Category Archives: Meat

May23

FeedmePhoebe’s Gluten Free Sriracha Ginger Meatloaf + Broccoli Fried Rice

Posted on May 23, 2016 by athaidek

I made this dinner for a St-Charles-house-family-meal a few months ago. To give you some context, Webster’s dictionary defines a St-Charles-house-family-meal as one where a) the fire alarm goes off because our windows are painted shut and literally everything you cook sets it off, b) someone gets accused for not eating carbs , subsequently carbs are consumed by all, c) we run out of plates, chairs, cups, or utensils and resort to more artistic ways of eating. (slices of cake served in coffee filters , people sitting on the floor eating on the coffee table, people eating in a lawn chair eating off a small side table, people sitting on the ground eating off of a square cooler, boys stealing our silverware/cups/pots/oven/spices) , and the most necessary part of a St Charles house family meal is discussing buying a dog or hosting a Murder mystery dinner.

For the past two years, I’ve lived in a house fondly known as “The Quarter House,” (I think we’ve called it that a whopping 2 times), because it looks slightly like a New Orleans French Quarter house. With a full porch on both levels, the house has welcomed its fair share of fun visitors, held many parties and dinners, but most importantly, it’s been a welcoming home base. Of the 9 (actual) tenants in 4 units in the house, 4 of us went to high school together, all of us are friends, and we have at least 5 others who don’t live in the house but may as well be our roommates. This weekend marks the last that we live together – some of us having lived here for 1 and others for 2 years, together.

In honor of our last week as roomies, I’m sharing with you a great Sunday night meal for you and your friends/ family / fr-amily. I still have many tips and stories to share with you from my tiny kitchen, but I’m excited for my new farmhouse sink and GAS RANGE in the new place! I’ll be missing our house, but thankful for continuing friendships with the people in it.

I understand if you do not meatloaf, but I will not have a discussion with you about it. It’s like when you bring something up with your dad that you knooowwww is going to end with both of you STILL feeling passionately about the OPPOSITE side of the other. Yea, I understand, it’s a loaf of meat. But it’s so comforting – you mix up some classic ingredients, throw it in the oven, and during the hour while it bakes, you’re getting excited for your warm cozy meal with friends.

I love Phoebe Lapine’s blog because she posts recipe that align with different dietary restrictions, but also are takes on classic dishes. I have been wanting to make this meal for a long time and am so glad I did!

Thanks to my housemate Daniel for the final plating pics. It pays to have friends with the more artistics capabilities 🙂

Sriracha Ginger Meatloaf, from FeedmePhoebe, serves 4

For the glaze

1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon sriracha

For the loaf

2 large eggs, beaten
4 scallions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons minced ginger (really a 1-inch knob of gingner, peeled and grated)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon gluten-free tamari (just uesd low sodium soy sauce)
½ cup gluten-free oats (I just used regular oats)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork

1. Preheat your oven to 375 and set the rack in the upper-middle of the oven. Middle is fine if that’s confusing. You want your meatloaf not to burn by being too high up

2. In a small bowl, mix the glaze ingredients. One of my housemates doesn’t like ketchup very much so I reduced the amount of glaze. However, the glaze is delicious, dont skimp.

3. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, oats, and salt until combined

4. Next, add in the beef and pork and mix the meat with egg mixture until JUST MIXED. This is key. The second time I made this dish I mixed up the meat too much and it was a bit dry. It helps that you’ve already mixed the other flavors together so the meat should get incorporated with the spice mixture fairly easily.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil, and form a log-shape with the meat mixture on it. I think I saw this on Ina Garten – apparently you want to pack the meat in the middle first and start pushing it outwards, ensuring that you don’t leave any air pockets in the meatloaf. This will keep it from drying out.

6. With a spoon or brush, slather on about half the glaze on top of the meatloaf.

7. Bake for 1 hour , until the top is all crispy. Let stand for 15 mins before serving

Broccoli fried rice, adapted very slightly from A House in the Hills , serves 4

1 cup any rice you like – I prefer jasmine
2 heads broccoli, chopped, including the stems if you like them
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 TBS fresh ginger, peeled and grated/minced
3 cloves crushed garlic
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 lime

1. Cook rice according to directions but add on 2 tsp of the sesame oil with the water when cooking.

2. Once rice is close to done, heat a large skillet and add the rest of the sesame oil. Cook onions until they start to sweat and you can see through them.

