Butternut Squash Fried Rice with Coffee Rub Pork Chop & Spicy Acai Sauce
Ingredients
Pork Chops
(combine spices in a small bowl and press onto both sides of the pork chop and refrigerate overnight)
2 Pork Chops (bone in optional)
1 Tbsp Ground Coffee Beans
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
½ Tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional for spice)
1/2 Tsp Salt
Butternut Squash Fried Rice
1 Butternut Squash
2 Tbsp Minced White Onion
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
½ Tbsp Cayenne Pepper (reduce to 1 Tsp or remove if you don’t like spice)
¼ Tsp Cinnamon
¼ Tsp Nutmeg
1 Tsp Minced Ginger
1 Cup Ripped Kale
1 Cup (uncooked) Basmati Rice (2 cups cooked)
½ tbsp of olive oil
½ tsp of salt
2 Cups of Water
Acai Sauce
2 Cups of frozen Co-op Gold Acai Mix or frozen berry mix
¼ Cup Brown Sugar
½ Tsp Cayenne Pepper
½ Tsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Cornstarch (dissolved in 2 tbsp cold water)
Instructions
Makes Appx: 2 Servings
Total Prep and Cook Time: 1 hour 15 Minutes
Cooking Utensils & Appliances
1 Cutting Board
1 large, sharp knife
1 Large Skillet
2 Saucepans (with lids - you can use the same one you will just have to rinse between cooking rice and making sauce)
BBQ/indoor grill, or a second skillet
Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper/tinfoil/cooking spra
Oven
Steps
Prepare the pork chops the night before or the morning of when you plan to cook them.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lay out a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Skin the butternut squash and dice into chunks.
Place the squash in a bowl or container, add diced white onion, 2 tbsp of olive oil, ¼ cup brown sugar, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and toss until the squash is coated.
Spread out the squash on the lined baking sheet and place on the middle rack of the oven.
Roast the squash for 20 minutes, remove from the oven and flip the pieces.Place back in the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on the squash to ensure the brown sugar is not burning on the pan.
After flipping the squash at the halfway mark. Cook the rice. Place a pot of water with 2 cups of water, ½ tbsp of olive oil, and ½ tsp of salt, and 1 cup of uncooked basmati rice on the stove. Cover the rice, turn the burner to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for approximately 20 minutes (or until the water is absorbed).
Rice and the butternut squash should finish at the same time. Remove both from heat, and preheat your BBQ or cast iron skillet (medium heat) to cook the pork chops.
Set out another large frying pan on medium heat with 1 tbsp olive oil and minced ginger (simmer for 2-3 minutes until fragrant).
In a large bowl mix together the rice, butternut squash (scraping in as much of the sugar glaze as you can into the bowl), and ripped kale. Mix together with a wooden spoon until the brown gooey sauce from the butternut squash is coated on the rice.
Pour the rice mixture onto the large heated skillet, spread it out so that the rice covers the bottom of the pan. Allow the rice to heat on one side, and mix every few minutes.
Place the pork chops on the grill, cook for 7-8 minutes on each side. Internal temperature should reach 145 F.
Right after you put the pork on the grill, pour 2 cups of Co-op Gold Acai Berry mix, brown sugar, cayenne, chili powder, salt, and lemon juice into the small saucepan on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally while it comes to a boil.
Dissolve 1 tbsp cornstarch in 2 tbsp cold water in a small bowl and set beside the stove.
Increase the heat on the butternut squash pan for the last several minutes, stirring more frequently to get a crispy texture without burning.
Meanwhile, the acai sauce should be bubbling, slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the boiling acai sauce. Reduce the heat, continuously stir the sauce while it simmers for another 2-3 minutes. Once the sauce is thickened, remove from the heat and set aside.
Pork chops should be finished, with a nice charred look due to the coffee bean rub - remove from the grill.
The rice mixture should now be warm and slightly crisped, remove from heat.
Layer the fried rice on a plate, place the pork chop on top, and drizzle the whole plate with the acai sauce. I like to add a few crushed pecans for crunch along with sea salt and black pepper.
