Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Cashew Pork - Five Spice Powder - Recipe

Cashew Pork with Five Spice Powder

I've been making stir-fry recipes for eons. I love them. My kids grew up on them - well, except for one who hardly ever ate real food. I think he's so well preserved that his corpse will never rot.  But that's another story.

There are a few tricks to successful stir-fries. They are:
  • Keeping fresh vegetables on hand
  • Keeping a variety of meats on hand
  • Planning 24 hours ahead, which means either
    • Taking meat out of the freezer the night before (to partially thaw in the refrig) or
    • Using meat fresh from the market if you don't mind cutting squishy meat. Ew.
  • Keeping sauce ingredients on hand
So here we go.

Cashew Pork with Five Spice Powder - Recipe

Lean pork loin sliced in small, thin strips
1 hefty clove of garlic, minced or sliced
Olive oil, 1-2 T. in a large skillet
Heat oil over med-medhi heat and add meat and garlic. Stir-fry til meat is browned. Remove from heat.

In a second skillet, also with a bit of olive oil, stir-fry the following:
4 stalks of celery, sliced on the diagonal (more surface area to stir-fry, and it looks prettier)
1 onion, halved and sliced
Red sweet peppers, seeded and sliced (I use my Carmen peppers)
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
Whatever other vegetables you have on hand, e.g. broccoli, carrots, snow peas
Throw in drained water chestnuts if you have them.

After onions and peppers are translucent, remove that skillet from heat. Combine contents of both skillets into one. Actually, I start with both skillets going at the same time (one with meat, one with veggies) to make this getting-dinner process go faster.

In a small bowl, mix sauce ingredients:
1/2 c. GF Organic chicken broth (I find that Pacific is the one brand that doesn't give me a headache!)
2 T. white wine
1 scant t. honey
1 T. corn starch
Stir to dissolve honey and corn starch. Drizzle over stir-fry and re-heat stir-fry (stirring constantly - I use two pancake turners to do this) over med. heat until sauce is a clear glaze.

Sprinkle on 1/2 t. (or to taste) Chinese Five Spice Powder, a little salt, and a healthy dose of cayenne.

Serve.

Have a bowl of cashews on the table. I don't stir cashews into the recipe itself, for I don't want to ruin any possible leftovers with soggy cashews.

Some people like to serve rice with a stir-fry. If you want to do that, have your rice cooking while you're putting together this recipe. If it's basmati rice, it should be ready about the same time that your stirfry is ready. That's always handy! And over the past two years, I've made the shift from a bed of rice with stirfry on top - to just a sprinkling of rice on top of the stirfry.

This whole thing, from start to finish, takes no more than a half hour.

Be sure to let me know if you make this recipe, okay? And don't forget about that cayenne! :-)



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21 comments:

Unknown said...

I love stir frys, but I think you know that about me already! This one sounds really good.. I have bookmarked it - can't wait to try this one!

Amy Burzese said...

That looks yummy. I'll have to try your spices. (We are so thankful that our son has always eaten real food.) Thanks for posting!

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

Stir fry is a favorite here too. I don't do enough of them with pork. Must change that! Maybe we'll be having stir fry for dinner. Yum!

Heide at ApronHistory said...

What brand is the Chinese Five Spice Powder? It sounds good!

Unknown said...

Boy, that looks delish! I love stir fries! I've got to find that five spice powder. My shopping choices are so limited here in Small Town USA!!

Lois Christensen said...

I love stir frys and am the ONLY one in our family who does. This looks so delicious! Our son ate a waffle for dinner for almost a year. He was 2 at the time and I use to worry but gave up. He's going to be 15 on Saturday and is taller than me and eats pretty much everything now. Enjoy your day!

Ruth Kelly said...

Your making my mouth water. I will have to run to the store for cashews though but I think i have everything else.

Yenta Mary said...

That looks so good! Easy, nutritious, and a hot meal on a cold wintry day ....

Carla from The River said...

Real Food! I like that!!

Cranberry Morning said...

The brand of spice is McCormick's Gourmet Collection Blends, 'Chinese Five Spice.' It should be available at any decent size grocery store. I mean, if we have it here, it should be available almost anywhere. :-)

J_on_tour said...

Stir frys are my think at the moment for quickness through lack of time. This post has reminded me to be a bit more adventurous with the ingredients.

Rachel said...

I should have known better than to come to your blog when I was hungry. Now I'm starving! That looks really good!!

:)

Denise said...

You made me hungry.

SImple and Serene Living said...

What is it with kids. I couldn't get a vegetable past the lips of my two daughters when they were growing up, and now they are both vegetarians. This recipe sounds delicious.
Laura

Tara said...

love stir fry! thanks for stopping by my blog. that lionel is sure a cutie.
fabricfriendtara.blogspot.com

Under Her Wings said...

Any MSG in the 5 spice powder? Can't have it!

Cranberry Morning said...

Here's what I found about McCormick seasonings, Gloria: First of all, for those going gluten free, any gluten will be clearly marked on their containers. Secondly, as far as MSG, I found this about McCormick Chinese Five Spice Powder:

No MSG Added.McCormick Chinese Five Spice Ingredients: anise, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, ginger, and sulfiting agents (prevent caking).

Personally, I am very sensitive to MSG (It's at least a 2-day migraine for me), but I have no reaction at all to McCormick Chinese Five Spice Powder. FWIW

I also found a recipe online, should you wish to make your own Five Spice Powder:

Ingredients for Chinese Five Spice powder

* 1 tsp. ground Szechwan pepper
* 1 tsp. ground star anise
* 1-1/4 tsp. ground fennel seeds
* 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
* 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper

Unknown said...

This sounds so good! Wish you lived closed so we could help with the left overs :-)

Jean | Delightful Repast said...

I'm going to give this recipe to my husband. Whenever he makes the dinner, it's usually a stir-fry. And this one sounds tasty!

Diane Balch said...

I've had some 5-spice powder. I must have bought for a recipe and haven't know what to do with it. I see you don't have to use very much.

Little City Farm said...

Mmmm,...this looks so yummy and I pulled out pork chops for tonight's dinner,....hmmm,..might just have to swerve over and try this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing at our party today.

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