3. Add broccoli and sautee until the outsides get a little crisp. Add a bit of water if the pan is too dry.

4. Add the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, rice, and vinegar, sauteeing all the ingredients together until the broccoli is cooked how you like (about 4-5 minutes for me) and the rice is coated in the oil and sauce. If you want this to be really fried, let it keep cooking and turn up the heat to get some more crisp.

5. Squeeze in lime at the end. Serve with meatloaf and sriracha on the side.

This is really yummy. It’s not going to make it out of the pan before you trying it so just serve from here 🙂

Aug17

Homeland roots: Grilled Butter Chicken, Okra Masala, Dal and Coconut Rice

Posted on August 17, 2015 by athaidek

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What’s preventing you from trying something new? Do you ever think about the movement in your body that physically prevents you from doing new things? Like, what is that invisible switch that I swear exists in everyone’s throat which prevents men and women, young and old people from saying that which they want to say but are afraid to evoke? What kind of magic do you have to conjure to turn that switch off and stand up for yourself or for something you want or to take a risk??

Well I’m really just trying to get you riled up for my first attempt at Indian food. Let me tie these two things together. I’m half Indian – what that means is that for more than two years in elementary school I had a cop out costume of wearing either a sheet as a sari or one of the Indian dresses my dad or relative brought back from India along with a Magic-markered henna tattoo on my hand and a bindi. What it means is that I grew up wishing my mom would make Uncle Ben’s rice when I tasted this new buttery sensation at school one day after only eating basmati rice with every dish (yes, gumbo, chili, you name it, it was basmati). What it means is that my racial ambiguity let me get away with telling my kindergarten teacher that I spoke Spanish (at least until parent-teacher conference). What it means is that I grew up learning to taste spicy, rich, curry-ful foods and had a pickle on the table most nights at dinner.

And NOW, what it means is that I was so spoiled growing up eating Indian prepared by mostly my dad or grandma, that I am so scared of ruining those memories by messing it up. So maybe this isn’t a huge thing for me to try new, but at its core what it means is I’m treading new territory. One of the worst things about starting something new is how daunting it is to think that it might take you a while to master it, right?

I’m here to tell you that these three recipes are good places for you to start with basic Indian recipes. The biggest step is making sure you can get the right spices and not being worried that your entire kitchen is going to smell like curry for a day or so.

My dear friend Kate is the one who encouraged us to make this meal as she LOVES Indian food and is a great friend to experiment with. Take these recipes on with your family member, someone you go on adventures with, or impress your co-workers with your attempt at a new cuisine. I was blessed to have my sister and two of my close girl friends cook with me for a lovely Sunday night dinner partay.

Lentil Dal – from the NY Times, serves 4 -6

1 cup brown lentils, rinsed

1 small onion, roughly cut up

2 garlic cloves, cut in half

1 bay leaf

4 cups water

2 TBS oil

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp curry powder

salt

yogurt and cilantro to top

Make sure to start this recipe first, lentils take a while to cook! Combine the lentils, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add salt to taste (under-salt slightly because you will be reducing the liquid), and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes, until the lentils are falling apart tender and fragrant. Remove the onion and garlic and discard.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spices and stir as they sizzle for about 30 seconds, until very fragrant. Add the lentil with their liquid and cook, stirring and mashing with the back of a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, like refried beans. You may need to add some more water. Add salt to taste, once the mixture has reduced to the desired consistency.

Grilled Butter chicken thighs, halved from this recipe – serves 4

1/2 onion, quartered

1.5 garlic cloves, chopped roughly

1.5 inch piece of ginger, chopped roughly

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika (smoked or sweet is fine)

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 tomato or 1/2 tin cherry tomatoes (I forgot these so just used half a tomato)

1 cup Greek or plain yogurt (make sure it has at least some fat content…you need the fat for flavor)

1 tsp salt

2 TBS melted butter

4 large bone-in skin-on chicken thighs

A few hours before cooking (at least 1 hour and up to 6), puree all the marinade ingredients (all ingredients except the chicken) in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Put your chicken thighs in a large freezer bag or large bowl and pour marinade over. Ensure that the marinade covers all the chicken pieces and place in the fridge to marinate.
About an hour before cooking the chicken, take out of the fridge so it comes to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350.

