"Islands" Seared Pork Loin with Caramelized Onions and Balsamic-Sriracha Reduction

The islands you might be thinking of are probably not the same islands I am referring to.  Is the suspense building yet?

All naked... totally missing something.

This dinner arose out of nowhere.  It was one of those, "Hmm, what should we have for dinner?"  "How about pork?"  "Why pork?"  "Why not?"  "Oh fine, I'll go to the store, then, and get some pork."

I think it is just a natural thing for pork and apples to go together.  I had the bright idea of getting some jicama and cooking that with apples and onions.  Big mistake.  I started the jicama first because I know it has a higher starch content.  To me, a jicama is a mixture of a potato and an apple--it is sort of sweet like an apple and yet, a bit on the "meatier," heavier side like a potato.  Well, I threw that in the pan first and after about 20 minutes, it had barely softened.  I threw in some Fuji apple and it got mushy fast and the jicama was still crunchy.  As much as I hate wasting food, I did not feel there was any salvaging this.  Hmm, except, now in hindsight, I maybe could have made a puree out of it???  Hmm, next time.

Anyway, as I am a "frugal" shopper (that right there is making my mother smile), I went a little nuts when onions were on sale 4lb/$1.  Yeah, four pounds!  Hello!  So, I sliced two white onions up really thin and threw them into a pan to caramelize.  A dash of salt went in and then they cooked low and slow.  About 15 minutes later, I halved some brussels sprouts, tossed them in extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper, and threw them on a foiled pan into a 350F oven to roast and concentrate their brussels-y flavor.

The pork was super-duper stupid simple.  I got a bowl of flour and seasoned it with salt and pepper.  That's it!  Mix that around and then coat the pork well in the flour mixture.  Shake off the excess and then put it into a pan with the bottom coated with relatively hot vegetable oil but not so hot that you're going to set off the smoke alarm or burn yourself.  My pork slices were on the thicker side so I cooked them for about 10 minutes on each side but, I did use a meat thermometer to check that they surpassed 165F.  No one wants to get trichinosis, okay?  No bueno :-(  Your tummy would hate you.  I've seen slides of Trichinella spiralis, a roundworm that is a parasite.  I even saw a male and a female in COITUS!  How they stained that onto a slide is kind of amazing in itself, but yes, you read right.  It is pretty disgusting to think about.  I mean, you're just reading about it but, I had to draw it!  Feel the pain!  Point: COOK THE PORK THROUGH!  P.S.--I'm a biological science major so, it is my right to gross you out ;-)

Back to the food.  Crusted pork, brussels sprouts, caramelized onions.  "I need type of liquid or sauce for this dish," I thought, due to the fact that pork can easily dry out.  "What do I have?  Hmm... balsamic vinegar."  Thus, the reduction began.  I poured about two cups of balsamic vinegar into a pot and brought it to a boil.  I knew it would reduce down to a thick, concentrated, sweet syrup.  I added sugar to it figuring that would intensify the sweetness.  Then, I got the notion to add Sriracha (Asian spicy condiment) to it for a kicker.  Oh my gosh.  As soon as it was done reducing down to its thick, syrupy goodness, I felt like a goddess ;-)

Seared pork loin with caramelized onions and Balsamic-Sriracha reduction with roasted brussels sprouts.   

You're drooling, right?

The flavors tasted outstanding.  The meaty pork with the slightly spicy and sweet sauce with the crunchy and sweet onions in addition to the earthy, concentrated brussels sprouts flavor.  That reduction was just bananas.  The Sriracha was such a key player!  It was not even that spicy, but rather, added a little creeping warmth in the back of your mouth as well as this tang from the peppers!  The mouth, tongue, and taste buds are merely an aggregate dance floor for all these important dancers (ingredients) to do their thang ;-)

I really felt like crying it was so good :-)  I thought the dish looked fantastic... so fantastic that I almost did not want to eat it.  Almost.  But, I was genuinely proud of my plating!  This is what I actually said out loud, "Hot damn!  I'm a rockstar!!!!!!!!" and I added a little dance.  So simple and yet, so darn good!  My culinary abilities just keep getting better and better!  Yes!  I'm on Cloud 9--it looks great, tastes great... there is nothing negative that can be said about this!

