Tonight’s dinner comes from a recipe I found in the September 2011 issue of Bon Appétit magazine. But it sounds more like an episode of Chopped:
“Chefs open your baskets.
For your entrée round, your dishes must include:
-Gochujang
-Sake
-Pork
-Apples
-and Kale.”
The sad thing is I have gochujang from watching an episode of Chopped. It’s a spicy Korean chili paste. It’s not too hot, but adds a lot of flavor. Of course I had to buy it when it was showcased on Chopped just to see what it tasted like. This recipe is the first time I really used it.
The recipe consists of marinating the pork in the gochujang, sake, and mirin. Then searing it. The kale is then wilted in a frying pan and pickled with rice wine vinegar and fish sauce. Then it’s topped with matchstick cut apples and some of the spicy sauce (reserved from BEFORE you marinate the pork). Yes, the list of unique indigents is endless. But it’s worth it.
If you want the entire step by step recipe, you can get it here.
I don’t know where to begin to describe the dish. The pork is tender and spicy almost tasting as if it had been bar-be-cued. The kale on the other hand is very earthy and rich in umami. The apples add a nice crunch and sweetness.
When you put everything together, you get a dish that I would gladly pay for in a restaurant and even go out of my way to get.
Thanks Bon Appétit