4. Place chicken with marinade in a large baking dish and bake for around 20 minutes. During this time start to get your okra cooking. At the ten minute mark, light up the grill to med/high heat. You really need to be cooking on your friend’s porch – one which has a beautiful banana pepper plant, an OVERFLOWING mint plant, basil, as well as bell peppers.

5. After 20 minutes in the oven, take the chicken out of the oven and place each piece on the grill, shaking off the marinade.

6. Grill for about 7 minutes on each side, then put chicken on a clean plate and let rest for a few minutes.

Okra (Bhindi) Masala from Veg recipes of India

12 oz frozen cut okra (look in the frozen veggies section of your local grocery store)

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 TBS minced ginger mixed together with 2-3 cloves of garlic minced to make a paste

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garam masala (they sell it at Kroger I promise!)

salt

oil

Heat a tablespoon of veg or olive oil in a large skillet until medium-hot. Add the frozen okra and cook for around 4-7 minutes until the okra is green and just cooked (can be a little undercooked you will put it back in the pan later). Place okra in a small bowl and add a little more oil to the pan.
Add onions on med/high heat until they become soft and translucent.
Add your ginger-garlic paste for another minute.
Add tomatoes (don’t worry it will be liquidy) for a few minutes until the tomatoes break down and start to caramelize with the onions.

5. Add spices and salt until they cover all the ingredients. Make sure to add a good bit of salt here.

6. Add the okra back into the saute and let mix with the spices for a few minutes.

Last but not least, Coconut Rice!

Following the instructions on the rice bag, boil 1 part rice with 2 parts liquid – only substitute a little over half the liquid with coconut milk. Add a pinch of salt and reduce heat to simmering. Cover until rice is done. You may want to add in some coconut milk at the very end for extra flavor.

Serve everything together with lots of fresh cilantro, lemon slices, and yogurt to top! Have your favorite (and only) sister over to enjoy with you!

Apr28

Sausage and Kale with Spaghetti Squash

Posted on April 28, 2015 by athaidek

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I write to you as a serious grown up, sitting here in my apartment, roommate less for another week, reflecting on life and shifting all the much-loved time with my roommate to some really productive things. I’ve taken to actually watering my one plant, cleaning my room, paying bills and running errands that most people take care of within a few days of needing something but usually take me months.

There’ve been some important conversations and revelations with my friends. To my dismay, I found out that one of my closest friends prefers the cardboard flavored animal cracker to the quite conveniently transportable AND fashionable AND delicious barnum & bailey animal cracker box which we’ve decided are really “animal cookies.” While I find her opinions to be wrong, I’m glad we can be honest about these things.

On the positive side, Jason DeRulo has two new songs out, I’m going to the lake this weekend and this spaghetti squash with kale and sausage was delicious. Though I will miss Christine dearly, we have decided to have a roomie food challenge from Atlanta to Boston. Since we used to cook together, we want to facetime while we are making our favorite recipes so I can help her know JUST WHEN to stop stirring her muffin batter and she can share her attempts at our laundry list of recipe ideas. If you can master any of them first and send to us, we’ll be amazed….the list includes Basic girl dip (goat cheese, kale, dried cranberries, candied pecans and whatever other basic things you can think of), more vegan peanut butter pies, granola recipes, the best tahini dressings, tahini baked goods ,anything with kimchi, and mediterranean seven layer dip take 2. OH and anything that involves slow-cooked short ribs or stewed tomatoes.

On to this recipe. I made this a few months back with my friend Ed whom you’ve met in earlier posts. I like stuffing vegetables with meat and garlic and I also love the kale/sausage combo. This was ideal for a cold day, but could still be a good spring recipe with the amount of greens you could substitute right now.

