Ramen....there's nothing else

Ok so we all know about ramen noodles.....they are like $.15/pack and they come with the salty packets of flavoring like beef, chicken, creamy chicken(ewww) and shrimp are the the only ones they I can remember. Anyways to my point I had legit ramen noodles at this awesome place in Seattle, in Uwijimaya, in China town.....and I swear I saw the heavens open and an angel float down and bless my food. It was salty, thick, rich, brothy(not a word), porky goodness in a bowl with lime, cilantro and jalapeños. Ahhhhh sweet mana from heaven.....ok well this morning whilst in my bed that bowl of pure perfection came to my mind and I got out my bed woke up the minion and bribed her to go to Kroger with me. And all I can say is......WORTH IT!!! Go now stop what your doing and get the things you need to make this....HOLD UP, did I mention that this broth is made in the crockpot...CROCKPOT!!! ENJOY!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-3 pounds pork shoulder roast bone in
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup + 2-4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup + 2-4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons thai red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (chili paste) 
• The juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon Chinese five spice
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 cups wild mushrooms,
• 4 packs Ramen noodles, seasoning packets discarded
• 4 fried eggs, for serving
• sliced jalapenos, cilantro + green onions, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

Add the pork to the bowl of a crockpot. Pour the chicken broth, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice vinegar and fish sauce over the pork. Add the thai red curry paste, ginger, sambal oelek, juice of 1 lime, Chinese five spice powder, black pepper and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 7-8 hours. 

Remove the pork from the crockpot and add the mushrooms. Cover the crockpot and put heat up to high. Shred the pork with two forks or tongs but it should fall apart by blowing on it...

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame oil. Once hot, add 1/2 pork to cover just the surface of your skillet, do not over crowd the skillet. Sprinkle a little brown sugar over the pork, add 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, toss. Allow the pork to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Stir and allow the pork to continue to caramelize, about 3-5 minutes total. Remove the pork from the skillet.

Add the Ramen noodles to the crockpot and allow them to cook. Once the noodles are cooked, stir in noncarmelized half of the pork. Put soup into bowls. Top with caramelized pork and an egg. Season the egg with salt and pepper, Add the jalapeños, green onions and cilantro. 

Get ready to have your face in the bowl!!

Korean BBQ pork

I wanted Asian style food last night but I have been very disappointed with the Asian foods here in TX....I guess moving from Seattle has my expectations pretty high. So I decided to make my own Asian food. So here's my Korean BBQ recipe. Enjoy......and Eat on!!! 

INGREDIENT:

• 4 thick center cut pork chops1 cup soy sauce(I used low sodium)3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chile-garlic sauce (such as Sriracha®) (optional)
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon Asian (toasted) sesame oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
  DIRECTIONS:
  
  1. Stir soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, rice wine vinegar, chile-garlic sauce, ginger, sesame oil, and black pepper together in a saucepan; bring to a boil.
  2. Whisk cornstarch and water together in a small bowl until the cornstarch dissolves; pour into boiling soy sauce mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the sauce is thick, 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Let cool. And then add that and the pork chops into a ziplock bag and marinate. 
  
  We grilled but you could bake them. We also served with Szechuan noodles and potstickers(another blog post) but you could serve with any Asian side.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

Saw this on Pinterest and automatically thought yummmm.......but sometimes things on Pinterest aren't always so good but this is amazing, tender and juicy!!! I simply served it with a Caesar salad and homemade honey butter rolls. Delicious!!

Ingredients:
1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup water

Glaze
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

Directions:
Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze until gone at different times during the last hour.

Grilled Pork chops

When a pork chop is done right it can be FANTASTIC!! Ben who is not a fan of pork chops because they tend to be dry if not cooked good said that this was outstanding sooo you try it and let me know!!

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or dried rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon coarsely ground pepper
4 bone-out thick center cut pork chops

Stir together first 6 ingredients. Rub evenly over both sides of pork chops.

Grill, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) 12 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 160°, turning once.

We ate ours with a fresh salad and veg but this would be great with mashed potatoes!!