Lemony Fried Pork Steaks (檸檬醬煎豬排)

I have to admit, this one didn't go down well at all with the children, which surprised me slightly. They love salmon steamed with lemon, ginger and soy, and are used to eating pork, so what's not to like?

Lemon chicken is one of those "not really Chinese" dishes, in that it appears on Chinese takeaway and restaurant menus, but not so often in Chinese homes. For this reason, it was one of those guilty treats on the very rare occasions that we got "western Chinese food" from the takeaway - along with sesame prawns on toast, crispy (not really) seaweed, salt and chilli ribs and ... well I can't think of anything else. To be honest, I would usually opt more for a steak and kidney pudding or battered cod and chips (with mushy peas and gravy or curry sauce) if I was to get anything from the Chinese takeaway!

To me, this pork version did taste pretty good, and also unusual in our household, because there's a lot more sugar than I usually use in cooking. The loin steaks were sliced as thin as I could and marinated overnight, and were packed with flavour. The peas provided a nice taste and textural contrast to the pork and lemon sauce. The sauce was sweet, without being too sickly. Although it didn't go down well with the children, I'll probably be serving it again in an attempt to turn them.

 

Ingredients

• Approx. 300g pork loin (I bought a small pork loin joint) or pork escalopes
• 1 handful of frozen petits pois
• 2 spring onions, washed, trimmed and finely chopped
• Juice and finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
• 90ml water
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1tsp cornflour, mixed with 20ml water to thicken
• Sunflower oil for frying
• A few drops of sesame oil

For the marinade

• 1 clove of crushed garlic
• 2cm cube of peeled fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. Shaoxing rice wine
• 1 tsp Lea and Perrins Worcester sauce
• Pinch of ground white pepper

Serves 2

 

Instructions

• Rinse the pork chops, dry on kitchen towels and slice as thinly as you can (it helps to put the pork into the freezer for 30 minutes beforehand), or buy ready-sliced escalopes. Place the pork inbetween a couple of sheets of clingfilm and bash with a rolling pin a few times to tenderise the meat
• Place the chops in a bowl and add all of the marinade ingredients. Stir well to mix, then cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes or overnight
• Make the sauce. Place the sugar, water and lemon juice in a bowl and stir to mix
• Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a wok or large frying pan, until the oil is moving around the pan and very hot. Shake any excess marinade from the pork steaks and place in the pan. Let the steaks sit in the pan for 30-40 seconds before moving them, to allow them to brown and colour nicely. Turn once and let them brown on the other side too. When the steaks are cooked through (2-3 minutes), place them onto a warmed plate and set aside in a warm oven
• Pour any excess oil from the pan, leaving about 1 tbsp remaining. Add the spring onions and fry for 10 seconds, before adding the lemon and sugar mixture. Bring to the boil and add the petits pois. Boil for 30s or until the peas are cooked through. Thicken the sauce by adding the cornflour emulsion, a little at a time, until the desired consistency has been reached.
• Add the grated lemon zest and sesame oil, stir and remove from the heat. Pour over the pork steaks and serve immediately

Lemony Fried Pork Steaks (檸檬醬煎豬排)