Foodie

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Grilled Pork Slices



These addictive grilled pork are perfumed by lemongrass and the addition of caramel sauce to the marinate, imparts deep color and flavor. Honey is a fine substitute that results in a slightly sweeter finish. Serve these on rice or noodles for a satisfying meal.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs boneless pork shoulder, well trimmed(about 2 lbs after trimming) and cut across the grain into strips about 3 inches long, 1 inch wide, and a scant 1/2 inch thick.
MARINATE
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 large shallot, pounded(about 1/3 cup)
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp caramel sauce*
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 stalk lemongrass, grate with a microplane to get 6 tbsps.
1/4 tsp black pepper

Method:

Put the sliced pork inbetween plastic wrap, sprinkle some water and pound the meat slices into thinner slices.

Add the marinate to the pork slices and coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
Thirty minutes before grilling the pork, remove from the refrigerator.

Grill pork slices, turning once, for about 4 minutes on each side, or until nicely browned, a little charred and sizzling.
Serve grilled pork with rice or noodles

.
CARAMEL SAUCE
3/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
Use a small, heavy saucepan with a long handle, preferably a stainless steel, so that the changing color can be monitored easier.
Fill the sink with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the saucepan.
Put 1/4 cup of the water and all the sugar in the saucepan and place over medium-low heat. To ensure that the sugar melts evenly, stir with a metal spoon. After about 2 minutes, when the sugar is relatively smooth and opaque, stop stirring and let the mixture cook undisturbed. Small bubbles will form at the edge of the edge of the pan and gradually grow larger and more toward the center. A good 7 minutes into cooking, bubbles will cover the entire surface and the mixture will be a vigorous simmer. As the sugar melts, the mixture will go from opaque to clear.
If a little sugar crystallizes on the sides of the pan, don't worry. After about 15 minutes, the sugar will begin to caramelize and deepen in color. You will be a progression from champagne yellow to light tea to dark tea. When smoke starts rising, around the 20 minutes mark, remove the pan from the heat and slowly swirl it. Watch the sugar closely as it will turn darker by the second, a reddish cast will set in (think the color of a big, bold red wine) as the bubbles became a lovely burnt orange. Pay attention to the color of the caramel underneath the bubbles. When the caramel is the color of black coffee or molasses, place the pan in the sink to stop the cooking. The hot pan bottom will sizzle on contact. Add the remaining 1/2 cup water, the sugar will seize up but later dissolve. After the bubble ceases, return the pan to the stove over medium heat.
Heat the caramel, stirring until it dissolves into the water.
Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes before pouring into a small heatproof glass jar,
Set aside to cool completely before putting the lid on.

Serves

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Lily, I've been emulating your recipes with plenty of successes. Your blogs has become my malaysian chinese food encyclopedia and my family just loves them. Considering that my husband and in-laws are Irish-Amrican, they have grow to love Malaysian food a lot, thanks to you. I will def try this recipe for supper one night and let you know the results. As usual, I am pretty sure they will like this. I am a novice cook, just got married summer this year. I like your fail proof recipe, unlike those I found on other website. Keep up the good work ad keep the recipe coming. I've been living here for too long a time that I somehow has forgotten most of the taste from home. Thanks for all the wonderful recipes.

Geraldine said...

oh Lily, this pork slices look so delicious... I'm just afraid to make the caramel sauce. Its sounds too hard... I'll try to gather some courage to do it cos the photo shows how delicious this dish is.. and i'm drooling over it as it is. Any short cut to the caramel sauce??

Unknown said...

jane of all trades

like i said in my text, use honey, it will be slightly sweeter but just as delicious

Anonymous said...

just started cooking, and this looks very doable for me. will try this out, with honey.... and let you know the outcome.

Anonymous said...

Lily, I have to agree that this grilled pork slices are totally addictive. My own adaptation of the recipe is using green onions instead of shallots and I also use Maggi seasoning in lieu of soy sauce. The whole family can't get enough of this dish. Cheers.

@ GiGi House of Beauty said...

Lily, wat is Microplane ah? can i use a mini food processor to chop/grind the white part of lemon grass in order to get the grated lemon grass? will sure give this recipe a try in 1-2 days time when i get my pork ready!
btw, Lily, i m drooling for Malaysian version of Apong Balik (those with peanut,sweetcorn and butter inside)? can't get any recipe from the web! SOS!

Geraldine said...

opss... Lily, I was drooling so much from the photo until I didn't notice the text about replacing the caramel sauce with honey... thanks...

Unknown said...

gigi

microplane is a grater and zester. it can grate the lemon grass finely wherelse the food processor can do the job but not as fine. Get a microplane, it is worth the money. get it at bed, bath and beyond as there is 20% discount with their coupon and they accept coupon from Linens & Things

i do have Apong balik but it is spelt Apam Balik. look for it under snack

Anonymous said...

I have lemongrass powder. May I use 6 TB of this powder for this recipe?

Anonymous said...

Hi Lily, Looks like you have a nice indoor grill. May I ask you for the make and model number.

Unknown said...

wendy

i don't know about lemongrass powder, you could try but i suggest using less perhaps 1 tbsp.

Unknown said...

anonymous

It is Cuisinart Griddler Grill/Panini (GR-4)

Anonymous said...

As the caramel cools, does the caramel sauce hardens? When placed in a glass jar, does that means the caramel sauce will keep for awhile? If so, room temperature or refrigerated?

Unknown said...

anonymous

the sugar will seize up but later dissolve when the 1/2 cup of water is added and cooked on the stove again on medium heat.

the jar of caramel can be left in the pantry at room temp.

Unknown said...

anonymous

the sugar will seize up but later dissolve when the 1/2 cup of water is added and cooked on the stove again on medium heat.

the jar of caramel can be left in the pantry at room temp.

Unknown said...

anonymous

the sugar will seize up but later dissolve when the 1/2 cup of water is added and cooked on the stove again on medium heat.

the jar of caramel can be left in the pantry at room temp.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Microplane lemongrass...never thought of that one. I'll have to try it! I've always thrown the lemongrass in the food processor but it's never come out consistently fine, and the frozen chopped up one has pieces of green stuff in it (plastic?) Who's to know what all is in there considering the quality of some food products.

Unknown said...

anonymous

the microplane is one of my most favorite kitchen utensil. I will use it for galangal and even the hard 'dang guai'. I scrape a little to add to the bak kut teh spices.

madimomi said...

Hi Lily,
I followed your recipe to the T but used pork loin instead. The pork slices came out pale & tasted nothing like the restaurant. Was an ingredient missing in the recipe? Any suggestions? Thx so much.

Unknown said...

madimomi

recipes are there to be a guide, there are all sorts of brands and the level of saltiness or flavors differ. you should adjust the final taste to your liking.

Anonymous said...

hi lily for the fish sauce any particular brand to reco?

Unknown said...

anonymous

i like to use Three crabs brand fish sauce = to check for authenticity - look at the bottom of bottle, there must be 3 crabs design on it.

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