Do you remember that ad campaign for pork in the 90’s it was something like “PORK, the other white meat” take that chicken! When you think outdoor grillin, pork chops probably don’t come to mind, but why not? Depending on the cut, pork chops are lean, affordable, and totally tasty when grilled over an open flame. I was on vacation to see my family and one afternoon I decided to grill the value pack o’ chops that my mom had in the fridge. I was worried there were so many that they wouldn’t all get eaten….they were gone in mere minutes.
We had a pack of random thin cut loin chops with bones (bones are good for holdin and eatin, classy style) I think there were three pounds or so. Marinated them in teriyaki sauce (not the thickened stuff), pour enough on that it covers the chops, I used about a quarter cup, juice of 1 lemon, 1T dried Greek oregano, 2 T fresh parsley, drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, marinated them 30 minutes (can go overnight), grilled on medium high gas grill (I don’t have one so whenever I get a chance I like to grill on them, so easy) for three minutes per side, depending on thickness,you can also do it on a grill with charcoal just watch the heat, unlike popular belief, grilling food doesn’t mean incinerating beyond recognition. This is a fresh, easy, healthy way to serve pork chops not only was it a total crowd pleaser it was super affordable. Keep it cool inside and take your “other white meat” out to the grill, you can thank me later!
Donburi in a hurry
So today I just couldn’t get my act together, I wanted to make Oyako dons for like two days. Donburi is a term the Japanese use for rice bowls. The Oyako is a chicken and the egg bowl, translating to to parent and child, it has dashi, but that is about the only really exotic ingredient. During the week I don’t drive at all, I do everything in the nomadic style (on foot) with two kids which is not always an easy feat. Today the store I was shopping at didn’t have the chicken thighs or the dashi, so I changed it up. I have this badass cook book from a thrift store about Donburi’s and it had a Ma po (pork and tofu), both of which the store had so that was the new plan. Honestly though, this is a great method for any ingredients, quinoa instead of rice, brown rice, vegetarian, anything you like you can choose, and it’s a great way to use up stuff in the fridge or pantry.
I used a lb of lean, course ground pork
1lb firm tofu
1 Cup mushrooms of choice, I used button and sautéed them first so they would be golden, then I added them back in at the end
1 small shallot, I had one in the fridge and had half a medium white onion, diced both browned them with the pork
1 small zucchini, diced small added in last, not as good when overcooked, had this leftover from the farmer’s market and wanted to use it.
Thought I had a can of water chestnuts, upon inspection, I did not, so I used half a jicama diced small.
¼ Cup hoision sauce
1 tsp chili garlic paste (add what you like)
1 can of creamed corn, yeah weird I know, but I thought it was regular and wasn’t worked great actually cause it already contains a lil’ sugar and cornstarch so I didn’t need to add any extra sugar or starch.
So in a hot wok I added two tablespoons canola oil, browned meat, with onions, added tofu, jicama, hoison, chili garlic paste, added corn and a lil soy sauce to taste. Done. Serve over rice or whatever you like, we used good old short gain Japanese sushi rice. I topped our bowls with green peas, scallions, sciracha, sesame seeds, and sautéed mushrooms. This makes about 6-8 bowls so you can freeze half to use later or this is great for big groups, we just eat the rest for dinner the next day.