Tophat665

I used to work at a place that made Five Spice Chicken that was to die for. I've always thought this would be a good thing to do to pork chops. Turns out I was right. Note that I did this all by eye, so the measurements are all speculative and could as easily be read as "to taste". I am also going to throw in some things that I plan on trying next time I make this, but I will mark them (*thusly*). Suffice to say that this was one of the tastiest things I've made in a long time.

Serves 2 (or 1 if he's hungry)

2 boneless pork chops (about 1/4 lb each, or equivalent in medallions of pork tenderloin)

For the Rub:
4 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
1 tsp (*raw or light brown*) sugar
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

For the marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tbsp honey (if you have orange blossom honey, it does make a difference)
3/4 tsp granulate garlic (or 2 small cloves fresh, crushed or finely chopped)
3/4 tsp powdered ginger (or 1, 1/8 inch thick, quarter sized piece fresh, skinned, crushed, and minced.)
2 tbsp peanut oil
(* 2 tbsp orange juice*)

For the rice:
2 cups cooked white rice
(* 1 large clove garlic, sliced thin *)
(* 1, 1/4" thick, quarter sized slice ginger root, coarsely minced/finely chopped *)
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 onion, sliced 1/8" thick
1/8 tsp black sesame oil
(* straw mushrooms *)

1/4 cup chopped scallions, green parts only.

Start by making several parallel cuts in each pork chop, half an inch apart, 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through, on 1 side only, to help the marinade get in. (these could be stuffed with thinly sliced ginger, garlic, chinese ham, or mushrooms - but I don't plan on doing that just yet). In a bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients. Put the pork chops in a ziploc bag (slices facing the same way), pour the marinade in, zip shut, and leave on the counter, sliced side down, for half an hour, or in the fridge for 3 hours (if you use the fridge, you're going to need to bring it to room temperature before cooking for this to work aright).

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix the rub ingredients together on a paper plate, and lightly oil a metal baking dish (or pie plate, or cookie sheet or cassrole) with peanut oil. Take the pork chops out of the marinade (KEEP the marinade!), coat them with the rub, and lay cut side up on the baking plate.

Bake the chops for 20-25 minutes (or until just barely pink at the center of the thickest part - the object is for them to be white all the way through after they have sat on the rice for a minute or two).

Meanwhile, prep the rice:
Put 2 tbsp of peanut oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Heat it until it shimmers, but not smokes. (* if you're using garlic and ginger, toss these in and stir them around for 15 to 30 seconds *) Add the rice and onions (* and mushrooms *), and toss with the oil (* and garlic and ginger *) for a minute or so to heat it all up. Clear a space in the center of the pan and pour in the egg. Quickly scramble and mix into the rice. Once that's mixed in, add 2 tbsp of the reserved marinade. Mix thorougly. Form the rice into a 3/4 inch thick layer, and lightly sprinkle with seasame oil. Let it sit there until the bottom has just charred. Mix it up, reduce the heat to low, and wait for the pork chops to finish cooking.

Put half of the fried rice on a plate, set a pork chop on top, and sprinkle with half the scallions. Do it again with the other half. Voila - dinner for 2.

This can easily doubled or halved.

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poopermcgraw

Man this sounds good...did anyone else try it? How'd your experimental ingredients turn out? Since I'm a poor college student who rarely cooks, I'd have to make this on a special occasion or hit up the mom...ah wellz still makes my mouth drool.

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