Not-Fiery Pork Skewers with Sesame Rice Salad

Everything went wrong with this recipe. I didn't have teriyaki sauce so I substituted soy sauce. The problem is teriyaki is sweeter than soy sauce so I should have adjusted the sugar in the recipe. I didn't have red wine vinegar because I couldn't find a small enough bottle of the stuff to fit in the teeny tiny cupboard of the teeny tiny kitchen. I substituted mirin and white wine. The red pepper flakes imparted no flavor and no heat whatsoever to the pork. This recipe needs a stronger pepper flavor and that comes from using crushed dried chilies or sambal which is an Indonesian chili sauce. And worst of all,  9 minutes cooking time was way too long.  The taste? It was well-done and salty.

Not-so-fiery pork skewers with sesame rice salad

 "Fiery" Pork Skewers (from: Allrecipes.com)
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and cut into 1 inch cubes

In a medium bowl, mix teriyaki sauce, vinegar, oil, brown sugar, and pepper flakes. Add pork tenderloin cubes to mixture and toss to coat.

You can do this on a grill but I have a New York apartment with no backyard so I fired up the broiler. Cover a baking tray with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. Thread the meat on the skewers, about 4-5 cubes per skewer. Place on the prepared tray. Cook 10-12 minutes (ye gods! 9 minutes was long enough to dry them out. Try 5-7 minutes.) Turn frequently (every 3 minutes) and brush with remaining marinade.

Pork on skewers

Should you soak the skewers first and won't they burn? It's not necessary to soak the skewers, and yes, they will char a bit, but not to the point of bursting into flames--unless you do something else and forget you've got dinner in the oven.

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The sesame rice salad is from the South Beach Diet cookbook. It has another name in the book but I've made the recipe so many times that I've made it my own. The trick is to make the vegetables crisp-tender and you do that by blanching them in boiling water.

2 cups cooked brown rice, warm or room temperature
1/2 pound green beans cut in 1 inch lengths  (asparagus in the original recipe)
1/2 pound sugar snap peas, whole, trim ends to pull off the strings
2 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 scallions, sliced on the diagonal
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)

Put 4 cups of water in a saucepan on to boil. Immerse the beans. I never time them. Just watch them turn bright green. When they do, use a slotted skimmer to remove the beans at once. Immerse in cold water to stop the cooking process. Repeat with the sugar snap peas. Drain well and set aside.

In a skillet, brown the sesame seed until a light golden brown. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, soy sauce, and sesame oil until blended together. Set aside

In a large bowl toss the rice with the soy sauce mixture. Add the beans and peas. Add the sesame seeds. Combine. Sprinkle the scallions and crushed red pepper on top. I add the cilantro to this recipe because it adds a savory flavor and crunchy texture.