Pork & Bok Choy Stir Fry

Here's something I put together that came out surprisingly well for a first go.  I bought a couple of pork loin chops, sliced them into strips, and marinated them for about four hours in a mixture of about a quarter cup of rice vinegar, a few tablespoons of toasted sesame oil, a few tablespoons of soy sauce, and a tablespoon each of brown sugar and roasted red Thai chili paste.  Then I took a couple of stalks of celery and a large onion and chopped them.  Next I cut two heads of bok choy into small pieces.  I got a tablespoon or two of toasted sesame oil hot in the wok and slightly browned the pork, then set it aside.  I added the onions and celery and sauteed them for a minute or two.  Next I added the bok choy and continued sauteing until it shrunk down.  Then I added the marinade plus a sauce made of about a half-cup of vegetable stock, a little fish sauce, and another tablespoon of the chili paste.  I then brought the sauce to a boil  (this is important since the marinade had the raw pork in it), then lowered the heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally in order to ensure even cooking.  After a few minutes I returned the pork to the wok and continued cooking until the bok choy was tender.

Carrots & Fennel

Here's a dish that I came up with recently that has three of my favorite attributes: is easy, healthy, and delicious.  The bitter earthiness of the celery is the perfect antidote to the aromatic sweetness of the fennel, while the carrots and onions round out the flavor.

Cube 2 - 3 large carrots and one large fennel root.  Dice half of a large onion and chop one or two celery stalks.  Heat about a tablespoon of oil or butter and sauté them over medium heat until the celery starts to get a bit brighter green.  Salt with a couple of pinches of kosher salt (I'm sure regular salt works too, just not sure how much to use) and continue sautéing until some of the liquid starts to come out of the vegetables.  Add about a quarter of a cup of white cooking wine.  Turn down to low and cover, simmering until the carrots are just soft to a prick with a fork.  Remove from heat and serve.