Hoisin Happiness

Next to chocolate, peanut butter is one of my favorite flavors.  Everybody knows it's great in cookies and candy, but have you ever tried it in stirfry?  I'm telling you, PB takes regular stirfry to a whole notha' level!  It only takes a couple tablespoons, but it elevates even store-bought stirfry sauce to new heights of flavor complexity.  Now this recipe is slightly more complicated than pouring a bottle of sauce over some meat and veggies, but it's still really easy, and the flavor is so much better than what you can get in a bottle.  It requires a few specialty ingredients, but you can usually get them at Food Lion.  Heck, I think I got mine at Target - and not a super Target, either, just a regular one.  Like all stirfrys, this recipe is totally customizable.  Don't like pork?  Use chicken.  Prefer broccoli to carrots?  Go right ahead.  Wanna add a bag of stirfry vegetables instead?  Knock yourself out.  This recipe is more about the sauce than the stuff underneath it.  You can even leave out the peanut butter if you really want to, but why would you?

Hoisin Pork and Rice Noodles
link to original recipe
Prep time: 20 min Marinate: 4+ hrs  Cook time: 10 min
Serves 8

2/3 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup water

6 Tbs sesame oil

4 Tbs honey
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs fish sauce
6 Tbs vinegar
A squeeze of lime
8 cloves finely minced garlic
2 Tbs fresh grated ginger
1 minced hot pepper (i.e. jalapeno, chili pepper, etc)
6 Tbs hoisin sauce
6 Tbs peanut butter

2 lbs pork cut into thin strips

16 oz rice noodles
1 cup slivered carrots
1/2 cup diced green onions
3/4 cup chopped peanuts
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Whisk all the sauce ingredients together (first 13 items).  Reserve half in another dish. 

Marinate the pork in half the sauce overnight or for at least a few hours.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and stir-fry the pork until browned on the outside.

Cook your rice noodles according to package directions.  Drain.  Stir in reserved sauce and heat through. Top with pork, carrots, green onions, peanuts, and cilantro.

563 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Since I shared my favorite peanut butter with you a few days ago, I figured I might as well share my new find with you, too.  Today at Aldi I found a jar of Lotus Biscoff Spread. It was touted as "The European Alternative to Peanut Butter," and being such a fan of peanut butter, I decided to try it.  Apparently, it's made from the same stuff as Biscoff cookies, which, if you're like me, you may have only experienced because you took an international flight.  Like the cookies, the spread tastes quite similar to the flavor of graham crackers, but the smooth, creamy texture is just like PB.  It's delightfully sweet and has a rich density.  I can't wait to try it in a sandwich, on celery, maybe even in my next stirfry!