Iron Chef Mom 2

KYO NO TEMA... butaniku.

Or, more-accurately (and wordily): pork shoulder butt blade steak.

I kid you not.

Why does anything need so many names? Oh, well, it was cheap and looked really good, so the Grill Geek bought it. And I spent about 3 hours with my eyes glazed, chin-on-hand, searching the internet for recipes that I could do in just 80 minutes with the things I had on hand.

See... pork shoulder butt blade steak (PSBBS?) is known for being very flavorful, favored by Korean and South Carolinian cuisines, and yet can be quite tough. So it needs to be braised. Which takes a lot of time. Iron Chef Mom is not about lots of time. That's part of the challenge. No matter! Stand back, mere mortals! After rejecting a few ideas (which will be made some other time... they were good ideas) I settled on this one.

Asian Pork Lettuce Bowls

• 1 pound PSBBS, cut into thin slices

• 3 tablespoons coconut oil

  Braising liquid:

• 1 cup chicken stock

• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
  

• 1/2 teaspoon gingerroot powder

• ¼ cup tamari (wheat-free soy sauce)

• ¼ cup rice wine

• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

  Other stuff:

• 1 onion, thinly sliced

• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

• 1 carrot, thinly sliced

• ½ inch of ginger, grated

• Romaine leaves, separated

• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

• ½ tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

1. Thinly slice pork and quickly fry half at a time, over high heat.

2. Mix together braising liquid and pour over. Return first batch of pork to the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in another skillet, stir-fry onion about 3 minutes, until beginning to soften. Add pepper and carrots, stir-fry about 3 more minutes, until crisp-tender.

4. Stir in grated ginger, and steal some braising liquid (about ¼ cup?)... heat to boiling.

5. Remove pork from braising liquid, raise heat to high, and boil to reduce down.

6. Chop cooked pork, then add about ¾ cup braising liquid to the pan with vegetables. Stir in about ½ tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water, to thicken. Add the chopped pork, and stir to combine.

7. Make bowls of lettuce leaves, fill with spoon of rice, shredded pork, and stir-fried vegetables.

8. Transfer to plates and serve immediately, garnishing with sesame seeds.

And remember, one of the rules states that you must accept help from ALL sous-chefs... even if said help is them wanting to "wash dishes" and is thoroughly in your way.

Serve with a nice, cheap sham-pagne like Cook's. Yes, I'm serious. Delicate flavors and nuances will be lost against the spicy food, but the sparkles and sweetness are nice.