Ingredients
Pork
3-4 Pork Chops (fresh or thawed from frozen)
½ Cup Gochujang Sauce (store bought or homemade)
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
Stir Fry
1 Head Broccoli
¼ White Onion
2-3 Carrots (depending on size)
⅓ Cup of Sesame Sauce (store bought or homemade)
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
½ Cup Water
Cauliflower Rice
1 Head Cauliflower
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
½ Cup Water
1 Tbsp Cornstarch (dissolved in ½ cup warm water)
1 Lemon (zested and juiced)
1 Tsp Ginger (powder or fresh, grated)
1 Tab Chicken Stock
½ Tsp Salt
Garnish
Crushed peanuts and kale
Optional: green onions or cilantro
Instructions
Total Cook and Prep time: 45 Minutes
Makes Appx: 4 Servings
Note: Food Processor used to make the cauliflower rice, but not required. A hand chopper, blender (on pulse) or a cheese grater can be used to rice the cauliflower. You will also need three medium-large sized frying pans (two of them with lids).
1. Cut the pork chops into bite size pieces, and put in a container (which has a lid). Sprinkle the cut up pork pieces with 1 tsp salt.
2. Cover the pork in the Gochujang sauce, put the container on the lid, and shake until all of the pieces are covered. Place to the side, and allow them to marinate while you prepare the stir fry vegetables.
Note: you could salt and marinate the pork the night before and you will get a deeper flavour.
3. Peel and chop carrots into coin shapes, cut the broccoli head into florets, and dice up the white onion. Set the veggies aside until you are ready to start cooking the stir fry.
4. Place one large pan (with lid) on low-med heat with 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Allow the oil to heat while you prepare the cauliflower rice.
5. Remove stem and cut up the cauliflower into large florets (if you are using a food processor to rice), or cut in half (and remove stem) if you are hand grating (it’s just simpler to work with a larger chunk when hand grating). Pulse the cauliflower in the food processor until it reaches a “riced” texture.
6. Dump the riced cauliflower onto the now warm pan and add a sprinkle of salt, mix the cauliflower so that it is coated in the sesame oil and salt. Allow the “rice” to warm for 2-4 minutes while you prepare your other pans.
7. Place two large frying pans (a wok with a lid works best for the stir fried vegetables, and I like using a cast iron pan to cook my meat) on low-medium heat. Place a 1 tbsp of sesame oil in each pan and allow the oil to heat.
8. Place marinated pork chunks on to the warm cast iron skillet flipping every few minutes, and place white onions in the hot oil of the wok pan.
9. Once the onions become fragrant (appx 2 minutes) add the remaining vegetables: broccoli and carrots with ½ cup of water. Ensure the burner is on medium heat and place the lid on the wok to allow the vegetables to cook.
10. Back to your cauliflower rice! Add ½ cup water and chicken stock tab, turn the burner down to low and cover with a lid. Allow the mixture to simmer for 10- 15 minutes so that the moisture can be absorbed.
11. Return to your stir fry pan, remove the lid, and add sesame sauce, mix in the sauce to ensure the vegetables are covered and replace the lid. At this point your sauce will be a little bit more liquid.
12. Check in on your pork, flipping the pieces and checking the colour. You want to ensure there is no pink remaining when cooking pork, and that it has reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees fahrenheit.
13. Back to your stir fry, remove the lid and check the sauce consistency. If it is still too liquid, turn up the burner so that the sauce comes to a boil in the pan. Dissolve 1 tbsp of cornstarch in ½ cup of warm water in a small bowl to get a semi-liquid paste. Once the stir fry sauce is bubbling, begin adding the cornstarch mixture to the pan by the spoonful. Add approximately 3 spoons of cornstarch mixture, wait about a minute, and check this consistency. If it doesn’t seem thick enough, add two more spoons of cornstarch mixture, cover and turn down to low-med heat.
14. While your pork and stir fry are finishing up, go back to your cauliflower rice. Most of the liquid should have absorbed. Grate lemon zest into the “rice” and squeeze two wedges of lemon juice into the rice (appx 1 tbsp of juice). If you want ginger, this is also a good time to grate in fresh ginger, or sprinkle in some dried, powdered ginger.
15. At this point all components of your meal should be ready. Check the temperature of your meat, and the tenderness of the vegetables and ensure they are to your liking. Place a scoop of “rice” in a bowl or plate, top with stir fried vegetables and sesame sauce, followed by the Gochujang pork. Top the whole dish with crushed peanuts. Next time I would also garnish with green onions or cilantro.
