Making Roast Red Pork for Supper

I haven't made this in ages, so I thought it might be worth a share even though it might be cheating slightly to just buy a packet and follow directions.

I used to work at The Call Center From Hell not far from an odd little Oriental Gifts & Food shop, and began to occasionally browse their cluttered shelves for interesting ingredients. The proprietor is a very chatty and opinionated lady with a strong accent, so it's reasonably authentic. If you want jasmine rice, she will tell you which countries have the best and which bags are most fresh. Strewn along the walls and along the shelves are assorted noodles, sauces, packets of seasonings, and various snacks. If there is any rhyme or reason, it's probably known only to her.

At any rate, one of the items I have bought there before is this roast red pork seasoning mix. It is a mild yet complex blend of flavors I can recommend to anyone, and there is no need to worry about excessive spiciness no matter how much of a wimp you might be. I don't know what is actually included in the "spices" listed in the ingredients, though. I'm also leery of FD&C red #3, but I use this so rarely, it's probably not a major concern. Still, if you have any suggestions, please share them in the comments!

I bought some inexpensive boneless pork sirloin at the grocery store which was a serendipitous 2.2 pounds, or 1 kilogram, exactly the quantity called for on the package. I cut it into strips, mixed water and seasonings in a bowl as directed, and placed the works in the fridge to marinate for several hours. I would share pictures of the process, but it's quite self-explanatory. Also, the focus was off on all my shots.

At any rate, when dinner time approached, I set up the oven to broil, and arranged the meat in a broiler pan.

20 minutes was a bit excessive in hindsight, but it matched the time it takes to cook some rice on the stovetop, so I started the rice and shoved the pan under the broiler element and just trusted the timer. After about 10 minutes, I also started some home-canned green beans from the Mother Thing. When the timer went off, I removed the pork and stacked several pieces for more accurate meat thermometer measurement. It was already way above the 145°F suggested USDA minimum safe temperature.

The instructions said to slice these cooked bits into thinner strips of pork, but I chopped it into bite-size chunks instead, so here we are at the cover image. Presentation was simple, but effective, and the meat was very tasty. A few bites were a bit dry and crispy here and there where a meat strip was thinner, but most of it was moist and flavorful. Nobody complained!

What are your favorite meat marinades, whether from a packet at the store or blended at home? Later this month, I will be hosting a basic spice mix program at my library, so I may have another post or two in store while I double-check recipes where I know exactly which ingredients were used. Stay tuned!