Whop whop whop... think again.  I was so in love with this dish and how it looked that I sent a picture of it to my phone and set it as my background image.  Yes, I'm a nerd.  I went to see my mom a few days later and told her all about the dish and how it was so awesome and such.  I wanted to show her what it looked like but lo and behold, I left my phone in my car.  I get on her computer and am trying to get Facebook to load so that I can show her what it looks like.  She's telling me she needs to go downstairs because the potatoes might be burning.  I'm like, "Hold on, hold on!  This looks great!  The potatoes can wait a minute!"  It loads.  Ta-da!  She looks... silence.  Eh? 

Mother: "Mei-Mei... what did you do?  What is that?"

Me: "What do you mean what is that?  I just told you what I made!  Doesn't it look so pretty?!!" 

Mother: "You should not have done it like that.  It looks so messy and cluttered.  You know, I have watched enough Iron Chef America to know that that is not the way to sauce a plate."

Me: "What are you talking about?  They do too sauce it like this on Iron Chef America!  What do you think Bobby Flay does with those millions of sauce bottles he makes?!?!  He drip drip drips them around the plate after he's done."

Mother: "No, Mei-Mei, you should put it in a spoon and just put it on the plate in one motion."

Me: "Mother, I hate schmears!  I don't like schmearing sauces or purees on a plate!  I think it looks dumb!"

Mother: "I have to get to the potatoes.  I can't believe I stayed up here for this." Then, she made her way downstairs.

Ouch?  Sadness :-(  I sat there all broken and heavy-hearted.  I was very disappointed.  In a way, it felt like I failed in making her proud. 

Onto my father.  All excited and happy, I show my dad the picture.  I previously explained what I had made and that it looked spectacular.  He looks at it.  Silence.  "Oh no," I thought.  He's looking at it, looks harder. 

Dad: "What is this?  Is this a map?"  

Me: "A MAP!!??!?!"  

Dad: "Are those islands or something?  Next to a country?"

Holy cripes!!!!!  

Me: "No, Dad, those are not islands... that is the sauce that I drizzled over the plate and the pork," I said.

Dad: "Ohhhhh.  Ohhhh.  Oh."  He continues looking at the picture. 

**By the way, he knew about my mother thinking it looked messy but really, that was miles away from what he was currently thinking. **

Me: "Oh my gosh, Dad, you're just like Mom!"

Dad: "No no no, I don't think it looks messy, I don't.  It looks good.  Liang Yuin, it does look good.  But, maybe you could clean it up a little?"

O.... M.... G!!!!  Shoot me now.

I was at the point of crying and yet, I was rolling on the floor dying of laughter.  It was one of those instances where you're so upset and yet, all that comes out is hysterical laughter.  The tears that came were from me laughing so hard.  If I had gone through this with anyone else besides my parents, I probably would have just outright cried or teared up.  On the one hand, they're my parents and should be encouraging and positive and such.  On the other hand, they're freakin' Asian (more so my mother) and getting a seal of approval or a compliment is rare, like a hurricane hitting Southern California.  Like, an "Okay, okay" is probably the closest to getting a compliment.  Or as my mother goes, "Mmmmm."  Not like, mmm yummy, but like, mmmmm... okay.  You'd have to know my mother to know what I'm talking about.

Parents... they drive you nuts, right?  But by golly, I do love mine :-)

Green Onion Pancakes

UPDATE: the picture instructions can be seen here.

Green onion pancakes... I do not eat them a lot, if at all.  The last time I ate it was my mother's first attempt at making green onion pancakes a few weeks ago.  Keywords: first attempt.  Sorry, Mother, but Nai-Nai's were way better.  However, my mother informed me that she did not have any all-purpose flour in the house and instead used bread flour out of the 25 pound bag she got from Sam's Club.  So, the high amount of gluten in the bread flour made hers extremely chewy... and they were thick, too.  Not so tasty :-(

Con mis padres
June 2009: Kevin's graduation.  I get my personality from my dad, my smarts from my mom, and my stubbornness from both of them.  Gotta love your parents!  I still love my mom even if she cannot make green onion pancakes.

