Dinner tonight is ground pork. It’s what I have, and it’s what’s defrosting. Anybody got any favorite recipes? Especially easy ones?
Oinks.
Yes, I know it says Thai Beef but I’ve made it with pork or turkey and had it still turn out fantastic. Unless you are very heat-intolerant, it’s not as hot as it sounds (leave out the raw jalapeno slices at the end and not hot at all IMHO) and if you want to turn the heat up, add more peppers! Very easy and fast - it usually takes me less than 30 minutes.
Ground pork works well in meatloaf. Mix it with ground beef, and you’ll get a nice juicy meatloaf. Safeway used to sell a mix of beef and pork labeled as being good for meatloaf.
Meatballs, as in spaghetti and…
Works just as well as beef, and really flavors the sauce. Not good if you are looking for quick, though.
I stole this from A Taste Of Thai and now I can’t find the damn thing.
Curried Pork
A pound of ground pork, a tablespoon of curry paste from the Asian grocery, two large garlic cloves, sweet chili garlic sauce, amount depending upon whether TFMP is eating; chopped green onions, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, carrots and whatever vegetables on hand sound good.
The veggies go in last so that they will still be crunchy. Serve with rice. Sweet chili garlic sauce on the side if TFMP is present.
The Future Mrs. Plant
Might have been this, without the shells and yams.
I’ve made potstickers wrapped up in wonton wrappers and crimped with a little crescent shaped tool also useful for making pierogies and turnovers. But that takes a lot of time. I don’t really have a recipe, I just mix the ground pork with a bit of this, a bit of that - soy sauce, garlic, a dash of sugar, minced garlic, minced green onion, maybe a bit of grated carrot or red bell pepper for color. You could mix up a batch and just make little meatballs - saute them in a pan, add a cup or two of chicken broth, another dash of soy sauce, cover, and simmer a few minutes till done. Thicken with a little cornstarch mixed with water. And serve over some kind of thin flat noodles - ramen, or rice noodles…Even that takes a long time, so you might just make an oriental meatloaf with the above ingredients and bake, serve with the noodles or fried rice.
Pork burgers. Combine with some finely chopped red onion, chopped garlic, a dash of worcester, wholegrain mustard and season with salt and pepper. Sage is always nice thrown in there as well if you have some handy. You could use an egg to bind, but I find if you plop it in the freezer for maybe 20 mins, the meat firms up and holds it shape. Flash fry to sear and finish under the grill. Serve with anything, or stick in a bun.
You know, I think meatloaf it is, for no better reason than that I also have some ground beef around.
That said, I still have plenty of ground pork in my freezer, so I still could use a few good recipes.
Lion’s Head Meatball Soup. This is in our dinner rotation at least every other week. Our favorite green is a tie between baby bok choy and napa cabbage, with spinach coming in as a second, or we will chuck in whatever greens we have on hand. I also like adding lots of extra ginger and garlic to the broth.
The way mrAru makes this is very nearly my Death Row meal. We have tried making it with ground turkey and ground beef. The ground beef is too strong in flavor, but the turkey works ok but is dry and is missing the fatty/gelatinous texture you get from the pork. Perhaps goose or duck might be better than the turkey, but lower fat was the desired result and that wouldn’t happen with duck or goose =( [we grind up the ‘country style boneless ribs’ for the meat for this.]
Chili is always good.
I like making what I call Chinese Spaghetti. Brown your ground pork with various Asian spices, garlic, & soy sauce. Then add some veggies to the mix; my personal faves are chopped cabbage, mushrooms, sweet onions, & peas. Cook the veg to your liking and then toss with cooked spaghetti. Yummy and easy!
Use it for tacos. Yum!
Bri2k
It’s all about the cabbage rolls! Zero marks for easy, but soooooooo good!
If you have the time and a wok or a very large sautee pan, this eggroll recipe is amazing. (We used a very large sautee pan).
My mom and I made them and they were easy if you follow the directions and came out so well, they taste JUST like restaurant egg rolls.
I think we had enough ingredients for 2 batches so we made both batches and froze them all.
Yes, this is similar to Mu Shu Pork. You can wrap it up in flour tortillas with hoisin sauce and there you go.
I do love egg rolls, so someday I’ll have to try this, labor-intensive though it may be. I also might try the lion’s head soup for the name alone.
You can also season ground pork with cayenne pepper, black pepper, sage and other herbs and spices to make your own version of sausage and proceed from there with any recipe calling for sausage.