Garlic Pepper Pork II

Source: "Crying Tiger: Thai Recipes from the Heart" by Supatra Johnson.
(Moo Tod Kra-tiem Prik-tai)

Lately my belly felt full and bloated. No, not food poisoning. It was likely the inclement weather had sapped my energy and made me lose appetite. And for someone as passionate about food and cooking as I am, nothing sucks more than losing one's appetite!



So today I decided to revisit one of my all-time raves: Garlic Pepper Pork. Always good, always scrumptious, garlic pepper pork never fails to pep me up whenever I am in the dumps. Today is one such day.

Author Supatra Johnson said pork loin is the perfect meat for this recipe. I prefer pork shoulder or collar: it is ideal for stir-fry and complements the garlic and white pepper very nicely. Freshly ground white pepper will make the dish even more delicious!

Ingredients:
1 pound pork loin (cut cross-wise into 1/4 inch thick pieces)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup peanut oil for frying
lettuce leaves
cucumber slices

Method:
1. Combine pork loin, minced garlic, ground white pepper, soy sauce, salt, oyster sauce, and sugar in a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight if you have the time.

2. Preheat a frying pan over high heat and add peanut oil. Heat oil for 2 minutes and place the marinated pork pieces in the pan. Cook for 10 minutes, turning once. Drain pork on paper towels and serve with jasmine rice or sticky rice, lettuce leaves, and cucumber slices.

Yield: 4 servings



Comment:
The pork collar turned out a bit over-salted. Maybe the recipe was too liberal with the salty elements: oyster sauce, soya sauce and salt? I also tried Kikkoman Special Fragrance Soy Sauce for the first time, to see if its premium pricing was justified. Much touted, it was developed specially for Asian taste buds at Kikkoman's Singapore factory. Its mild sweetness is supposed to impart a unique flavor to any dish. Well, I can only say the outcome was inconclusive. The soy sauce didn't add anything "extra" that I could detect. Neither did it detract.

Overall, the slightly chewy yet tender garlicky pork collar really invigorated me! Whether on toasted bread or meat, who can resist roasted garlic? Especially when it is combined with pepper and salt to give it that extra dimension! The scrumptious taste, aroma and strong garlicky flavor lifted and refreshed my appetite. Hooray, I'm hungry again! *grin, grin*