Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 lb lean boneless pork, cut into strips
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 3/4 cup green beans, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 clove of garlic, minced  (we like heavy garlic so we used about 3 med sized ones)
• Pinch Thai pepper flakes (depends on how spicy you like your food)
• 2 green onions, chopped finely
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp soy sauce (I prefer low sodium)
• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• Cooked Egg noodles or rice

Directions:

Using a wok, (I highly recommend getting one if you don’t already have one as it really helps keep the hot oil from splattering on you and all over your kitchen), heat the oil and stir-fry the pork until lightly browned.

Add the corn, garlic, green beans, green onions, and chili flakes, and stir fry another 2-4 minutes.  You can use fresh chopped chilis but I really like using the Thai pepper flakes since they are dried and we always have them on hand. Chilis (along with most vegetables) seem to have a short shelf life here with the heat and humidity so I don’t always have fresh chilis on hand.  The Thai flakes are pretty hot, so be careful if you don’t like spicy food.

Add the soy sauce, sugar, and stir for another minute.

Remove from the heat and immediately serve over cooked egg noodles or jasmine rice.  We used the remainder of the noodles from the kao soi the night before.

Serves 2

Additional Recommendations:
We have a vacuum packer and keep a lot of meats and fish in our walk in refrigerators.  We buy bulk, season them a few different ways, seal them, and off they go in the freezer.  The pork we used for this was 4 small pieces of pork loin that had a dry rub of salt, pepper, and rosemary.  The pepper flavor really comes through when you freeze the pork already seasoned.

Also, when we make this again, we are going to try something else with the corn.  By adding the sugar, the corn carmelizes a bit.  It reminded us a bit of an amazing corn side dish at a Sichuan restaurant here that is charred and has a sweet carmelization.  Next time we are going to char an ear of corn on the indoor grill, let cool, and cut the kernals off.  Cook them with a little sugar and soy sauce, and then add them at the end to the dish.  I think the charred sweetness of the corn would be a nice addition to this, especially when you serve a sweeter wine.

Wine Pairing:  2008 Beaujolais

We are primarily red wine drinkers, but Thai food tends to lend itself to being better paired with white wines due to the spicy and complex flavors.  Some Beaujolais are known as the “only red wine that is white” and we opted to try one from our local wine store here.  It ended up working ok but I think more of a rose that is a little sweeter would’ve been a better match.

It was Friday night and Brett had another late night at work.  We decided to make it an easy night and just do leftovers since we had some ground pork left over.  We had some sourdough bread and decided to make actual burgers with the bifteki.  We just used a George Foreman type grill we bought here and toasted the bread slightly.  Sliced some cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, and more Feta cheese on top.  Add some more Greek style potatoes on the side and we were good to go.   Such a simple idea and it was a great really way to use up some leftover ingredients. 

Wine Pairing: Les Petites Caves Cotes de Provence Rose

We still had not found Kalamata olives here in Taiwan so we opted to try this recipe without any olives, for fear the ones we did have would completely ruin the dish.  Pulled from Allrecipes, I found this to be an excellent choice.  I am sure it would be heavenly with the Kalamata olives added.  The recipe calls for a dry red wine and I used the Mourvedre that we would be drinking with the meal.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound pork tenderloin medallions
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/8 cup sliced kalamata olives
• 1 tablespoon minced lemon zest

DIRECTIONS

1. Pound the meat to 1/4 inch thickness. In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge pork in flour to coat.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook pork in olive oil until browned, turning once. Transfer meat to a warmed plate.
3. Reduce the heat to low, and add rosemary and garlic to the pan. Pour in wine, and bring to a boil. Boil until the liquid is thick. Pour in chicken stock, and boil until volume is reduced by half. Stir in olives and lemon zest. Pour sauce over the meat, and serve.

Servings: 4

To serve with the dish, we had a Greek Potato Stew that also came from Allrecipes.  This dish also called for Kalamata olives so I did use the green Spanish olives but only a very little amount.  Sadly, mine came out more like a stew than it should have as I had dinner ready but Brett got stuck at a late evening meal, so I had to try and keep the food warm which didn’t work so great.  Although it was a bit mushy, it still tasted great! 🙂

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup whole, pitted kalamata olives
• 1 1/3 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the potatoes and stir. Stir in the garlic. Add the olives and cook and stir for several minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and oregano.
2. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Servings: 6

Wine Pairing: 2004 Lava Cap Mourvedre Reserve