ROTW, Week 19: Asian Roasted Pork

Again, I am late posting.  If it makes you feel any better, I actually made this on Tuesday.  From now on, this installment will be published on Sunday afternoon, weekly.  If I give myself a hard deadline, maybe I'll actually do it?

This was pretty good, but pork tends to be kind of meh for me personally.  Brandon loves it though, so that's why I bother.



Roasted Asian Pork with Baby Bok Choy and Herbed Rice

For the pork:
1tbsp canola oil
1 ~2lb pork roast
2 tbsp Chinese 5 spice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

For the pan sauce
3 tbsp honey
1/3 cup chicken stock
additional salt and pepper to taste

For the bok choy:
2 bunches baby bok choy, cut into ~ 3" pieces
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise
1 tbsp canola oil

For the rice
1 cup rice (jasmine preferred)
2 cups water
1/4 chopped mint

Begin by preheating the oven to 375F.  Rinse the pork loin and pat dry with paper towels.  Combine the spices and sugar, and rub the pork loin liberally with the mixture.

Heat the canola oil an oven-and-stove-safe dutch oven, and sear the pork briefly on all sides to seal it.  Rotate the loin to fat-side up (if you didn't trim it off) in the pan and move to the oven to cook for approximately 25 minutes (use a meat thermometer to make sure it is done to safe cooking temp).

While the pork is cooking, cook the rice.  To cook the rice, add 2 cups water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Add the dry rice grains and immediately turn down to low, keeping the lid on, to cook for 20 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and set aside, keeping the lid on to keep the rice warm and fresh.

When the pork is cooked through, pull the dutch oven out of the oven and remove the pork to rest on a cutting board (with foil tent to keep warm.)  Place the dutch oven, with all the pork juices, back onto the stove over high heat (being careful not to burn yourself) and add the chicken stock, honey, and additional salt and pepper if needed.  Reduce until thickened to your liking.

As the sauce is reducing, cook the bok choy.  I prefer to do this in a wok, but any largish pan will do.  Add 1tbsp oil to the wok and heat on high until almost smoking.  Toss in garlic chips, immediately followed by bok choy. (THIS WILL SPIT/HISS.  BE CAREFUL.)  Toss quickly until the bok choy is wilted and the garlic chips are beautifully golden brown.

Stir the mint leaves into the rice and spoon out onto the plate.  Add the wilted bok choy, arrange pork slices over top, and spoon sauce over the slices.

Bok Choy roses