Feral Cooks

Good food shouldn't be tame

Pork Stir-Fry

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This dish is based on what looked like a good recipe from Eating Well magazine.

I hate it say it, but I’m not really sure if this is delicious or not. Why, you ask? There is a huge flaw: coating the pork in cornstarch before cooking. I’m not sure what went wrong with this, but the corn starch stuck to the bottom of the wok, and actually made a burnt layer on the bottom by the time the pork was cooked. The result: the entire dish was very bitter and tasted of burnt cornstarch.

With all that said, the recipe is likely very good, so long as you do not coat the meat with cornstarch.

If you try this dish, please post a comment and let us know how it turned out.

Don’t be a dingbat and get vaccinated!

What you’ll need:

  • 0.25 cups apricot jam
  • 2T tamari or soy sauce
  • 1T toasted sesame oil
  • 2T chile-garlic sauce (I used an Indonesian sambal oelek)
  • 1 lb. pork tenderloin or other tender cut, cut into strips
  • 0.25 cups cornstarch (for the love of god, omit this!)
  • 3T neutral oil
  • 12 oz fresh green beans, trimmed
  • 0.25 cups thinly sliced scallions, plus more for garnish
  • 2T toasted sesame seeds (I omitted these)

What to do:

Whisk the jam, tamari or soy sauce, sesame oil and chile-garlic sauce in a small bowl, and set aside.

Toss pork with cornstarch in a medium bowl until no cornstarch remains at the bottom of the bowl. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. IT RUINED THE BATCH THAT I MADE!

Heat the oil in a large flat-bottom wok or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers (the oil, not the wok). Add the pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Let’s be realistic: from my experience, it’s fairly unlikely that it will become crisp. Just cook it through, but don’t overcook it.

Stir in the green beans and continue to cook, stirring often, until the beans are tender-crisp, 3 to 6 minutes. Now add the jam mixture and cook, stirring often, until coated. 

Remove from heat and add the scallions and sesame seeds, if using. Mix to combine.

Serve hot over rice or noodles. When serving, sprinkle with remaining scallions.


Cast-Iron Lasagna

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I wasn’t really sure what to call this, so you see what I chose. Not sure how lasagna-like it really is, but what the hell.

I got the idea for something like this from a recipe I saw online, and I had all the right ingredients, so I went with this version of it.

There are a ton of ways you can make this, and no matter what ingredients you choose, it’s pretty difficult to mess up. The main bullets in the recipe below are what I made, and the indented bullets are good alternatives.

The one main note is make sure to cook any extra water out of the crushed, whole peeled, or sauced tomatoes you use. Otherwise, the dish could come out runny, and you don’t want that. Other than that, knock yourself out.

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What you’ll need:

  • 24 ounces frozen or refrigerated cheese ravioli (I actually think tortellini would work better)
    • Meat ravioli
    • Cheese tortellini
    • Meat tortellini
  • 1 lb. Italian sausage
    • Ground beef
    • Ground pork
    • Chopped hard salami (maybe don’t use an entire pound for this alternative)
  • Some garlic cloves, chopped (optional)
  • 28 oz crushed canned tomatoes
    • Diced tomatoes
    • Whole peeled tomatoes
    • Tomato sauce (adjust amount)
  • Salt, to taste
  • Chopped basil, to taste (optional)
  • 8-16 oz. fresh mozzarella (a cut-up ball or “pearls”)
    • Ricotta
    • Shredded mozzarella 
  • Grated Parmesan, Romano, Asiago or other cheese to also top with before serving (optional)

What to do:

First thing, you’re going to use an oven-safe frypan, preferably cast-iron. Prep your oven to broil or roast at a fairly high heat. You’re not really going to cook the dish in the oven, rather,  just melt the cheese—even brown it, if you like.

Cook the ravioli or tortellini per the instructions. Drain and set aside.

