This is “faux” barbecue pulled pork at its finest. There’s no need to barbecue pork outside for hours, just do it right in your oven! Liquid smoke in brine and spice rub lend those smoky flavors in the meat. Serve it in a tortilla for carnitas, between two slices of baguette bánh mì-style, or with grains (it goes great with rice and scrambled eggs) and you’re good to go. For me, I like it Filipino-style, in soft, sweet pan de sal buns!

I love barbecue pork, pulled pork, bánh mì Vietnamese sandwiches, and the only sandwiches I truly, absolutely enjoy are those with warm meat in between toasted soft buns. I will eat cold cuts sandwiches, but I won’t crave for it. Now the pulled, barbecued kind? I dream of it.

Simply delicious. That's all I can say.

As soon as I saw this recipe on my Cook’s Illustrated magazine (one of the very few magazines with recipes I can rely on), I knew instantly that I have to make it. Dan made it first and said, “Oh god.” I didn’t need an explanation after that, because no sooner was I saying the same thing, perhaps with a little profanity peppered in. Holy ****.

If the looks alone won't hook you, the first bite will. It is just a piece of heaven in sweet pan de sal. We get ours from Aling Mary's.

This will be on the menu again in the near future and the recipe will be doubled, so I can freeze half to enjoy whenever I crave for it.

I just don’t have anything else to say other than: Make it. It’s good for you.

   Get the recipe for Indoor Pulled Pork here (PDF download included)

In the course of my adventurous summer with food, when I tried ingredients I’ve never eaten or cooked before, I picked up a rutabaga. Also called swede, yellow turnip, or wax turnip, it is part smooth, part rough/hairy/bumpy, hard and so foreign to me. I laughed when I got home because I absolutely had no idea what it tasted like. I just assumed it can be boiled. Peeling it revealed what looks like a raw sweet yellow potato flesh. Trying to cut into it tested my patience. Be very careful when slicing it raw. Save your hands and fingers. They are tough little buggers that could roll off your cutting board and kitchen counter if you don’t hang on to them.

Ever since I got it, I can only think of cooking it with coconut milk.  No idea why, it just sounded delicious at the time. Then someone from Twitter asked me if I use turmeric in my cooking, and I replied ‘No’, so the next day I decided to remedy that and added the ginger-family spice. It made the rutabaga in this recipe even yellower. In Medieval Europe, turmeric was known as “Indian Saffron” due to its wide use as an alternative to the pricier saffron, and it is a significant ingredient in commercial curry powders, thus the resulting taste and color of a curry dish:

It was just the right blend of subtle flavors, without overpowering the rutabagas. Biting into each chunk of rutabaga feels like biting into a vegetable that is a cross between a turnip and squash, without the latter’s mushiness but a hint of its taste. I love that it holds its shape without easily disintegrating when cooked. The peppers were a nice complement to the rutabaga and coconut milk, and the turmeric added just enough character to the taste of the dish. Having this for dinner one quiet, dreary evening brought a smile to my face. I just love it when my food experimentation works out. Mmmmm….

Pork Cutlets with Rutabagas & Green Peppers in Coconut Milk

Ingredients (serves two)

• 1/2 lb tenderized pork loin cutlets
• 1 rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1- to 1.5-inch chunks
• 1/2 small yellow onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1/8 tsp ground turmeric
• sea salt
• fresh ground pepper
• canola oil
• coconut oil

Preparation

1.    In boiling water with a pinch of salt, cook the chunks of rutabaga until tender; about 25 to 30 minutes in medium heat. Strain and set aside.

2.    Heat a large frying pan, with about 1/2-tablespoon canola oil, in medium-to-high heat. Once the oil is hot, cook each side of the pork cutlet till golden brown (not burnt), about 3 to 4 minutes each side.

3.    Lower the heat to medium and add 1/2-teaspoon coconut oil. Saute the onion slices for a few minutes until they become transparent, and then add the chopped garlic and bell pepper slices. Cook for a couple more minutes before adding the rutabaga chunks. Fry until the edges of the rutabaga begin to brown.

4.    Pour coconut milk, turmeric, and a pinch of salt. Stir and wait for it to boil before adding more salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Serve over the pork cutlets and enjoy with steamed rice.

It’s been a busy week and I tried to keep everything simple for meals. I can’t say the same for the my late night baking marathons last week (I’ll post about them soon), but hey, something’s gotta give when you try to fit everything in 24 hours each day.

I just realized that I rarely post pork recipes here and it’s because I rarely buy it, so I’ll post one that I just cooked. It’s nothing complicated, but it’s not so humble in flavors either. The sauce is semi-sweet and spicy, thanks to the cayenne pepper. Yummy over all and always good on steamed rice.

It’s definitely one of my better experiments that made it to our site. Please enjoy!

Pork and Peppers with Wine Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo pork shank, cut in 1 1/2″ cubes
• 1 orange pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 1 yellow pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 4 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• dash of cayenne pepper
• salt
• pepper
• vegetable oil

Preparation

1. Coat the bottom of a large frying pan with oil and place in medium-high heat. Put the pork and sprinkle with salt and pepper, brown in 2 batches and transfer on a plate.

2. Lower the heat to medium and saute the orange and yellow peppers in the same pan for a few minutes until they start to pick up the brown bits. Don’t overcook the peppers. Put in a small plate for later use.

3. Pour white wine on the pan and let it simmer until it is reduced to half, and scrape off the brown bits while simmering. Add the chopped tomatoes and wait for them to soften. When the skin begins to peel off, press the tomato pieces against the pan to create a paste. Add 1/8 tsp salt and a dash of cayenne pepper.

4. Mix in the pork meat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes and turn off the heat. Add the peppers and serve with steamed rice.

Variation: You can definitely replace pork with chicken tenders if you like.