Barbecue season is upon us, warm weather is here, and summer is on its way! Thanks to a very busy several months being stuck in my basement, editing a TV show, I am now experiencing uncontrollable cravings for warm weather and vitamin D! Fortunately, the weekly deadlines are done, and my schedule is a little more flexible, so I can finally enjoy this wonderful weather!
With my spirits high, and barbecuing on my mind, I decided to prepare some food that could be cooked on the grill! I pulled pork chops out of the fridge, along with a carton of apple juice and started to prepare a brine. As I prepared the brine, I couldn’t help but feel inspired by the ginger sitting on the counter in front of me, and thought “hmmm apple, ginger, pork…that would work”. Of course, this led to thinking about Asian flavours, and followed by the addition of the ginger, I added soy sauce, five spice, garlic, and sesame oil, and hoped that I would have something wonderful on my hands. Fortunately, the brine turned out great!
Originally I was going to grill up some corn and potatoes with the pork, but as supper neared, I was in the mood for something light and refreshing. It got me thinking back to the sauce from this Bon Appetit recipe I made a couple weeks ago, and I knew it would go great in a cold vermicelli noodle salad with an Asian slaw.
As I started preparing everything, I ended up with some extra help from my room-mate Nathan, who happens to be the Executive Chef at Ayden Kitchen & Bar (follow the link to watch a video interview I did with him for Ayden!). Nathan pitched in with some additions to the sauce and by creating a glaze for the pork. The resulting meal was extremely delicious, and exactly what I was craving.
Asian Brined Pork with Vermicelli Noodle Salad
Ingredients
- 150 grams of vermicelli noodles
- 1 Handful of peanuts chopped
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- Asian Brine
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- 4 Pork loin chops
- 2.5 cups apple juice
- 2.5 tbsp salt
- 50 ml soy sauce
- 2 tbsp ginger minced
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
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- Mixed Vegetables
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- - SAUTEED PORTION -
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 shallots thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp ginger finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 a jalapeno finely chopped
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1/2 a handful of Enoki mushrooms
- - FRESH VEGETABLES -
- 1/2 a handful of Enoki mushrooms
- 2 carrots julienned
- 4 pieces of broccoli roughly chopped
- 1/2 an asian pear julienned
- 2 handfuls of cilantro chopped
- 1 handful of sprouts
- 1 handful of peas chopped
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- Sauce
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- 4 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup thai fish sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp warm water
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp sesame oil
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- Pork Glaze
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- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- Handful of sesame seeds
- Splash of hot water until smooth
Instructions
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- Asian Brine
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- In a large container, mix ingredients together for the brine, place 4 pork chops in the brine, allow to brine in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, and up to 24 hours.
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- Sauce
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- In a bowl, mix together ingredients for the sauce, stirring to combine.
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- Vermicelli
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- Place your vermicelli in a heat proof bowl, add enough boiling water to just cover the noodles.
- Leave the noodles for about 5 minutes, until they reach your desired tenderness.
- Drain hot water from the noodles, and shock them with cold water to stop the cooking. Allow the water to drain from the noodles while preparing the rest of the meal.
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- Sauteed Vegetables
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- Add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to a pan on medium heat,
- Once oil has heated, add shallots, ginger, garlic, and jalapeño to the pan, sauteeing for about 5 minutes, once beginning to lightly brown, add green onions, and half a handful of the Enoki mushrooms, sauteeing for about 30 more seconds, before removing to a bowl.
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- Fresh Vegetables
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- In a large bowl, combine the fresh portion of the vegetables together with the sauteed vegetables, mixing in 3/4 of the sauce into the vegetables (saving the rest for later).
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- Pork
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- On a barbecue on medium-high heat, cook pork chops about five minutes on each side until cooked to 150F, remove to plate and let sit for at least five minutes.
- While pork is resting, combine hoisin, sriracha, sesame oil, and sesame seeds in a bowl, mixing ingredients together, add about a tablespoon or so of hot water to the sauce, whisking until it becomes a smooth consistency.
- Once pork has finished resting, slice it, and toss in glaze.
- In a bowl, place vermicelli, top with mixed vegetables, and top with pork, garnishing with cilantro, chopped peanuts and a lime wedge.
- Spoon some of the leftover fish sauce mixture onto the finished noodle bowl.
Although it’s a long one, this recipe is definitely worth a try if you’re looking for a filling, yet refreshing summer meal! You get a lot of great texture and bright, savoury flavours from the vegetables and sauce, finished with a bit of spice from the juicy pork! This recipe would also make a great side dish without the pork, served as a vermicelli noodle salad.
Enjoy!
Bob