Stir fried pork and a tasty salad.
Ingredients
- 250 g free-range pork fillet
- 1 ½ teaspoons five spice powder
- 1 dessert spoon fish sauce, nam pla
- 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce (dark)
- 1 stick lemongrass
- 2 large mild red chillies
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 shallot
- 1 tblsp soft brown sugar
- a dash of sunflower oil
- salt
- for the salad:
- 1 head baby gem/cos lettuce
- handful of basil, mint and coriander
- 1 (organic) cucumber
- 2 spring onions
- 25 g unsalted peanuts
- for the dressing:
- 1 thai chilli/bird eye chilli
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 ½ tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 tblsp fish sauce, nam pla
- 2 tblsp freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
- 2 tblsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt
Method
- Turn on oven to 200°C. Spread peanuts on roasting tray.
- Trim pork fillet and slice into ½ inch pieces. Toss in five spice.
- Roast peanuts for 7-10mins.
- Prepare lemongrass, garlic, shallots and chillies. (Chop chilli for dressing also)
- Mix with sugar soy sauce and fish sauce.
- Pour over pork and mix well. Cover and refrigerate.
- Remove peanuts from oven, blow off skins and roast again if necessary.
- Dressing: Crush garlic, juice limes and mix in a jar with chilli, caster sugar, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Shake well to dissolve sugar.
- Wash lettuce leaves and herbs. De-seed and slice cucumber. Slice spring onion. Coarsely chop peanuts.
- Warm plate/bowl in oven. Heat sunflower oil in heavy frying pan.
- Drain pork and fry for 1 min on each side. Pour in marinade & cook for a few mins.
- Dress salad leaves, herbs and cucumber. Mix in pork and carmelised bits. Arrange on plate/in bowl. Scatter spring onion and peanuts over the top.
Notes
By Christine Crowley for MasterChef Ireland
