Pork Thai Noodles with Mint
Serves 4You might have to visit a Whole Foods or another gourmet food source for the Thai stuff but I think this exciting dish will be worth it. If you don’t have one of those stores near by I’m sure you can substitute most any fish sauce or chili sauce without a great effect on the dish.
12 oz rice noodles
1/4 cup Thai fish sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp sugar
2 & 1/2 Tbsp oil
8 oz pork tenderloin, thinly sliced crosswise, then in half
1 & 1/2 Tbsp each minced garlic, grated ginger & low-salt soy sauce
1 Tbsp minced seeded serrano chiles
3/4 cup each halved grape tomatoes, shredded carrots, sliced scallions & slivered fresh mint
Accompaniments: lime wedges and Thai-style chili sauce
Soak noodles in warm water to cover 20 minutes until soft; drain.
Meanwhile in a small bowl mix fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, 1 & 1⁄2 Tbsp oil, the soy sauce and 1⁄3 cup water.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add pork; stir-fry 2 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.
Heat remaining oil in skillet and add garlic, ginger and chiles; stir-fry 30 seconds until fragrantm then add fish sauce mixture and noodles.
Cook, stirring, 2 minutes or until noodles soften and wilt. Remove from heat; add pork, tomatoes, and 1/2 the carrots, scallions and mint. Toss to mix.
Spoon onto a serving platter, sprinkle with the remaining carrots, scallions and mint and serve.
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Crab Stir-Fry
Serves 2Do yourself a favor and use claw-crabmeat for this quick and easy; it's far superior to the stuff from a less-expensive-for-good-reason can. If you must use the cheaper meat, you should still find this a tasty and very quick dish.
2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup vertically sliced onion
1 garlic clove minced
6 oz crabmeat
2 Tbsp oil
1 cup fresh Chinese pea pods
3/4 cup diced tomato
1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp cold water
Saute first 3 ingredients in oil until slightly softened. Add next 3 and stir-fry until vegetables are crisp-tender and crab is thoroughly heated. With a slotted spoon, remove mixture to a serving platter.
Blend cornstarch with water and stir into pan juices; cook and stir until juices are thickened and clear, then pout over the crab mixture and serve.