Szechwan Pork or Part 2.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Szechwan Pork.

     Last week I covered Crunchy Asian Salad in part 1 of this two-part series, this week we will conclude with Szechwan Pork.
     I've written about foods from many areas of the world and many styles of cooking, one area that I've briefly touched on but want to cover in more detail is Asian/Chinese food. Of all the types of food I've written about Chinese food is probably the one that we can all relate to but is also the one that we know the least about. It's ingredients are foreign (pun intended) to us and it's flavors are hard to define. As I stated in my Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry post, until recently I've had very little experience at cooking Chinese food but over the last year I've gained a better understanding of the ingredients that create these uniquely Asian flavors.
     Most of the Asian dinners that I've made utilize traditional ingredients, Szechwan pork is different in that it uses non-traditional ingredients to achieve a traditional taste. Peanut butter may not seem like an Asian ingredient but peanuts and peanut sauce are featured in many Asian foods. The really odd ingredient is picante sauce. When I read the recipe I thought it was a typo but when I tried it, it actually worked. The way I look at this recipe is that it's a simplified way to get to a delicious result. And if anyone asks how you made it, you don't have to tell them about the picante sauce, Just tell them it's an ancient Chinese secret.
     So, let's take a look at today's recipe.

                                          Szechwan Pork


Prep time   14 Min.     Cook time   7 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 teaspoons ginger root, peeled and minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips

1/3 cup picante sauce

2 tablespoons reduced-fat peanut butter

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

2 cups cooked white rice, hot

1/4 cup scallions, sliced

Instructions

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, ginger and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute. Add bell pepper; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add picante sauce, peanut butter and soy sauce; stir-fry 3 minutes or until pork loses it's pink color and sauce is thick.

To serve - transfer pork and rice to individual plates and top with scallions

This recipe yields 4 servings at about 1/2 cup of pork mixture and 1/2 cup of rice per serving.


     If you like Chinese food this dinner should be easy to work into your menu rotation. Next month I'm planning to cover a couple more Asian inspired dinners.
As always, if you try this dinner, leave a comment here and let me know how it turned out.


   Next week - Crock Pot Jerk Turkey Soup or How Hot?