Pork Loin Steaks with Garlic and Ginger Sauce, carrot and Garlic Mash and Enoki with Spring Onion Stir-fry

This so far has topped all of my meals in taste, how healthy it was and easy to prepare, even though looks complicated, was really easy. But I cannot put into words how nice it was. Bellow is a picture of a cooked Enoki mushroom, it has a fleshy texture and is very shroomy taste.

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 2)

• 2 large potatoes (pealed and cubed)
  
• 6 medium carrots (pealed, 3 cut into pieces, 3 into halves)
  
• 4 pork loin steaks
  
• 1 piece of fresh ginger (the size of two garlic cloves, minced)
• 2 large garlic cloves "more if small" (1 roughly minced, 1 cut into 3-4 pieces)
• 1/2 packet of fresh Enoki mushrooms
• 1 soup spoon of sesame seeds (I used a mixture of white and black, just white is fine)
• 3 soup spoons of balsamic vinegar
  
• 1 bunch of spring onions (sliced)
• 1/2 cup of single cream
• 1 soup spoon of butter
• a pinch of nutmeg
• a glug of milk
  
• a little olive oil
• some salt and pepper
• and a pinch of saffron
  

Place a pan with boiling water on the stove, and in there put the potato, 1 chopped garlic and all the carrots, as well as a little salt, it will take around 15-20 minutes to be boiled depending on the quality of the potato.

While that is doing lets do the rest quick so that it all ends at the same time. Before all that I marinated the pork with two spoons of balsamic vinegar poured evenly over them, a little salt, the minced garlic and the minced ginger, just on one side of the pork, I let it marinade for around 30 minutes.

I used two frying pans one for the steak and sauce making the other for roasting the sesame seeds and making the spring onion and Enoki stir-fry. So put both frying pans on the stove, the larger one with olive oil the smaller one just dry. On the dry one place the sesame seeds inside, and as it heats keep shaking it to brown the sesame evenly on both sides, this also releases the most amazing nutty taste and smell of the sesame, once blonde place it in a container, awaiting to be cooked with the stir-fry, while on the larger pan with olive oil, once hot place the pork steaks with the garlic and ginger facing down, as this will make them stick to that side of the steak, let them cook for around 2-3 minutes and then turn them around for another 2-3 minutes which should be sufficiente to be totally cooked through, at this stage remove them from the pan scraping the garlic and ginger so that it stays in the pan, put the steaks on a plate and put them in the oven just to keep warm and to warm the plate at around 30-50c, while you do the rest.

Now both pans are off the fire, put back on the fire the little pan put a little olive oil in it and once hot add the spring onion, and as soon as it darkens (about 1 minute) add the Enoki, and a little seasoning (salt and pepper) + one spoon of balsamic vinegar and sesame seeds, stir fry for around 3 minutes and it's done, put the other frying pan on the fire and pour the fresh cream into it + the pinch of saffron, bring it to gently boil and this will thicken substantially, as soon as is thick remove from fire.

By now the potatoes and carrots should be done, drain and remove the halved carrots, the rest just mash it up, then add a spoon of butter, a glug of milk, a pinch of nutmeg and seasoning (salt and pepper). And that is done too, finally arrange it all on the plate and get ready for an explosion of flavours, like I said is unbelievable, how nice it all was.

The nutty flavours mixing in with the mild onion and the earthy mushrooms and the fabulous textures, then the mash with a hint of sweetness from the carrot and a little garlic and nutmeg coming through, and the "piece de resistance" the moist pork with a saffron ginger and garlic , well make it and you'll see.

Woking Good - Stir fried Veg and King Prawns

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 Punnet of mushrooms
• 1 Punnet of baby corn
• 1 small tin of bamboo shoots
• 1 large carrot
• 1 red pepper
• 1 red onion
• 300grs king prawns (pealed but uncooked)
  
• 1 ginger bit the size of (two garlic cloves)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 large spoon of black bean sauce
• 1 tea spoon of Chinese five spice
• 2 soup spoons of soy sauce (optional)
  
• 2 soup spoon of brown sugar one soup spoon of rice wine (optional)
• 1 large medium chilli
• 1 soup spoon of arrow root (or corn starch)
• 2 glugs olive oil
  

I needed to make a quick dinner and this allowed me to literally take 7-10 minutes to cook it.
I chopped the onions and pepper into (1 inch) squares, chopped the garlic; ginger and chilli very fine mince, cut the carrot in half length ways and then half side ways and finally thinly sliced the from the side to for very thin rectangles, baby corns in half's length ways, mushrooms in quarters. Once all the veg are prepared place some oil in a wok (I used olive oil 2 glugs) but some people prefer nut oil, place over the flame once the oil starts to smoke, throw in the garlic, ginger, chilli, carrot, onion and pepper, let it cook for about 3 minutes then add the soy sauce, Chinese five spice, mushrooms, baby corns and bamboo shoots let it cook another 3 minutes then finally add the prawns, black bean sauce arrow root mixed with about 1/4 of a glass of water, the sugar and the rice wine, cook until the prawns turn completely orange as the uncooked colour is Gray, then you are done.
you can serve this with plain rice, Noodles or on it's own it's up to you...i had mine with Egg Noddles, actually was the best one I ever made as I tweak with the recipe every time I make. Like use some different vegetables like pak choi, or spring onions even cabbage or broccoli shoots, the only limitation is your imagination. Hope you like this one...

Xau-Xau Rice (vegetarian)

I was in a hurry so I thought to make a rice similar to what I used to eat when I lived in Africa, Mozambique, they called it there xau-xau Rice. This is a rich rice, rich in the sense that was full of veg as well as fish or meat protein. But my wife is vegetarian and I wanted to make something we all could eat at the same time, so with this one I used no meat and replaced it with quorn instead (be aware this is not vegan as has egg). recipe bellow feeds 4.


Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 large onion
  
• 3 garlic cloves
• one large bell pepper
• a full cup of peas (frozen will do)
• one large chilli (2 - 3 flames rating or medium)
• 2 standard size carrots
• a bit of fresh ginger
• 1 star anaseed
  
• a tea spoon of chinese five spice
• a tea spoon of sugar
• some light or normal soy sauce
• a full pack of quorn pieces (this can be other things, like soya pieces etc)
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 mugs of rice

Chop the following very finely: Garlic, onion, carrot, chilli, ginger, pepper, and quorn (be aware you may add more things like mushroom, corn whatever)(and that instead of quorn if you not vegetarian, you should use a mixture of very finly choped cooked beef, pork, chicken and prawns)
cook the rice in a seperate pan and in the cooking water add a crushed garlic, star anaseed and a little oil.
On a little frying pan scramble the two eggs, then put them in a bowl and chop them finely.
Seperatley get a little oil in a wok (about two soup spoons full) once pipping hot add the onions, garlic, ginger, chilli and pepper a little salt some pepper and the sugar. Once the onion goes transparent (after about 3-4 mins) add the rest, the peas, quorn bits & egg bits also add a good splosh of light soy sauce and the chinese five spice mix, stirr at all times you cook this for about 6 minutes, keep tasting and if needs more salt just add more soy sauce. Then drain the rice and rinse it in boiling water wich will leave it light and fluffy (I use basmati good quality) make sure it has been drained properly, and pore it into the wok, continue to stirr it at all times for about another 3 minutes (for more taste you can add a little fish sauce and rice wine, but not necessary).
It all just takes about 10-15 minutes to make and is delicious, and cheap. Sometimes I do this rice when I have left overs of chicken or beef etc.