Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Pork and Vegetable Stir-Fry with Cashew Rice

Pork may be the other white meat, but it's not one I cook with very often. Aside from the occassional use of deli ham or my standard pork roast/pulled pork dinner, I usually stick to poultry, ground beef and seafood when I cook. However when this recipe popped into my inbox from MyRecipes.com I decided to give it a whirl. (I think I've mentioned it before, but the MyRecipes.com Dinner Tonight emails are great and definitely worth signing up for! I've made many of their recipes and they've really gotten me to try new things. Case in point.) I considered subbing chicken for the pork, but then decided to just bite the bullet and try something new. This recipe is great! It's super fast and full of flavor. I doubled the sauce since we like a lot, and I also make extra rice. I made a few changes based on our personal tastes, but otherwise followed the recipe. This was a delicious dinner, and perfect for someone who is not a huge fan of pork. (However, if you are really opposed to pork you could easily substitute chicken or shrimp). I served this with some pork and vegetable dumplings I picked up at the supermarket and everyone was happy. Joe asked that this be made again soon, and also that I start making more pork!

Pork and Vegetable Stir-Fry with Cashew Rice

3/4 cup uncooked long-grain rice (I used brown)
1/3 cup chopped green onions (I omitted)
1/4 cup dry-roasted cashews, salted and coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons honey
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
2 cups sliced mushrooms (about 4 ounces)
1 cup chopped onion (I omitted)
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger (I used ground)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed (about 6 ounces)
1 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 1) (I omitted)

Cook the rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Stir in 1/3 cup chopped green onions, chopped dry-roasted cashews, and salt; set aside, and keep warm.
Combine 2/3 cup chicken broth, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, and honey in a small bowl, and set aside.
Combine pork, remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce in a bowl, tossing well to coat. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; sauté 4 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan.
Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Add mushrooms and 1 cup onion; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in ginger and garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add peas and bell pepper to pan; sauté 1 minute. Stir in pork; sauté 1 minute. Add reserved broth mixture to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Serve over cashew rice.

2 comments:

Jodi said...

This looks delicious! I'd love to try it.

Colleen said...

This looks like a great weeknight meal! I love cashews but have never tried them in a recipe - this looks like the one to try!