Posts tagged sticky

Sticky Soy and Sesame Pork

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peedy and delicious. If you get embarrassingly excited at the idea of sticky sweetly glazed tender strips of pork on soft oozing coconut rice then I suggest you give this recipe a try. Another long week at work, Friday nights recipe choice had high expectations to satisfy a variety of needs. I craved nothing more than comfort, flavour and relative speed. If you serve this on plain rice then you’ll have an even speedier dinner in minutes but I can never resist a coconut infused creation. Except coconut water. Whats the fad about? Dishwater disguised in a eco-friendly carton. Having been found on numerous occasions unashamedly desperately corkscrewing a hole into a fresh coconut only to slurp the fresh juicy ‘milk’ from inside with a straw this is a far healthier (economical) and dramatic way to get your coconut hit! Its fresh and delicious. Plus you get the joyful task of angrily throwing the empty coconut onto a hard floor (outside recommended) to crack it open to access the meaty pure white flesh. Perfect for grating into curries, porridge, use in cakes (see here) or into your coconut rice!

Serves 2

Sticky Pork

  • 1 pork fillet, sliced into thumb sized slices
  • 1 knob ginger, chopped
  • 1 small red chilli, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 spring onions, chopped
  • 1 bunch coriander, stems and leaves chopped separately
  • 1 heaped tsp cornflour
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • ½ tsp rice wine vinegar
  • Sunflower oil
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 50g salted peanuts, crushed lightly

Coconut Rice

  • 4 oz brown rice
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • Good handful desiccated coconut
  • 1 lime, zest
  • Handful chopped coriander to serve
  • Green vegetables to serve
  1. Begin with the rice. Warm the coconut milk in a saucepan with about ½ cup of water (you may need to add more water as it cooks). Bring to a light simmer but be very careful as the milk will boil over if left unattended on a high heat.
  2. Let it simmer on a fast simmer for about 25 minutes. You want to end up with cooked rice that has absorbed mostly all the liquid but is still loose so it oozes on a plate. Keep an eye out and add more water if it dries out before fully cooked.
  3. When cooked and still oozing, add the desiccated coconut, chopped coriander and lime zest and keep warm.
  4. Start on the pork which is a pretty speedy process so have your green vege and warming plate ready to go not soon after!
  5. Combine the cornflour with 2 tbsp of cold water in a jug. Add the soy sauce, sesame, vinegar and honey and mix well.
  6. Heat a frying pan or wok on a medium high heat. Quickly flash fry the chopped chilli, spring onion, garlic, ginger and coriander stalks in a splash of sunflower oil until softened. Add the pork and turn up the heat to get a nice colour on the outside.
  7. Fry for about 5 minutes or so until the pork is just cooked but still soft and not dry. Immediately add the soy mixture and stir quickly.
  8. This will thicken and bubble and glaze the pork. If it turns too thick too quickly loosen with a splash more water!
  9. Remove from the heat to prevent it overcooking and add the chopped peanuts and sesame seeds.
  10. Serve atop your coconut rice scattered with extra coriander, any spare sesame seeds alongside your green vegetables with a wedge of lime.
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Sticky Soy Chicken with Baby Chilli Courgettes

 

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A sticky ‘packs-a-punch’ glaze for some succulent chicken pieces courtesy of Bill Granger. I’ve managed to make it through my growing culinary life without (shamefully) having had Bill’s influence on any of my dishes? It could be his Australian roots that have kept his foodie inspiration at bay or perhaps (more likely) the Jamie Oliver shaped blinkers strapped to my head that had maintained my tunnel vision since discovering cooking? Who knows? However, with ‘Granger’s & Co’ round the corner from work and a growing love for Asian/Fusion cooking I have been sampling some of his culinary delights from Bills Asian Cookbook which is where this chicken marinade comes in. Baby courgettes courtesy of Portobello Market but normal ones work fine too!

Serves 2

Roasted Courgettes

  • 6 baby courgettes
  • 1 small red chilli, finely chopped
  • Bunch coriander, finely chopped
  • Juice ½ lime

Chicken

  • 4 chicken thighs/chicken pieces
  • 30ml dark soy sauce
  • 25ml Fish sauce
  • 55g brown sugar
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Light Olive oil

To Serve: Coconut rice (I made mine with red Camargue rice here)

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Heat a frying pan until hot with a little oil and brown the chicken all over until golden. Transfer to a baking dish and bake for about 15 minutes until cooked through.
  2. At the same time, roast the courgettes. Slice in half if using baby courgettes or into chunks if using large ones. Drizzle with oil and place in a roasting tray. Roast with the chicken for about 20 minutes. This can keep roasting until tender while you finish the chicken on the hob. (The courgettes also work amazingly grilled or charred on a griddle pan or BBQ)
  3. To finish the chicken, heat a little oil in a saucepan and fry the garlic lightly. Add the cooked chicken and the soy sauce and cover with a lid. Leave to simmer on a low heat for about 6-7 minutes making sure the pan doesn’t cook dry.
  4. Turn up the heat and add the sugar and fish sauce and stir to dissolve and combine. Heat for just a few minutes until the sauce goes syrupy and glazes the chicken.image
  5. Remove the courgettes from the oven and toss with the chopped coriander and red chilli. Squeeze over a little lime juice.
  6. Serve the chicken on creamy coconut rice with the chilli courgettes and coated liberally in any excess glaze.

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