Firecracker Eggrolls

I took this picture on my iPhone at Scott and Cindy's house last weekend.  Technology is amazing.  These are easy appetizers to make with leftover (squeak) pork and habanero pesto from my previous blog.  I also made a pineapple soy dipping sauce to go with these egg rolls. 

The Ingredients:

shredded pork

habanero pesto

egg roll wrappers

1 package shredded cabbage

cilantro

vegetable oil for frying

2 cup pineapple juice

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 inch of ginger, peeled and sliced into rings

4 tbsp soy sauce (I use reduced sodium soy sauce)

1 tbsp siracha or Thai chile sauce

The method:

Smear a teaspoon of the habanero pesto on the bottom of the wrapper, top with shredded pork, cabbage and cilantro.  Fold the wrapper closest to you over the ingredients, fold in the sides and roll.  Repeat many times until you run out of ingredients.  Add oil to heavy skillet, enough to come up halfway on the egg rolls.  Heat over medium high until bubble form when you dip a corner of an egg roll in the oil.  Add egg rolls to the pan in batches, cook until golden on both sides.  Drain on paper towel line plate.  Serve warm with dipping sauce.  To make the dipping sauce:  Add pineapple juice, garlic and ginger to a saucepan, heat over medium high until boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half.  The sauce should be thick, like a glaze.  Remove from heat, remove garlic and ginger with a slotted spoon.  Add soy sauce and siracha.

Firecracker Pork with Habanero Pesto

This is my version of a dish from a local restaurant called Fuzio's.  It is the signature dish on their menu and while it doesn't sound like the ingredients go together...they do.  This is one of Benjamin's favorite meals now.  I made this on a weekday but I wouldn't recommend that unless you want to eat at 8pm like we did.  This is a low and slow kind of meal that is perfect for a weekend because most of the cooking is in the oven.  This makes enough pork to have leftovers but that is another post!  Try this and let me know what you think...that's what the comment section is for!  Don't be shy!

The Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins, cut into 3" pieces
Olive Oil
6 cloves garlic
4 green onions
1 yellow onion, cut into chunks
2 bunches of cilantro, cut off stems
5 tbsp ginger, sliced
5 cups pineapple juice
1-2 cups low sodium soy sauce

Habanero Pesto
2 bunches of cilantro, cut off stems
5 cloves garlic
2 habanero peppers
about 1/4 cup of ollive oil

1 1/2 lbs cavatelli or large elbow macaroni
sour cream

The Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare the sauce.  Put garlic, green onions, yellow onion, ginger and cilantro in a food processor.  Pulse 8-10 times until paste forms.  Put mixture in a large pot, add pineapple juice and 1 cup soy sauce.  Bring to a simmer.  Taste, if needed, add more soy sauce.  Brown the pork on all sides and when well browned add to the large pot with the sauce.  Bake for 2 hours until pork is fork tender.  Remove pork from the sauce.  Bring the sauce up to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  In the meantime, shred the pork, cover with foil to keep warm.  Make the habanero pesto: add the garlic, cilantro, and 2 habanero's (seeds and membranes removed...carefully), pulse 3-4 times.  Slowly add the oil until the consistency is like pesto.  Set aside.  Make the pasta...cook for 2 minutes less than package recommends.  Drain the pasta and add to the reduced sauce.  Cook for 2 minutes.  To serve:  place pasta in individual bowls, top with shredded pork and a dollop of habanero pesto and sour cream. 

Pineapple Pork

In our quest to eat healthy I came up with this recipe using lean pork tenderloin and fresh pineapple.  Too make it even healthier I served it with brown rice jazzed up with garlic, ginger, lite soy sauce and fresh spinach.  This is a new family favorite because it's quick, easy and satisfies the cravings for a certain fast food orange chicken, which is delicious, but I'm pretty sure it has a billion calories.

To jazz up the brown rice, follow package directions, but add 2 cloves of peeled, smashed garlic, 1 inch of peeled, smashed ginger and 3 tbs of either lite soy sauce or teriyaki sauce to the rice and liquid called for (I use chicken stock instead of water) and cook as directed.  When the rice is ready, stir in 1/2 bag of baby spinach and serve.

The Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin, cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
5-6 tbs corn starch, placed in a storage bag
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Pinch of red chile flakes
1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1' chunks
3/4 cup of pineapple juice
3 tbs lite soy or teriyaki sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs peanut or vegetable oil

The Method:
Place pork in bag with the cornstarch, salt and pepper.  Shake well to combine. Let stand while preparing the pineapple.  Heat a large skillet until hot, add the oil, shake off any excess corn starch from the pork and saute the pork (in batches if necessary) until browned.  After the pork is browned, add the chile flakes and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the pineapple, pineapple juice and soy or teriyaki sauce.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes until the pork is cooked through and the sauce has thickened.  Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.