Tamari sauce & honey-glazed pork

Ingredients

For the glazed pork (serves 4):

• 700gr of boneless pork shoulder steaks (split into 4 steaks)

• 70ml honey

• 60ml Tamari sauce (or gluten-free soy sauce)

• 15ml sesame oil

• 15ml white rice vinegar 

• 15ml sriracha sauce

• 2 tsps garlic puree

• 2 tsps ginger puree

• 2 tsps Chinese Five Spice

• 2 spring onions

For the stir-fried greens (serves 4):

• 250gr pak choi

• 160gr Mangetout

• 1tbsp sesame oil

• 1tbsp sesame seeds

• 1 spring onion (keep the dark green part aside for garnish)

• 1tsp garlic

• 1tsp ginger

• 2 tsps honey

• 3 tsps Tamari sauce (or gluten-free soy sauce)

• Pinch of salt

Method

In a large bowl, I mix all of the marinade ingredients and whisk thoroughly to create the glaze. Placing the pork shoulder steaks into a large freezer bag or an airtight container, I pour the marinade onto the meat, making sure all of the meat is fully coated. Ideally, the steaks should be refrigerated for at least 4 hours before cooking. If you’re not planning on cooking the full 4 servings at once, I would recommend splitting the remaining meat into the desired portions ensuring each packet has a good amount of the marinade and freeze. A good tip is to label the freezer bag with the name of the dish, date and serving size. Use within 2 months of freezing.

To cook the pork, I turn on the oven to 200ºC, line a baking dish with parchment paper and roast for 20 minutes. If you have a barbecue available or a reliable grill, you can also cook the pork shoulder steaks there, flipping the meat twice to ensure an even char on each side.

In the meantime, I start cooking the vegetables. Into a wok or frying pan, I pour the sesame oil and allow it to heat up. To the hot oil, I add the chopped white and light green parts of the spring onion, the garlic, ginger and chilli flakes. After about a minute of stirring continuously, the green vegetables are added. I like to add a pinch of salt and then continue stirring until any residual liquid is absorbed and I can see some caramelisation on the vegetables. Finally, I pour in the tamari sauce, honey and sesame seeds. Once all the vegetables are coated in the sauce and cooked to your liking, the stir-fried greens are ready to serve. Should you want to freeze a portion of the vegetables for later, allow them to cool and freeze flat in a labelled and dated freezer bag. To bring them back to life, defrost them and simply stir-fry them on medium heat until piping hot.

To complete the dish, I prepare the sticky or basmati rice, cooking it as per the instructions on the packet.

My preference is to serve it in a bowl in sections, spoon some of the pork juices on top of the pork and sprinkle some more sesame seeds and the finely chopped dark green spring onions, for garnish. This recipe serves 4 and has become a firm favourite in our household. I hope it becomes one of yours too. Enjoy!