Speaking of greens, who has ever heard of green garlic?? I went to this farmer’s market a few weeks ago and tried to buy green onions at literally three different farm stands only to be stopped by the soft spoken vendors who noted, “ah, no, see the flat stems, ah yes, that’s green GARLIC.” So apparently green garlic is a green onion with a flat stem. Who would’ve thought. (I’m gonna get to the recipe I promise). I HAVE to tell you guys about the ricotta fritters first though. My friend Justin and I walked around tryna be all skinny minny, looking at the bread table and not sampling anything until wafts of *FRIED SOMETHING WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE” floated from this Italian restaurant’s table.

What I came to find is that ricotta donut holes are the most heavenly start to a weekend you could ever experience. Forget long-winded brunches with your closest friends, sipping your coffee quietly while listening to indie brunch music while the birds chirp, sleeping til the afternoon – no, in order for you to start the weekend off right, you really need to pop out of bed, get over to the farmer’s market and demand one of these fritters. Ok now that you’ve decided what you’re doing this weekend….recipe!!

Sausage and Kale stuffed spaghetti squash (really this is a capsized spaghetti squash boat we ate it bowls)

adapted from Paleo grubs, serves enough for two Jason deRulo and Ariana Grande fans + leftovers

2 medium sized spaghetti squash

1.5 lbs Italian sausage – we used a mix of sweet and hot

4 cloves, minced garlic

1 small onion, diced

1 bunch sliced kale (I used half of one of those big bags from Kroger)

a few tablespoons of olive oil

salt n pepper

parmesan cheese, to top

1. Start by turning your oven on to 400-450. Slice the squash lengthwise and scoop out the inside pumpkin-y stuff until it’s smooth. This can be confusing because I know you think that the stringy part is the spaghetti but in fact, it’s not. Rub olive oil over the inside of the cavity and sprinkle with salt n pepp. Place squash halves down in a baking dish and place under the oven for 35-50 minutes, turning throughout. I always roast them cut side down but this recipe said cut side up so we rotated….

2. Heat a cast iron skillet or other wide skillet to medium high head and saute your onion for 5-6 minutes until they start to look translucent. Add garlic for 2 minutes more, then add in sausage, breaking it up after taking the sausages out of their casing. Cook the sausage for 10-12 minutes until brown and cooked through.

3. At this point you can fold in your kale – you want to remove as many of the tough stems as you can. If you get the bank of kale you can just rip it off, if you’re using a more sturdy kale you can cut ribbons off the stem. Wilt the kale in for another 3-5 minutes until soft.

4. Back to the squash….when the insides are fully cooked you can poke through them easily with a fork. Take them out of the oven and scrape out the insides with a fork, shredding the “spaghetti”. Mix in with the sausage kale mixture and you can either put the mixture back in the squash boat or in a bowl.

5. Serve with parmesan cheese and wine! Yummmm

Dec29

Christmas 2014 – Rosemary Sage Garlic Stuffed Pork

Posted on December 29, 2014 by athaidek

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Merry Chrisma-hanna-kwanzaa, my friends! I am writing to you from sunny Florida, jittery from the delicacy that is free hotel continental breakfast “homemade” waffles. Before I go any further, if any of you celebrate Kwanzaa, can you explain to me how your holiday meals were passed down? As my roommate and I tried planning a holiday fest that welcomed all winter holidays, Pinterest suggested that the “traditional” Kwanzaa meals included southern mac ‘n’ cheese, fried chicken, Gina Neely’s collard greens, and sweet potato pie. While I realize the holiday’s origins are in the US to commemorate the African heritage of African Americans, I’m curious if there are any dishes families actually make that are traced back to their African roots. Just some questions for you all…

This year, my Christmas was more adult that ever – we didn’t even open presents until 3 pm on Christmas day and skipped the crazy Christmas Eve masses for a quieter one on Christmas morning. I had a wonderful time in the presence of my closest friends and family and wanted to serve them the best dishes possible for their holidays!

Traditionally, my family has served rosemary crusted lamb chops for Christmas Eve, yet we never seem to find chops with enough meat on them from the butcher. This year, I thought a stuffed pork loin might be comparable and fulfill all the shortcomings of the lamb chop – tender, juicy meat that goes well with the same herby, garlic crust we like on the lamb. Turns out nobody on the internet had exactly what I had in mind. I really wanted to have the pork stuffed and rolled in a spiral so you could see all the pretty herbs on the inside, and I wanted to marinate it for at least 8 hours to ensure the flavors soaked in completely.

