{recipe} sweet and sour pork stir-fry

I haven’t been cooking or baking in the last few weeks, it is just too hot around here and I get sweaty just thinking about me standing in the kitchen.

There have been lots of Trader Joe’s salads, sandwiches, fish tacos and anything that can be cooked or re-heated on the toaster oven.

I recently subscribed to Hello Fresh for a week, which included 3 meals. I figured, this will help me get out of my cooking slump and make me excited to cook again.

I followed the recipe but also added more garlic, bell peppers and green onions. This is just because of preference, not because the recipe was lacking. I always want more veggies in dishes, so I added 1 more bell pepper in the mix. Next time, I would exclude the sugar all together, I think the ripe mango adds enough sweetness to the dish. Also, substitute brown rice instead of basmati.

Sweet and Sour Pork Stir-Fry with mango, ginger and basmati rice

Ingredients:

2 pork chops
1 mango
1 bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 (thumb size) ginger
2 scallions
3/4 cup basmati rice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons corn flour
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1 Bring 1½ cups water and a large pinch of salt to a boil in a small pot. Once boiling, add the rice to the water, reduce to a simmer, and cover for 15 minutes, until tender.

2 Meanwhile, mince or grate the garlic. Core, seed and remove the white ribs from the bell pepper, then finely dice. Peel and cube the mango, being careful to cut around the flat pit. Peel and mince the ginger. Thinly slice the scallions, keeping the greens and whites separate.

3 Cut the pork into 1-inch cubes then season on all sides with salt and pepper. Place the pork and corn flour in a medium bowl and toss to coat.

4 Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, if necessary, add the pork to the pan and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Set aside.

5 In the same pan, heat another 1 Tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add the scallion whites, bell pepper, and garlic and cook until softened, 3-4 minutes. Add the mango, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and 2 teaspoons sugar to the pan and bring to a simmer.

6 Return the pork to the pan and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

7 Serve the pork atop the rice and sprinkle with scallion greens.