Thai-Style Pork Stew

This is a recipe from Cooking Light that was written for a crockpot. I have tried it twice in the crockpot and both times, the pork came out too dry and the vegetables too mushy. Still, it had great flavors and was easy to throw together, so it deserved another chance.

Here is the recipe as originally written with my alterations below:

Source: Cooking Light, September 1999

Peanut butter melds with classic Asian flavors to lend this one-dish meal a Thai flair. Lime makes a perfect accent.

Stew:
2 pounds boned pork loin, cut into 4 pieces
2 cups (1 x 1/4-inch) julienne-cut red bell pepper
(I also added about 2 cups of chopped broccoli)
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce*
2 tablespoons rice or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (I cut way back on this)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
(I had a lot of pork and we like a lot of sauce, so I increased the sauce by about 1/2)

Remaining ingredients:
6 cups hot cooked basmati rice
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts
8 lime wedges

To prepare stew, trim fat from pork. Place pork and next 5 ingredients (pork through garlic) in an electric slow cooker. Cover with lid, and cook on low-heat setting for 8 hours. Remove pork from slow cooker, and coarsely chop. Add peanut butter to liquid in slow cooker; stir well. Stir in pork.

Combine stew and rice in a large bowl. Top each serving with onions and peanuts; serve with lime wedges.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup stew, 1 tablespoon green onions, about 1/2 teaspoon peanuts, and 1 lime wedge)

NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 412(30% from fat); FAT 13.6g (sat 3.6g,mono 6.2g,poly 2.5g); PROTEIN 28.9g; CHOLESTEROL 64mg; CALCIUM 37mg; SODIUM 425mg; FIBER 2.1g; IRON 2.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 42.3gCooking Light, SEPTEMBER 1999

My notes: This time I did it on the stovetop as follows:

Sauté the pork in a small amount of toasted sesame oil, just until it begins to turn white. (I am a firm believer in not cooking meat until it's completely done or it will dry out - the meat will finish cooking while resting or when you return it to the pan to warm through.) Remove pork from pan and set aside.

Add a bit of water to the pan, along with chopped broccoli; cover and lightly steam broccoli for about 5 minutes. (I overdid the broccoli a little - next time I would steam for maybe 5 mintues or even less.) Add red bell pepper, garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add teryaki sauce and vinegar. Next add the peanut butter and stir to blend well. Add pork and scallions and heat through.

This was a big hit with the family and was very easy to prepare. It even got my husband and my youngest son to enthusiastically eat their broccoli. Not only that, but my broccoli-hating older son didn't hate it so much with this delicious sauce to mask the broccoli so well. Quick, easy and delicious - definitely a repeater for us, especially with the new cooking method - not as easy as a crockpot, but it is still prepared in only one pot and with added veggies, can be a one-dish meal.

*I like to use Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce. It is one of the few store-bought sauces that I really like. Plus, I LOVE the name!