Thanks to all of you who helped me with your recipe recommendations! Here are some of the best ones that were recommended to me that influenced this recipe!

Katie’s Rosemary Sage Garlic Stuffed Pork for the holidays

Serves 10-12

1 5 lb boneless pork loin, not too fatty

8-10 cloves of garlic, minced

1/3 cup chopped rosemary

1/4-1/3 cup chopped sage

1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

1.5 TBS dijon mustard

2 TBS olive oil

4 slices of bacon

1 1/2 TBS kosher salt

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup chicken broth

kitchen twine or white sewing thread if you don’t have any twine

1. Prepping the pork loin: To ensure the maximum flavor richness and moisture, the best thing is to marinate the pork in the morning or the night before you’re going to cook it. This will also help if you’re pressed for time at night making other dishes and want to make it easier on yourself 🙂 Rinse the pork off if it’s in plastic packaging, and pat dry with some paper towels (getting it dry will help ensure the pork gets crispy). Here’s the best video I could find for butterflying a pork loin in thirds, but I can explain briefly as well. If you watch that video , skip to 1:13 for the important stuff. Also make sure to listen to T-swift jammin.

You want to make this big rectangle so that you’re able to roll up the pork and seal in the herbs. If you’re facing the short end of the pork you want to cut along the width of the pork so that it will open up like a book. We want to cut it twice so you’ll triple the width of the pork. Start cutting from the opposite short end of the pork to the bottom and the point you’ll pick is where you’ve cut about a third of the height of the pork. So, 2/3 of the pork is still together and we’ll cut that part in half in a minute. Cut the pork from the right into the center until it looks like a book and you’ve cut almost all the way through the spine. At this point, start from the “spine” and cut the 2/3 portion of the pork that’s still together in half so you’ve formed like a tri-fold poster board (for all you science fair experts). Here you are! If I’ve confused you thoroughly, watch the video above a few times.

Cover the pork with plastic wrap while prepping the herbs.

2. Chop up your herbs and garlic. The herbs dont have to be perfectly minced or anything, just not so big that you’d take a huge bite out of a rosemary stem. For the garlic, I minced it and then used the side of my knife to crush the garlic into a sort of paste. this can help get more of the flavors out of the garlic. For the pine nuts, I toasted them briefly then chopped them lightly.

3. Mix your herbs, garlic, salt, pepper flakes and black pepper, olive oil, mustard, and pine nuts in a small bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Try to press them together with the back of your spoon to make the whole mixture meld together.

4. Take the plastic wrap off of the pork and start massaging the herby mixture onto the pork (yea we’re getting graphic here). If you think it looks a bit dry, drizzle some olive oil over the pork and press it all into the pork.

5. If you have somebody around, this is the part where it’s helpful to have help!! The same way that you cut the pork is the way to roll it up. Starting from left to right, roll the pork into a log, making sure your stuffing stays inside. Once you’ve rolled the log tightly, use twine or thread to tie the roll together. I used about 5 pieces of twine and knotted at the top after rolling the log up.

6. Drizzle some olive oil on the outside of the pork and coat with any leftover filling, salt , and pepper. Cover with foil or plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator either overnight or at least 8 hours before ready to cook.

7. One to two hours before cooking the pork, take it out of the refrigerator to let the meat come to room temperature. Get your bacon out and drape over the top of the pork (this was a game time decision for me and such a good call). I cut the pieces of bacon in half.

8. Heat the oven to 450. Place pork in a roasting pan and place in the oven. We’re getting a crust on the pork before dropping the temp to cook the inside. Roast at 450 for about 10 minutes then drop the temperature down to 350. Make sure not to cook too long at 450 or the bacon will burn. Add the chicken broth to the pan to keep the pork moist. Bake at 350 for 60-75 minutes, or until a meat thermometer stuck in the middle of the pork registers 145 degrees.

9. Take pork out of the oven and cover lightly with aluminum foil for 20 minutes. This will seal in all the juices. Slice into coins/rounds and serve!!!