While the ravioli/tortellini water is heating up, start cooking the Italian sausage, using the pan in which you’re going to ultimately cook the entire dish. Cook over medium heat, breaking apart the sausage as it cooks. If using chopped garlic, add it a few minutes before the meat is done cooking.

When the sausage is cooked, drain out as much of the rendered fat as you can without dumping all the sausage and garlic into the sink or garbage. Add whatever kind of tomatoes you’re using, and bring to a steady simmer. Add a couple of pinches of salt, if you want. Continue simmering the tomatoes (if using whole peeled, get them smooshed and distributed throughout the pan) until most of the extra water in the pan cooks off. That will take 10 or more minutes.

When there’s an acceptable lack of water in the pan, add the basil, if using, and stir it in. Add the ravioli/tortellini and mix it in thoroughly, so the pasta, tomato and meat are evenly distributed. Now add 50-75% of however much cheese you’re using and mix it in well.

Add the remaining cheese to the top, and put it in your oven to broil/roast until the cheese is melted, or, if you like, browned.

Serve hot with crusty bread and soft butter.

Tsukune

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Tsukune is a traditional chicken snack or street food. And it tastes great! I’ve had it in Japan several times, and it’s almost as good as yakitori (though I guess you could consider this a cousin to yakitori).

The key to this tasting so great is the tare (tar-ay), or sauce, that’s brushed over the chicken right before serving.

This recipe is based on one from Serious Eats, but most tsukune recipes are very similar. If you can use ground chicken thighs, it’s best, as the final dish will be a little more juicy. Also, make sure to soak the wooden skewers so they don’t burn. Another tip: many tsukune recipes call for adding a beaten egg as a binder. I skipped this ingredient, and it turned out just fine.

These can be cooked on the grill or in the broiler, though grilling them is probably best. Enjoy!

Covid-19 vaccines are not political. Smart cooks get vaccinated!

What you’ll need for the tare:

  • 0.5 cups mirin
  • 0.5 cups soy sauce
  • 0.25 cups  sake
  • 0.25 cups dark brown sugar
  • 1T sherry vinegar (optional)
  • 3 medium cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
  • 3 scallions, roughly chopped
  • 1 (1- or 2-inch) piece of ginger, sliced
  • 1T whole black or white peppercorns

What you’ll need for the chicken

  • 1.5 pounds ground chicken thighs
  • 0.5 cups panko
  • 0.25 cups finely chopped scallions
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1t toasted sesame oil
  • 1t kosher salt (you could safely omit this because the tare is pretty salty)
  • 0.5 or 1t ground white pepper
  • 8-10 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes prior to use

Start by making the tare: Combine the mirin, soy sauce, sake, brown sugar, sherry vinegar, garlic, scallions, ginger slices, and peppercorns in a medium saucepan. Mix well and bring to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Cook until the tare is thick and syrupy, about 45 minutes. Let it cool a bit then strain the solids out with a cheese cloth or strainer and set aside.

To make the tsukune balls, use your hands to mix the chicken, bread crumbs, scallions, egg (if using), ginger, garlic, sesame oil, salt, and white pepper until thoroughly combined. Roll into 1- to 1.5-inch balls and thread three onto each skewer. 

If cooking on a grill, heat your grill and use a wire rack over the coals/burners for cooking. Make sure to oil the wire before putting it over the heat.

If cooking in your oven, heat the broiler as hot as it will go. Put an oiled wire rack on a baking sheet as your cooking surface.

Depending on the cooking method, put the tsukune on or under the heat and cook until the side facing the heat is starting to brown, checking that they don’t burn. This could take 5-10 minutes, depending the temperature of your broiler or grill. After the first side is done, turn them over (tongs work well for this) and again cook until the outside is browned. At this point, you could check for doneness with an instant-read thermometer—the insides of the meat should reach 165 degrees F.

When done or very close to it, brush the tare over the tsune and cook for about 30 seconds more.

Remove from the heat and add the tsukune skewers to a serving tray, liberally brushing on more tare. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.