut into small strips
¼ pound fresh green beans, washed and trimmed (Use frozen if fresh are out of season)
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ cup grated carrots
1 onion, sliced
1 cup of rice

How to make Stir Fried Pork and Green Beans
Cook the rice according to the package directions, in two cups of water.
Mix the hoisin sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper.
Heat the oil in a skillet and stir fry the pork in the hot oil
Remove the pork and add the vegetables.
When the vegetables are crisp tender, return the pork to the pan.
Add the sauce, and stir to coat. It should thicken as is warms.
Serve over rice.









Never miss a post. Follow me on Twitter as @Dinnermagic.
Find more recipes and menus with the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner and wine pairings with the Sacramento Budget Wine Examiner.

Pork and Potato One Pot Dinner

Wine Pairing: Reisling or Pouilly Fumé

This is a one-pot meal you can make in less than 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless country style pork ribs, cut into chunks
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 leek, chopped (you may also substitute one chopped onion)
• 1 bell pepper, red or green, chopped
• 3 potatoes, peeled and grated
• 1 small package frozen mixed vegetables
• Barbeque sauce

How to Make Pork and Potato One Pot Dinner
Place the bread crumbs in a gallon size zipper lock bag.
Place the pork in the bag.
Toss the pork pieces in the bread crumbs.
Fry the pork in the oil until brown.
Remove the pork and cook the leek, bell pepper, and potatoes until brown.
Add the vegetables and warm through.
Add the pork and stir well.
Serve with barbeque sauce on the side.

Never miss a post. Follow me on Twitter as @Dinnermagic.
Find more recipes and menus with the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner and wine pairings with the Sacramento Budget Wine Examiner.

Stir Fried Pork with Vegetables

Stir Fried Pork with Vegetables

Ingredients:
2 cups of pork roast cut up (Use leftovers from last night’s Cherry Glazed Pork Roast.)
1 onion, chopped
2 green onions chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 cups of shredded cabbage
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 zucchini cut into slivers
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cooking oil
3 Tbsp Teriyaki sauce
2 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water or
1/4 cup leftover cherry glaze
2 cups rice

Preparation:
Place the rice in 4 cups of boiling water. Cover, turn heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes.
Heat the oil in a pan or wok.
Cook the vegetables in the oil until crisp tender.
Add the pork, ginger, and salt, and heat through.
Stir together the teriyaki sauce, and cornstarch and water or teriyaki sauce and cherry glaze. If using cherry glaze, omit the cornstarch.
Pour this over the pork mixture and heat until it thickens up.

Note: I had a bit of leftover broccoli from last night, which I added to this dish at the last minute, since it was already cooked.
Serve over hot rice.

Beef Veggie Stir Fry Dinner

Beef Veggie Stir Fry
Steamed Rice

Ingredients:
¾ pound of round steak or thinly sliced breakfast steak
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp ginger
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 onion, sliced
1 cup of carrots, sliced
½ cup of mushrooms, sliced
½ cup of snow peas
4 cups of fresh chopped spinach
1 cup of dry rice
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Boil 2 cups of water and add the rice to the pot. Cover, turn heat to low, and cook twenty minutes.

Heat the oil in a pan or wok till it sizzles when a water droplet hits it. Cook the steak in the hot oil till cooked through. Lightly salt and pepper the steak.

Add the vegetables to the pan and cook until the spinach is wilted and the vegetables are crispy tender.

Mix the soy sauce, ginger, and cornstarch. Stir into the pan and toss to coat the food as the sauce thickens.

Set the table. Serve it and enjoy!

Asian Pork and Eggplant

Asian Pork and Eggplant
Shredded Cabbage and Carrots
Brown Rice

Ingredients:
1 lb eggplant, cut into slices or strips
1 ½ lb pork tenderloin or boneless ribs, cut into chunks
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp sesame oil
¼ cup shredded carrots
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 can of juice from mandarin oranges, reserved from the Asian Chicken Salad Twirls
1 Tbsp soy sauce
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/8 tsp red pepper
Salt
Remaining cabbage from this week’s head of cabbage, shredded (about 2 – 3 cups.)
1 cup sliced carrots
2 cups brown rice

Preparation:
Sprinkle salt to cover the sliced eggplant and let it sit in a colander for 30 minutes. This helps reduce the bitterness.
Boil 4 cups of water. Add the rice, cover and lower heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes.
Cook the pork in the cooking oil until browned.
Cook the shredded cabbage and carrots in a small amount of water until tender.
Add the shredded carrots, bell pepper, mandarin orange juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and red pepper to the meat mixture. Cook until the meat is done.
Rinse the eggplant.
Stir the eggplant and parsley into the meat mixture and cook until it is tender.
Serve the stir fry with the rice and cabbage.

Asian Ramen Stir Fry

Asian Ramen Stir Fry

Ingredients:
1 lb beef flank or sirloin steak, cut into strips ¼ inch thick
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp peanut oil (Cooking oil will do if you don’t have peanut oil)
1 pkg beef flavor ramen noodles
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup shredded carrots
1 can water chestnuts
1 chopped green onion
¼ cup chopped peanuts

Directions:
Set the table.
Break the ramen noodles into pieces and cook according to the package directions. Do not add the seasoning packet.
Cook the beef, jalapeno, onion, and garlic over medium high heat till the meat is done.
Stir in the cooked ramen, soy sauce, carrots, water chestnuts, and the seasoning packet.
Place in a serving dish.
Sprinkle the peanuts and chopped green onions on top.