Most of the dinners we eat are during the week, this means we have a limited amount of time for preparation of our meal. We get home from work, everybody's hungry and wants to eat as soon as possible. This is one of the reasons why meals that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less have become such a rage on television and in the cookbook aisle of your bookstore.
One of the standards that have always been a quick meal, even before 30 minute meals were the rage, is the Asian stir fry. These meals can have dozens and dozens and dozens of flavor profiles and are exceedingly nutritious with a large amount of vegetables that often go with the best stir fried foods.
Just because the term stir fry conjures up fried foods, high fat is not the case. Stir fried meals are really sautéing your foods quickly in a high heat, with a minimal amount oil. When thinking about the healthiest eating habits, low fat is always one of the considerations. Not just low-fat, but low in saturated fats, low in trans fats and low in hydrogenated oils.
Our body knows when it is being fed a highly nutritious meal. The amount of enjoyment we get can truly be supreme while the physical satisfaction is high. Stir fry dinners fit the bill of simply delicious and highly nutritious. From time to time you can expect to find different stir fried meals here in my column.
This is a tasty stir fried recipe that's sure to please everyone in your family. You can serve it with a side of white rice.
Stir Fried Pork Tenderloin with Bok Choy and Hot and Sour Sauce
Serves 4
Hot and Sour Sauce
6 Tbl Rice vinegar
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry sherry
2 Tbl soy sauce
1 Tbl Asian chili sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl, set aside.
Stir Fry
3/4 lb pork tenderloin, cut into bite size pieces
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp dry sherry
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbl fresh grated ginger
3 green onions chopped, white part only
5 tsp canola oil
1 red bell pepper, stemmed and seeded, cut into strips
1 head bok choy cabbage, cut into 1/2 inch strips
In a small bowl toss the pork, soy sauce and sherry, set aside. In another bowl combine garlic, ginger, green onion whites and 2 teaspoons of the oil, set aside.
Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in your wok, or 12 inch skillet, over high heat until just smoking. Add the pork, stirring constantly, and cook for two minutes. Remove pork and set aside.
Add one more teaspoon of oil to the pan and return to a high heat. Add the bell pepper, stirring, and cook for one minute, add half of the cabbage and cook until crisp tender, one more minute. Remove peppers and cabbage to a clean plate, add the remaining teaspoon of oil and remaining cabbage and cook until crisp tender one more minute. Return the first batch of cabbage and peppers to the pan.
Add garlic and stir. Add the hot and sour sauce and the pork, bring your dish up to a simmer for 1 minute, and it's done.
This will be a wonderful meal for your whole family. To make things easier for you prepare all of your ingredients in the morning before you go to work. Therefore, when you're ready to cook this meal all your ingredients are ready for you. Cooking time for this dish should be no more than 12 to 14 minutes.