Well, before my mother's green onion pancakes, I had some months ago, maybe even before the new year at Champion Food Co. in Fountain Valley.  It is a Chinese... um... food place?  They're good at whipping out Chinese fast food, if that makes sense.  Not like Panda Express or whatnot, heck no!  The stuff you'd get from street vendors in China or Taiwan, I'd bet.  I got green onion pancakes there one day after getting my favorite milk tea from Ten Li Tea & Ginseng Company next door.  Those green onion pancakes were basically sopped in oil.  They were so greasy that they were hard to eat because they were so saturated with oil.  Ew.

And before that?  Well, it would probably be last June at Fred and Joyce's dinner party.  Joyce got the green onion pancakes from the freezer section of the 99 Rancho Market, she said.  Those were not bad.  However, the last time I had green onion pancakes before that?  So, I was 22 last June... the last time I had green onion pancake prior to June 2009 was probably between the ages of four and eight from my Nai-Nai, my paternal grandmother.  Only my brother and I called her that, a name our mother introduced us to.  All of our other cousins call her Ei-Ma, which is probably the traditional way of saying grandma.

Back in the day
My brother... in the middle of feeding me, I guess, based on that bottle of juice in his hand.  Love my haircut :-)  Our Nai-Nai would frequently watch us as both my parents worked.  I vividly remember always seeing eggshells at the kitchen sink; she would use the egg whites on her face.  I swear, it worked because her face always looked clean!!!  Oh, memories...

My Nai-Nai made THE BEST GREEN ONION PANCAKES EVER!  I mean, I was super young at that time and I find it amazing that at least 15 years later I can still remember what they taste like: hot (because I had them soon after she made them in her little apartment), slightly chewy, crispy, onion-y from the scallions, slightly salty, spots of golden brown on the exterior... oh man, they were heavenly.  Hmm, perhaps my little hands even helped her make them; I'll have to ask my dad.  Surprisingly, this is one of the only dishes I can remember her making and me eating.  Perhaps one of my favorites?  Definitely not a favorite now but a lovely food memory that I will take with me to the grave.

Back then when I was a cute, young tot, of course I was not conscious of carbohydrates.  However, I am very conscious of what different foods are made out of these days and hot diggity, these green onion pancakes would probably be great the night before a half marathon or something!  They would be great for eating after a night of drinking and partying... better than pizza, I'd say.  Last night I made green onion pancakes just because I had that competitive nature in me and wanted to make some better than my mother's.  NO JOKE.  By the way, she claims they're a bit salty, but I do agree with her; I had a bit of a heavy hand in the salt action, whoops.  My first attempt, too, okay?

As I made them, I watched my hands, rolling pin, and surface get all gooped up with flour and oil.  This was a messy process.  Then, I fried them, and I could not help but think of how bad they are for you!  Flour, salt, frying in oil... dude!  It is a very simple recipe.  I searched around online to see what goes into a green onion pancake and they were all pretty much the same so I went with my own measurements.  Go ahead and make some on your own... you will probably like them.  Think of them as perhaps... a Chinese tortilla?  They are not the sort of pancakes you would eat with syrup, no no.

My words of wisdom: have lots of flour on hand, have a smooth and clean surface to work on, don't be afraid to get messy... because it is definitely going to happen, guaranteed.  Open all your windows.  Oh, and do not make these at 10 o'clock at night and stink up the whole house of frying odors :-(

Green Onion Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup cold water
• salt
• two bunches of green onions, diced
• olive oil
• vegetable oil (for frying)

Mix the flour and boiling water with... your hands, chopsticks, something.  I used the ends of two wooden spoons and chopped the whole thing together.  I would cut in the cold water a little bit at a time.  When the dough comes together, knead the heck out of it.  This develops the elasticity and plasticity of the dough.  Maybe for about five minutes or so.  Then, put it into an olive oiled bowl, coat the entire ball of dough, and let it sit for about 15 minutes.  Resting the dough is SO IMPORTANT!

When the dough is ready, grab sections at a time... the size of oh, between a golf ball and a baseball.  Flour your surface.  Roll the dough out into a round shape, to the best of your abilities!  I won't hold anything against you if they don't turn out round because mine sure didn't!  Roll it out to about a quarter of an inch thick.  Smooth/brush some oil on top of the rolled out dough (use the oil from the bowl or pour some into a small bowl and use that).  Lightly sprinkle it with some salt.  Sprinkle the salted and oiled top with a generous amount of green onions.  Roll it up into a log.  Take one end of the log and start turning it in, making a coil.  Once it is in a coil, make it into a round and roll it out onto a flour surface less than a quarter of an inch thick.   This step has helped develop the layers and getting onion and salt into every nook and cranny.  Place onto a plate and repeat.

