Stir-Fry Pork and Spinach Salad (Orange/Teriyaki/Sesame)

Ingredients:

• 1-2 lbs pork (or chicken, or beef, whatever you like)
• 1 large onion, sliced (I did quarter slices)
• 6 garlic cloves
• spinach leaves
• apple pieces
• mandarin oranges
• 2-3 dried red peppers
• teriyaki or soy marinade (fish sauce serves a decent substitute for soy)
• almond slivers
• toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup oil (peanut works well)

Marinade:

• 2 tsp corn starch
• 2 tsp soy sauce (again, you can substitute fish sauce)
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• garlic powder or garlic salt, about a tsp

Directions:

1. prepare marinade
2. cut meat into 1/2 chunks or cubes
3. place meat in marinade and mix until meat is coated, marinade 20 minutes
4. prepare vegetables
5. heat oil in wok
6. stir-fry meat with peppers and garlic until brown and mostly cooked through
7. add onion and stir-fry until the onions are translucent
8. add teriyaki or marinade (I favor yoshida’s gourmet marinade) and mix well
9. remove from heat and add a few handfuls of spinach leaves. the spinach will wilt a little, mix it in
10. Serve on a bed of spinach leaves with almond slivers, mandarins, and apple pieces. Top with teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds

I made this for the family tonight. Turned out really good. They hardly noticed the peppers, although I think next time I would use 2 instead of 3.

Yum!

NOTES: 2 of my favorite sauces are Sweet Ginger Teriyaki by East-West – found in the asian section at Safeway – and Yoshida’s Gourmet Marinade – from Costco.

Here is one of my favorite recipes found so far (thanks to KickAss BBQ
at http://www.kickassbbq.com/boston.html)

On my very first try it turned out fantastically. I smoked it using a
charcoal weber using the method described here:
http://tastyisland.wordpress.com/2007/03/21/big-island-smoked-pork/

I highly recommend it. Here’s the rundown on how I did it:

Smoked Pulled Pork:
I used a “Boston Butt” (pork shoulder) about 9 lbs

Brine for 30+ hours in:
1/2 cup Kosher Salt (this is the standard for all brines)
1 gallon water
Cajon Seasoning
Apple Cider Vinegar
Red Pepper Flakes
Rosemary (twigs, not dried)
8 oz. jar of Molasses

Rinse brine off, rub w/ olive oil, and shake on your choice of rub (mine
was paprika, salt, pepper, chili powder)

Place pork in aluminum pan with some water or beer for moisture in a smoker

Smoke at 225-250 degrees until the pork reaches 150, cover loosely in foil.

Remove foil when meat reaches 185 degrees. Take meat off when it’s 195
degrees and let it rest for at LEAST 30 minutes. It should reach 200
degrees, then it’s ready to pull.

This one took me about 10 hours on the smoker, and MMMMM was it GOOD.

Happy smoking!