Chinese Garlic Pork Stir Fry

Waste not, want not. With a 1/2 pound of pork steaks still in the fridge from Chinese Pancakes two nights ago, I decided to try my luck at another non-traditional American stir-fry. Yes, I know the Mongolian Pork Stir Fry was a complete disaster but one failed attempt should not negate another. Like the Mongolian Pork, in Chinese Pork & Ginger Stir Fry the meat is not deep fried before serving. Instead it is marinated and then covered in a heavily seasoned sauce and served over rice. Sounded good to me.

Modifications Made:
In the marinade, regular instead of light soy sauce. In the sauce itself, regular instead of light and dark soy sauce, mirin instead of Shaoxing wine. In the cooking, the meat was cooked first, then the spring onions, ginger, and garlic. The meat was added back, mixed thoroughly, and sauce was added.

Scaled for Likability: No, Thank You
Let me say it was way, way better than the Mongolian pork but it was not anything to write home about. The sauce was too sweet even with the heat from the ginger. Tried adding a chili sauce to the top but the sweetness was still too much. Not too much as in it had to be washed off, just too much. Then there was the store bought, Chinese Five Spice mixture. Here in lies the whole issue with the stir fry. Nutmeg. An overwhelming large amount of nutmeg was contained in the seasoning and it over powered all other flavors. It was so rich in smell, let alone taste, the teen counterpart asked when walking by the kitchen before dinner if pumpkin pie was for dessert. All the sweetness and smell of pie but no pie. Bummer on both ends, no pie and another failed dinner. Bummer, bummer.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Cold Corn Bean Salsa

Nothing says junk food like chips and salsa, chips and cheese dip, chips and guacamole. Over the years I have perfected my salsa. It's good on tacos, on nachos, on enchiladas, and of course on chips. Just because I have the best salsa doesn't mean I don't like to try new salsa's like this Best Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Modifications Made: Shoepeg corn was replaced with one can of standard yellow corn with no salt added. Petite diced tomatoes were reduced by half. Italian dressing was swapped for half teaspoon comino, half teaspoon of chili powder, and two tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Salsa was made and let rest for two hours before eating. Scaled for Likability: Good Salsa this was not. Good it was however. It was too much for chips by themselves but was great served over a soft beef taco.

Eating Waffles

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