Healthy Pork Pad Thai


Again I'm going with the healthy theme, this is a great dish I made up to utilise some of the absolutely delicious organic veggies I purchased. You can add whatever vegetables you like to this Pad Thai, and if you don't like pork you can always use chicken instead. This is a great way to get more serves out of a small amount of meat, and cramming as many veggies as possible into your meal.

You will need.. (serves 4)
2 trimmed pork cutlets (again, free range), use any kind of pork you like, I opted for cutlets and trimmed off the fat for a leaner cut of meat (you could just buy the eye fillet if you like, 300gr would suffice)
For the pork rub...
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 large garlic clove
2 tsp lemongrass (1 inch piece of stalk)
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (or fresh chilli if you prefer)

For the stir fry...
1 packet Pad Thai rice noodles
2 tsp peanut oil (feel free to use coconut or an alternative oil if you have an allergy)
1/4 head broccoli
1/2 red capsicum, deseeded and membrane removed
1 small carrot
1 celery stick
1/2 bunch of coriander
150gr sugar snap peas
1 radish
1 garlic clove
1 lemon
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp organic soy sauce (Kikkoman* or other brand is fine)
1/4 cup peanuts, roughly chopped (omit if desired)

Method...
1. Combine all the rub ingredients in a mortar and pestle and bash until a smooth paste. Rub all over pork and allow to marinate for one hour.
2. Wash all vegetables, trim the broccoli into bite-sized florets- keep some of the stalk too for nice crunchy bits, slice the capsicum, peel and cut carrot into 1-2 inch lengths, de-string the sugar snaps and cut in half, slice the celery and radish, thinly shave the garlic. Wash coriander and roughly chop.

3. Transfer the rice noodles to a large bowl, then boil some water in the kettle and pour over the noodles to cover. Leave to soak for 1-2 minutes until softened, then drain and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process.

4. Heat a barbecue char-grill plate (or use a frypan if you don't have a barbecue) on high. Rub a little oil on the pork, then place on the hot grill. Cook on either side for 3-5 minutes (it doesn't have to be cooked through), remove, transfer to a plate, cover with foil and rest for 5 minutes. Once rested, slice into thin strips, trim off any excess fat.

5. Meanwhile, heat peanut oil in a wok on high. Add the vegetables and quickly sauté for 30 seconds (you want to keep them a little bit crunchy). Add the garlic, stir, then add the fish sauce, soy and the juice of half the lemon. Turn off the heat, add the noodles, coriander, peanuts and sliced pork, then stir to coat.
6. To serve, use tongs to divide into bowls, sprinkle with extra coriander and peanuts, and serve with a wedge of lemon.

If you like, you can add a fried egg and some bean shoots to the mix to make it more authentic. 


* http://www.kikkomanusa.com/homecooks/products/products_hc_details.php?pf=10103&fam=101



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vegetable Mornay

Image
This is a classic dish that can dress up the most boring vegetables. I personally think cheese or bacon (or sometimes both) can make any meal better! You will need... 1/2 a large head of cauliflower 1 head of broccoli 1 large carrot 2 washed potatoes (I used red delight) 1 cup of peas (fresh or frozen) For the sauce 75gr buttter 1/3 cup plain flour 3 cups whole milk salt & pepper & freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 cup cheddar cheese For the topping 1 cup cheddar cheese 1/4 cup breadcrumbs 2 tbs roughly chopped flat leaf parsley Method... 1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius, grease a large 3-4Lt capacity ceramic baking dish. 2. Peel the carrot and potato and dice into 1 inch pieces then transfer to a microwave safe bowl with a little water, cover with glad wrap and microwave for 1 minute on high to begin the cooking process. Drain and set aside. Wash the cauliflower and broccoli and trim into neat florets.  3. Melt the butter in
Read more

George Calombaris' Pasticcio (AKA Greek Lasagna)

Image
Ohhh pasticcio... This recipe gives me so many warm and fuzzies. My mum always used to make it for me when I was younger for special occasions like my birthday and Easter so I associate it with fun times and getting presents and all that good stuff. The one my mum made came from the old faithful Margaret Fulton Cookbook circa late sixties/early seventies... I'm not sure what my Italian mum was doing making Greek recipes written by an Australian cookbook guru but anyway... it must have been en-vogue when the book was written and I'm not complaining because it's delicious. Mum's pasticcio was put together 'lasagna-style' with layers of curly-edge lasagna sheets that would get all crispy and brown on the edges. She would layer the pasta sheets with the tomato and beef sauce and béchamel and then bake it, and it would usually take her a while to prepare. My New Favourite Cookbook! I like this recipe by George Calombaris because it still has all that wo
Read more

Anna-Maria's Zucchini Slice

Image
This is Anna-Maria’s Zucchini Slice from Stephanie Alexander’s Cooks Companion …   I’ve tweaked it a little as I’m sure most people do, it’s one of those no-rules recipes where you can customise it as much or as little as you like. I love zucchini because it is such a versatile vegetable (although technically it’s an immature fruit- wiki will tell you it’s a swollen ovary of a zucchini flower… sounds appetising), you can put them in almost anything because they don’t have a very strong flavour, which is great when it comes to hiding veggies from your kids! I’ve even eaten a chocolate cake that had grated zucchini in it and it was one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever had- so moist (haha MOIST!) You will need… ¼ cup of olive oil (the recipe says half a cup but you really don’t need that much) 500g zucchini, grated 1 small carrot, grated 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed 200gr smoked bacon, finely chopped 100g freshly grated p
Read more