Joyeux Noel!

our delicious potato galette sides…

Sep15

Chinese Pulled Pork and Goodbye to summer

Posted on September 15, 2014 by athaidek

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What are you happy about today? I am happy for my family’s health, the existence of music (good and bad included I guess), and this barbeque I had on Saturday. My roommate put it perfectly: this is one of those times where Katie wants to make something, so she asks people to come over and try it. It’s less that I’m good at entertaining and more that when people smell food, they flock like sheep. Is that a phrase?

I was so excited to eat real food after a week of recovering from wisdom teeth surgery. While I didn’t let it stop me from nomming hard, it did stink not being able to chew. Poor me, I got to try Zesto milkshakes for the first time and had a banana pudding milkshake that rocked my world.

I recently visited the Dekalb Farmers Market in Atlanta and had a love affair I think. It was one of those lazy Sundays when I wanted to get lost somewhere and found myself purchasing a 4 pound pork BUTT for no reason in particular. I tried to ask the butcher what people usually get for BBQ and he was all “girl you’re on your OWN.” After being shuffled through the baking aisle by some intense bakers and drooling over bags of the coolest whole spices you’ve ever seen, I went on my way with my big ole pork butt.

One week later, I found myself declaring “I’m making this pork butt TODAY”. And no, I don’t think I even thought about who’d eat it other than myself, but it was eaten! I started my pulled pork experience with an Asian recipe and found success!

It wasn’t too bad! The reviews from this recipe made it seem very versatile and easy to play around with. The recipe only calls for 2.5 lbs of meat, and I used 4 without changing the proportions too much. The recipe says to cook this pork on the stove, but I ended up doing a combo of stove and crock-pot

With this pork, we served Cookie and Kate’s peanut sesame noodle slaw and had TOO MUCH FUN using our new food processor. Then we sort of strayed away from Asian and served a good-bye summer panzanella salad. We tried to come up with some unique names for the dishes so that they could be dubbed as Katie and Christine’s special recipes, but the only thing suggested was Jamarcus and Chastity’s pulled pork. No good.

I’m smiling now, thinking of my friends hunched around our teeny porch nomming on pulled pork. Love it! My weekend ended with the most beautiful singing from the church choir at this new church I’ve been going to. One of those moments when you get all goosebumpy, don’t you love that?! Put me in a great mood.

Chinese Pulled Pork, adapted slightly from this food52 recipe

4 lb Boston butt, pork butt

2 tbs olive oil

1 small onion, peeled and sliced thin

3 slices of .5 inch thick ginger, peeled

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped roughly

1 piece star anise

1/4 cup dried shitake mushrooms (I couldnt find presliced so just broke them up in my hands)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup white wine

1 cup low sodium chicken stock

2 tbs rice wine vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1. Take a paper towel and make sure your pork is dry before you start cooking it. This’ll help it get a good sear in the pan. Get out a big dutch oven. Cut the pork into large chunks, doesnt have to be fancy bc it’s going to fall apart

2. Heat the oil on medium high heat and start to brown the meat in batches. You don’t want to put too much in all at once bc you really want a good crisp on the outside of the pork. Just brown the pieces on 2 sides, doesn’t have to be the whole cube

3. After each batch is done, set the pork aside on a separate plate. After you finish all the pork, add the onion, garlic, and ginger (pork should be out of the pan) and saute on medium heat until the onions are sweating and the flavors are fragrant, scraping up the brown parts on the bottom of the pan. (says 5-8 minutes mine was closer to 5)

4. Add the star anise and mushrooms for just a minute to get them sweating. Then add your pork back to the pan and mix with the sauteed onions/garlic/etc. Add in the soy sauce, white wine, stock, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to very low heat. If you’re on a high burner, put the pot on the smallest burner. Keep it at a gentle, moderate simmer (I found this hard to keep steady so had to come back and check periodically) for 2 hours.

5. After two hours, skim the excess fat and shred the pork. Discard the star anise pod and cook the sauce down. At this point I put some of the sauce and the shredded pork in the crockpot and cooked it on low for another 2 hours.

Serve on potato buns with slaw or the reduced sauce! bon appetit!