Ground Pork with Spicy Peanut Noodles

This may be the most successful dinner I have ever made. It was so good and easy to throw together. Since I currently work from 12-7, I prep everything in the morning so that way I can come home and start cooking immediately. I had no idea how this would turn out as this is the first time I've made anything remotely like this, but Joe and I both loved it. Next time I might throw a few more vegetables in, maybe some peas or green onions depending on what I have around the house.

Also, I didn't really measure anything. I was a little worried that it would turn out a little bland, and there's nothing that Joe and I like less than a bland meal, so I put in quite a bit of the Thai chili garlic sauce. That stuff is extremely potent. I may have overdone it (though Joe insists I didn't). My lips were burning by the end of the meal. Next time I will go a little easier on the chili garlic sauce for my sake.

The taste of this dish is out of this world. On your first bite, the creaminess of the peanut sauce gradually gives way to the spice of the chili garlic sauce. It's a great combination. Too bad I didn't think of it first. I got this wonderful recipe from Kristy at Cook, Eat, and Write. Major props to her.



Ingredients
1/2 lb ground pork (I used a whole pound.)
3 T All Natural Peanut Butter
Soy Sauce
Thai Chili Sauce (I'm not sure if this is different from what I used. Mine was Srircha sauce, the red paste with flecks of pepper in it that comes with the green cap.)
1/2 box linguine (I used whole wheat spaghetti.)
1 red bell pepper
1/2 medium onion (I used a red onion because I needed to use it up.)
3 garlic cloves
frozen peas (I omitted because I ate the rest of my frozen peas in my guilty-pleasure macaroni and cheese the night before.)
2/3 cup pasta water
for spice: crushed red pepper and red curry powder (Mine certainly did not need any additional spice help.)

Brown the ground pork in a large wok or saute pan. Thinly slice the onion and bell pepper and mince the garlic. Add to pork. After the vegetables have been combined and cooked, add some shakes of soy, 3 spoonfuls of the peanut butter, and about 1/4 cup Thai chili sauce. Mix to melt and combine peanut butter. After noodles have cooked, reserve some of the liquid to add to the pork mixture to make it saucy. Toss noodles with pork mixture and serve.

I really like that this dish is so versatile. You could substitute any long, thin noodle or even ground turkey for the pork. I also like that I can throw in any sort of vegetable I'm feeling. If guests were coming over, you could top it with some crushed peanuts, scallions, and lime or throw in some bean sprouts. The possibilities are endless!

Chicken Pad Thai

Okay, confession time. I made this from a kit by Thai Kitchen that comes with the rice noodles and sauce. I'm trying to screw up my courage to make real pad thai, but I wanted to be sure I could master this before I bought a bunch of ingredients from the International Market.

It was pretty good. Joe and I could've dealt with it being a little spicier, but I'll keep that in mind when I graduate to making the real deal. It was a perfect amount for 2 people. It was actually nice to not have to worry about putting away leftovers. I think that I may have overcooked the noodles just slightly. They weren't quite as firm as I prefer. The thing I really liked about this pad thai was that it had all of the texture variations that I love: the slippery noodles, the crunch of the peanuts and the bean sprouts, and the texture of the chicken.



Ingredients
- Thai Kitchen Pad Thai kit for two (includes rice noodles and sauce)
- 4 oz chicken, tofu, shrimp, or vegetables (I used chicken. This might not be enough protein for people who are big meat-eaters.)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup crushed peanuts
- 1/2 cup bean sprouts
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- (I also used some green onion I had.)

Instructions
1. Boil 4 cups of water. When water reaches a boil, remove from heat source and soak rice noodles for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Pour 1 tbsp of oil into a large frying pan or wok. Place egg in pan and cook until scrambled through. Remove and set aside.
3. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of oil and cook the chicken, tofu, shrimp, or vegetables. Once cooked, put the noodles and sauce in the pan and toss until noodles have completely absorbed the sauce. Toss with egg and bean sprouts. Garnish with lime and peanuts.