Fake Sweet and Sour Pork

Sounds positively disgusting, and it's absolutely messy to eat but it's surprisingly good, especially considering the effort that goes into making it. The coke helps create a caramelly glaze and the vinegar in ketchup serves as a tenderizer.

Ingredients:

2 pork chops
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup coke

Directions:

Stir ketchup and coke together.
Poke steaks with a fork (or cut them into bitesize pieces), and cover with marinade.
Leave in fridge for about 2 hours.
Drain meat but reserve the marinade.
On high heat brown the meat for about 2 minutes per side.
Pour in the marinade, cover and simmer on low heat until meat is cooked through.
If you want more sauce, you can make more, just keep the ratio of coke to ketchup at 1:1.

Ginger Beer Pork

Another invention of mine. Make sure you use real brewed-from-ginger beer, not the soda water with ginger flavouring that is passed off as ginger beer by some companies! I used Bundaberg Ginger Beer, but I don’t know whether this is available overseas.

This will appeal to anyone who enjoys fruity meat dishes such as apricot chicken and apple cider pork. It has a sweet, spicy tang to it.

Ingredients for one person:

120g pork fillet, cut into strips or squares
1/4 brown onion, finely sliced
125mL (1/2 metric cup) ginger beer
1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
Water

Instructions:

1. In a hot non-stick frypan, dry-fry the onion until it is turning brown and soft.

2. Add the diced pork fillet and fry, turning constantly, until meat is browned.

3. Turn the hotplate down to medium and add the ginger beer. Cover and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

4. In a glass or cup, place the cornflour (cornstarch) followed by few tablespoons of water and stir firmly until it is completely dissolved.

4. After the 5 minutes are up turn the heat back up and bring the ginger beer to the boil. As soon as it is boiling add the dissolved cornflour and stir constantly until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat as soon as it is thick.

I served this with rice, green peas and corn kernels. It was very tasty!

Slow Cooker Green Beans

A quick and easy recipe for the summer nights.

Ingredients:

4 cups green beans
14.5 oz (410 g) canned diced tomatoes
1 lb (450 g) pork shoulder or another marbled cut, cut into cubes
2 bay leaves
a pinch (or more) of red pepper

Directions:

Wash beans and remove tops and tails. Cut in half, or leave them whole.
Put beans in slow cooker.
Layer meat cubes on top, and pour can of tomatoes over everything.
Add bay leaves and red pepper.
Cook on high for 3 1/2 hours / on low for about 7 hours, or until the beans are cooked.
Serve with french bread. Or beer. Or both :)

Pork Steaks in Mushroom Sauce

This is one of my favorite midweek meals, as it's ridiculously quick and easy despite the pretentious name. I came up with that recipe for my own use, but it's nothing groundbreaking so I am sure someone else has thought of it before me :). Makes 2 servings. Preparation time is about 30 minutes from start to finish, and the actual work involved is about 5 min.

Ingredients:

2 pork steaks
1/4 cup (60 ml) red wine
10 oz (280 g) mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons flour, or 1 teaspoon starch
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Season the steaks to taste. In a skillet brown each side for about 2 min.
Lower heat.
Add mushrooms and onion.
Pour in red wine. In my skillet it reaches up to about the middle of the steaks. That's about the right amount of liquid - it shouldn't cover the steaks.
Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 20 min, or until steaks are done.
Transfer steaks to a plate. Leave liquid and mushrooms in skillet.
Add flour or starch to sauce.
Increase heat and cook sauce, stirring continuously for about 2 min or until thickened.
Remove sauce from heat. Season with a pinch (or more :) of salt and pepper.
Pour over steaks.