still trying to do more home cooking this week. not much got done, except steamed snapper with garlic and lime on friday. this was eaten with a salad of rock melon and blackpeppered salami.
on saturday did pan fried pork rib eyes. the fridge was still stocked with the aftermath of thai cooking and visits to golden mile the week before, so i marinated the pork with lemongrass. for some reason i always think that of all the meats, pork takes the best to asian flavours. something about the texture lends itself very well to the citrusy fragrances of lemongrass and ginger.

lemongrass and fennel pork - marinade for about 400 grams of pork rib eye, left to sit for 2 hours at least (use chops of whatever cut you like for grilling or roasting)
1 thai lime, juiced
1 tbsp grainy mustard
6 cloves (toasted in dry pan till fragrant)
1 tsp fennel seeds (toasted in dry pan till fragrant)
4 lemongrass stalks, sliced finely - lower part of stalks only. strip off tough powdery outer leaves till you reach the tender, oily inner shoot.
3 inch knob of ginger, skinned and bashed about a little (poor ginger always gets violent treatment)
3 cloves garlic, bruised (another candidate for kitchen brutality)
10 gms gula melaka, shaved
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp chinese rice wine (hua tiao)
good glugs of olive oil to coat the meat
to cook: heat up a pan till really hot, pour in 2 tbsp oilve oil. shake off the loose bits of ginger and lemongrass from the meat, salt and pepper the surfaces genourously. seal each side for about a minute on high heat. lower flame and cook anoother 5 mins till done (depending on thickness). remove from heat and rest for 5 to 8 mins in a plate tented with foil.
i know what they say about undercooked pork and selmonella - but really, there's no need to over do it till the meat is white and flossy like cardboard. nice and tender pink is still how i eat my fresh pork chops/ loins and roasts.
for the sauce: add 1/2 cup of water or stock to the marinade, set on flame to boil while pork cooks in the other pan. once you have removed the pork from the pan, drain off excess oils. clean of any burnt bits in pan. strain the marinade liquids over and cook on medium heat for another minute. on a low flame, add 5 tbsp cream, adjust salt and pepper. pour any meaty juices from rested meat back into sauce and stir it up. happy eating.