July 16 – July 23, 2023

Sunday:                     Pork Loin Cubano-Style, with Corn and Pinapple Salsa and Crispy Roast Potatoes

Monday:                   Pork Fried Rice

Tuesday:                   Sausage and Bean Stew with Chopped Corn Salad w/ Jalapeño Ranch Dressing

Wednesday:            Chinese Barbecued Pork Chops

Thursday:                 Crispy Zucchini Pasta

Friday:                       Margherita Pizza with Summer Salad

Saturday:                  Grilled Chicken with Corn Salad

The Marriage of Meat and Vegetables

Apologies for another tardy post, but last week we were struggling with Beez’s immobility, my fragility and the climate’s inability to shrug off a heat wave.  However, in the midst of these vexations, I finally struck a balance between the flora and the fauna of our cuisine.  Well, actually, the Chinese helped.  When they are not imprisoning and harassing Uighurs or scaring the people of Taiwan or hacking into your bank account, the Chinese do a lot of really good cooking.  The historic run of their civilization has allowed them to develop most of the flavors we all crave in any particular national dish.  I mean, they invented pasta – case closed.

So, when I saw a dish for Chinese Barbecued Pork Chops, I got excited until I noticed that the recommendation was to serve these chops, sliced thinly, in lettuce leaves.  Now to me, lettuce is something that goes into a salad or on a burger or in a sandwich.  It should not be in the menu section under “hand-helds”.

However, I had planned this dish and bought the chops before I noticed the discouraging introduction of lettuce pretending to be a tortilla.  And, exhausted as I was with putting on Beez’s compression stockings,* I thought, what the hey, a little lettuce wrap – which I know the Koreans are fond of – couldn’t hurt.  [I predict that, as soon as the Koreans discover tortillas, they will stop wrapping perfectly good barbecued meat in lettuce.]

*Somewhere in the medical hosiery industry lurks the sadistic bastard who developed this product.  Given Beez’s connections with medical research, I’ve been asking around.  When I find him or her, I’ll call you and you can help me stuff him or her into a compression stocking until he or she turns purple.

So here you go – a perfectly fine meal for the grill and, alas, for the garden lettuce as well.  I think you’ll find this cravable and, in all honesty, the herbal flavor and the coolness which the lettuce brings to the party are kind of perfect for this dish.

CHINESE BARBECUE PORK CHOPS

(adapted from bon appetit – August, 2023) 

Note:  This recipe requires marinating the chops for 2 -12 hours.  This recipe calls for pickled radishes as an accompaniment – and they will take about 8 hours to pickle.  You can substitute your favorite pickle and skip this part, if you prefer.

Timing:      25 minutes active – 8 – 12 ½ hours inactive (marinating, pickling)

Ingredients:

For the Pork:

½ cup hoisin sauce

2 Tbsp. ketchup

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. five-spice powder

2 tsp. oyster sauce – we didn’t have this, and used a little fish sauce and extra

hoisin as a substitute

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. finely grated ginger

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

¼ cup vegetable oil, plus more for grill

6  1/4 – 1/5″ bone-in pork chops

Flaky sea salt

Red leaf or romaine lettuce for serving

For the pickled radishes:

½ cup distilled white vinegar

2 Tbsp. sugar

¼ tsp. Black peppercorns

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 garlic clove, finely grated (we left this out)

8 oz. mixed radishes trimmed and thinly sliced

2 tsp. kosher salt

Make the pickled radishes:

Heat the vinegar, sugar, peppercorns and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves – maybe 6 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the garlic, if using.  Let the brine cool and, in the meantime, toss the radishes with the salt in a bowl and let sit for about 30 minutes.  They will soften and release liquid.

Drain the radishes and then pour the brine over them, cover and chill for 8 hours (or longer) before using.

Marinate the pork:

Stir the hoisin, ketchup, brown sugar, five-spice powder, oyster sauce, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil and ¼ of the vegetable oil in a large bowl to combine.

Make shallow cuts along the fatty edge of each chop to prevent curling as they cook.  Add chops to marinade, toss to coat and cover with a lid or plate and chill for 2 – 12 hours.

Cook the Chops:

Prepare a grill for high heat.  Oil the grate.

Remove the chops from the bowl and scrape off excess marinade – discard marinade.

Grill chops, turning often until deeply browned.  This will take about 12 minutes (an instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should register 140 F – the chops will get to 145F as they rest.

Transfer chops to a cutting board and rest for 10 minutes.

Serve:

Thinly slice the meat and transfer to a platter.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  Serve with pickled radishes and lettuce.