When you are ready to fry, lightly cover a pan in vegetable oil and heat it up.  When the oil is ready, place your precooked (if bought from a store) or just-prepared pancake in.  It will not take long to cook, maybe two to three minutes on the first side and less than two on the second side (when you flip).  When done frying in the pan, transport it to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.  Continue frying until you are all done.  Enjoy eating them!  They can be quite addicting ;-)

Celestial Sopa Casera de Pollo

Giving a title or a name to something does take some thought.  "The Chewy."  How ingenious is that?  "Poppin' Potato Hash."  I was excited to create that.  "Spicy Shenanigans Chili."  Ooh, it just makes you smile.  I cannot tell you at times how long it would take to create a good caption in the yearbook room, that dingy, not-so-well-lit crampy, old, yearbook room in the back of the library at OVHS.  Look at the photo and create an interesting caption.  It ain't easy, I tell ya! 

Well, I will cook something and tweak it if I need to but, eventually, I will write about it.  And it is during this time that I will reflect about the flavors, the process(es), the reactions of people who have eaten it.  Everyone who has had this particular soup has loved it; Jolie wanted the recipe so I got to typing away and had to make up a name for this.  I think this works: "Celestial Sopa Casera de Pollo."  It means, "Heavenly Homemade Chicken Soup" and I believe it is very befitting :-)

This chicken soup was by no means a walk in the park to make.  I opted to make my own stock and that took some time.  The chicken then had to be cooled.  Vegetables had to be prepped.  It was an entire afternoon endeavor.  However, I must say, the effort was well worth it.  Homemade chicken stock is way better than the canned or carton stuff.  All the flavors together in your mouth along with the chicken and vegetables are tantalizing.  They dance along your tongue and make you smile as well as close your eyes with a deep sigh...  It is a rustic, homey dish with deep flavors that makes you happy!  And I always think food should make you happy, don't you?

The beginning of a great stock :-)

In goes the chicken.

Add in water, boil, then simmer to reduce.

Prep work for the soup ingredients.

Cook them all together with salt, pepper, olive oil, and a pat of butter.

You can tell I love vegetables, right?

Spinach and parsley added in, poured over some brown rice, and you call it a day!

Celestial Sopa Casera de Pollo

Homemade Chicken Stock:

• 1 head of garlic, halved (no need to peel)
• 2 onions, chunked up
• 3 carrots, chunked up
• 4 celery stalks, chunked up
• salt and pepper
• 1 bunch parsley
• 4 leg quarters or 1 whole chicken
• 4 quarts water
• extra virgin olive oil

Chicken Soup:

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 oz package mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1/2 head cabbage, shredded
• 1 bunch of spinach, chopped or 1/2 bag of bagged spinach, chopped
• salt and pepper
• Homemade Chicken Stock
• shredded chicken
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

To make the stock, in a big pot, heat up olive oil and add in the onions, carrot, garlic halves, and celery along with lots of salt and pepper.  Cook for about five minutes and then add the chicken (which has been rubbed with salt and pepper prior).  Stir everything around and add the water, about four quarts/one gallon.  Toss in the bunch of parsley (no need to tear or chop).  Bring the pot to a boil, and then down to a simmer to reduce the liquid.  Stir occasionally.  It is necessary to skim the lipid layer off the top of the stock (you do not want this).  

Cook on low for a good 30 minutes and then remove the chicken to cool, then shred.  Reduce the stock for at least another 15 minutes.  When finished, strain the stock into a large bowl and let it cool to room temperature.  You now have a deliciously flavorful and concentrated chicken stock.

In a large pot, heat together the olive oil and butter.  Add the onions, celery, and carrots along with some salt and pepper and cook for five minutes on medium heat.  Stir in the garlic and mushrooms and cook for five minutes.  Add the shredded cabbage.  Season with salt and pepper as you are cooking!  Pour in the chicken stock and the shredded chicken.  When everything is the same temperature, add in the chopped spinach and fresh parsley.  Serve hot over brown rice, white rice, or no rice at all :-)