Honey Glazed Pork

Recently we have had the outbreak of swine flu. There is a myth going around that you can get it from eating pork; that is not true, so I will continue to eat pork since we really like it. Especially in Chinese food, this honey glazed pork from my Chinese cookbook called Best Loved Chinese Recipes & More. It is an older book from 1998 (I guess that is not all that old, but my store does not have it and I tried to find a link to find it but I couldn't find one). It is published by Publications International, Ltd. This was a very easy recipe and it tasted very good; however, I noticed that the cooking times were a bit off so I compensated for it and in the recipe below reflects the cooking time change I used. If anyone finds a link to this cookbook, please let me know as I would like to link back to where you can get it. Just leave me a comment if you find it.

I served this pork dish with Spicy Yakisoba Noodles (recipe below) and some steamed broccoli. It was a lovely meal, one that the family enjoyed which is my indication of a meal well done, because, if the family won't eat it... it has failed! So I know I can add this dish to my array of meals that they will eat.

So this is Day 2 of NaBloPoMo and I will take on this challenge and make it! Enjoy the recipe!



Honey Glazed Pork

1 2 lb pork tenderloin roast
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp minced fresh ginger ( I used 1 tsp of ground ginger and it was good)
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds (method below)

Place pork in large resealable plastic bag. Combine soy sauce and garlic in small cup; pour over pork. Seal bag; turn to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator up to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain pork; reserve 1 Tbsp marinade. Combine honey, brown sugar, ginger, and reserved marinade in small bowl.

Place pork in shallow, foil lined roasting pan. Brush with half of honey mixture. Roast 30 minutes. Turn pork over; brush with remaining honey mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Roast for another 30 minutes until meat thermometer reaches 155 degrees.

Let pork stand, tented with foil, on cutting board for 5 minutes. (temperature will rise to 160 degrees). Cut pork across the grain into 1/2 inch slices. Serve with pan juices, if desired.

Notes:
- To roast sesame seeds, spread seeds in small skillet. Shake skillet over medium heat 2 minutes or until seeds begin to pop and turn golden.

Spicy Yakisoba Noodles (this is what I made up myself when cooking the yakisoba noodles to go with the Honey Glazed Pork, it is not in the cookbook)

1/2 lb yakisoba noodles
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp pan juices from Honey Glazed Pork
1/2 tsp red pepper

Cook the yakisoba noodles with the chicken broth until hot, add juices and pepper. Stir until hot. Serve. Takes about 5 minutes.

Citrus Glazed Pork Roast

I wanted to make pork roast the other night and had no clue how to fix it to where it would be different than usual. Sometimes my family gets bored with the same old thing so I invent new things for them to eat. I just looked around the kitchen and found some things that I felt went together and this is what I came up with; Citrus Glazed Pork Roast. It is a slow cooked pork with the glaze on it; the glaze gets thick while cooking and adheres to the meat. It was wonderful and so tender you can cut it with a fork, no knife needed.

Citrus Glazed Pork Roast

2-3 lb pork loin roast
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp granulated garlic or 1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp cornstarch plus 1 Tbsp water (mix these together to form a liquid)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray square casserole dish with cooking spray. Put pork roast in fatty side up. (this allows the juices to drip down over the pork and makes pork more tender and juicy). Put the ingredients together for the glaze; pour glaze over roast covering all of the roast. Put foil over the dish. Bake for 3 hours with foil on. Remove foil and bake 1 hour longer. Let rest for 10-15 minutes.
Cut into slices. Spoon glaze over meat and enjoy!

Applesauce Glazed Pork Chops

The other day I was thinking to myself... what the heck am I going to make with these pork chops that I have thawed out in the fridge? I stewed all day long on how to make these pork chops and then it came to me. Pork chops and applesauce go together. (remember Peter Brady on The Brady Bunch saying, "pork chops and applesauce, ain't that swell?) Well the recipe I created is pretty swell utilizing pork chops and applesauce put together in this combination of sweet and savory dish that my whole family loved. I used my own homemade applesauce so that the glaze is chunky and ohhhh so yummy!

Applesauce Glazed Pork Chops

4 pork chops
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp each salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
1 Tbsp BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine all ingredients except pork. Mix well. Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Put pork chops in, and cover with glaze. Bake uncovered 1 hour or until done (it is done when a meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees).

Tips:
- Cooking it at a lower temperature for a longer time makes the pork more tender and juicy rather than drying out.

Savory Pork Roast

This turned out pretty good considering I had no idea what was going to go into my marinade at the time, I just figured what would be good together and made it hoping for the best. I guess this is how all good recipes start out!

Savory Pork Roast

Marinade:
1/4 C. sherry cooking wine
1/2 C V-8 Vegetable juice
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp cola or Dr Pepper
1/4 C finely chopped onion or 2 Tbsp dried chopped onion
1/4 C finely chopped green pepper
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp parsley flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced

For the Roast:
1 Tbsp coarse salt (Kosher)
1 2-3 lb pork loin

Mix the marinade ingredients together, set aside.
Rub the pork loin with the coarse salt.
Put Roast into large ziplock bag and pour marinade into bag.
Marinade 8 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roast pork for 1 hour or until done (temperature on meat thermometer should register 165 degrees)
Let rest for 10 minutes after removing from oven.
Slice and Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs

Who says that ribs have to be BBQ'd? They do not always have to be. This recipe that I found at www.cooks.com is fantastic. It is Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs and it is good in the oven and equally good in the crock pot.

To do this recipe in the crock pot, you just cut up the ribs into serving size pieces (also small enough to fit comfortably in the crock pot since a slab will not fit), make the sauce, then combine them both in the crock pot; then turn it on low for about 6-8 hours. This makes the meat just fall off the bones.

The other way is in the oven which is equally as good and doesn't take as much time. This recipe is very easy and anyone could do it. We have this as a meal with some sticky rice and eggrolls; or potstickers are good with it too. Stir fry up some of your favorite vegetables and it makes a fantastic Asian meal the whole family will love.

Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs



3 lb slab of pork spare ribs, cut into serving size pieces
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp dry mustard
2/3 cup vinegar
1 C. crushed pineapple (8 oz can)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup finely chopped onion

Spread ribs in single layer, meaty side up in large shallow pan. Brown in 425 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Drain off fat. Combine all remaining ingredients in a saucepan and stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick and glossy, stirring constantly. Sprinkle salt and pepper over browned ribs. Spoon sweet and sour sauce over each piece, using half the sauce. Reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake for 45 minutes. Turn ribs, cover with remaining sauce and bake for 30 minutes more or until well done. Serves 4.

Check out this picture of the finished dinner; notice the chunks of pineapple and onion in this wonderful thick sweet and sour sauce. (makes your mouth water, doesn't it? It sure does mine just typing this haha) It is so yummy on rice, as a dip for the eggrolls, or just more sauce on the ribs. This has become one of my family's favorite meals since we really like Asian food.