Stuffed Porkchop with Bacon & Mushrooms

Hubby came home last Thursday night and asked me about stuffed porkchops - specifically, do I know what they are and can I make them ?

I confessed that I have not heard of stuffed porkchops before but that I didn't think they'd be overly complicated. I was also thinking of that new knife we have that's very sharp, it would be so simple to cut a pocket into a pork chop.

I looked up "stuffed pork chops recipes" online and a lot of hits came up with a lot of variations on the stuffing. It looked like it was just a matter of choosing which ones will work best for us.

And so for round 1, I decided to go with a no-brainer - bacon and mushrooms. We love bacon, we love mushrooms, what can go wrong ?

1. Saute the bacon and mushrooms. I just sauteed them till the bacon was cooked.
2. Seasoned the porkchop and cut a pocket into it.
3. Stuffed the filling inside the porkchops and sealed the cut with a toothpick
4. Browned the sides on a pan.
5. turned the heat to low, covered the pan and sort of baked the pork chops till they're cooked.

They turned out juicy and tasty :)

Salt & Pepper Shrimp

I've been on a quest for the easiest & best-tasting Salt & Pepper Shrimp dish.

I've been trying this dish out for weeks now and the first time, the shrimp came out soggy & too peppery.

I cooked it again the following week and while the shrimp turned out golden & crunchy, it was too salty!

As it turns out, the 3rd time is the charm. This turned out perfect today. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to write down the measurements (tancha lang) so let's just hope that the next time will turn out good too.

Super sarap, I swear :)

Salt and Pepper Shrimp

It's Lent again and we abstain from eating meat on Fridays.

The easiest non-meat food that I know how to cook (sort of) is shrimp since we buy the frozen ez-peel shrimp type which have already been de-veined and
beheaded.

Now, I only have 2 shrimp dishes in my arsenal - shrimp alfredo pasta & shrimp tempura.

Tonight, I decided to make an extra effort in expanding our weekly menu and decided to try for Chinese-Style Salt & Pepper shrimp, di naman pala mahirap.

I found a few recipes with different variations, I chose what seemed to be the easiest recipe (from ChineseFood.about.com) and I chose it mainly because it was stir-fry and did not call for deep frying.

This is what we prepped:

1/2 pound large shrimp
1 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (too much for our taste! Will use less next time)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, for stir-frying
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped green onion
chili pepper (did not use)

Soak the shrimp in warm, lightly salted water for 5 minutes. --> I skipped this part because I used medium-sized shrimp and I didn't think that it needed more than the outer coating. It turned out okay in terms of saltiness. 

Rinse in cold water, drain and pat dry with paper towels.

Lightly coat the shrimp with the cornstarch.

In a small bowl, mix the salt with the freshly ground pepper and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons in a preheated pan on medium high to high heat. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp and stir-fry until they turn pink. Remove from pan.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the pan. When the oil is hot, add the minced garlic, chili pepper (optional) and the salt and pepper mixture. Stir-fry until fragrant (10 - 15 seconds) and then add the shrimp back into the pan. Stir-fry to coat the shrimp in the salt and pepper mixture. Stir in the green onion or serve as a garnish with the shrimp.

Next time, I will slice up some onions and add them to this dish.