Pad Thai Pork Salad

I am relatively certain that I could never even begin to explain how ridiculous my family can be. And we are usually our most out of control around the dinner table.

And even though I will never really be able to explain, I can show you photo evidence.

I have no idea how we got there, but somehow we ended up discussing geographic tongues (if you don’t know what they are already, don’t Google it unless you have a strong stomach).

And then…

This…

Awesomeness…

Happened.

Awesome, or kind of gross? You be the judge.

But more awesome than family tongues, is this tasty dish.

You will need…

For the Pork:

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 pound ground pork

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

For the Salad:

4 tablespoons soy sauce

1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

Pinch of freshly ground pepper

Pinch of Chinese five-spice

12 ounces Pad Thai noodles

½ medium cucumber, halved and thinly sliced

½ cup roughly chopped mint

½ cup chopped cilantro

½ cup chopped roasted peanuts

Start by heating a large pot of water until it boils.

While waiting for the water to boil, start your pork by heating the oil in a large pan over high heat.

When the oil gets warm, add in the pork and season it with salt and pepper.

Cook the pork until it is browned and nearly cooked. About 4 minutes.

Drain off half of the cooking fat and add the garlic, ginger and sugar.

Cook until the sugar is completely absorbed and add in the soy sauce.

Stir until the liquid has absorbed as much as possible and set aside.

By now your water should have boiled.

Add in the noodles and cook until they are barely tender, 4 to 6 minutes.

Drain the noodles and immediately submerge the noodles in cold water.

Combine the remaining soy sauce, brown sugar, pepper and Chinese five spice in a small bowl and mix well.

Drizzle the sauce over the noodles and add in the cucumber, cilantro, mint, and peanuts.

Top with the pork, toss and serve.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Pad Thai Pork Salad

For the Pork:

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 pound ground pork

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

For the Salad:

4 tablespoons soy sauce,

1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

Pinch of freshly ground pepper

Pinch of Chinese five-spice

12 ounces Pad Thai noodles

½ medium cucumber, halved and thinly sliced

½ cup roughly chopped mint

½ cup chopped cilantro

½ cup chopped roasted peanuts

Start by heating a large pot of water until it boils.

While waiting for the water to boil, start your pork by heating the oil in a large pan over high heat.

When the oil gets warm, add in the pork and season it with salt and pepper.

Cook the pork until it is browned and nearly cooked. About 4 minutes.

Drain off half of the cooking fat and add the garlic, ginger and sugar.

Cook until the sugar is completely absorbed and add in the soy sauce.

Stir until the liquid has absorbed as much as possible and set aside.

By now your water should have boiled.

Add in the noodles and cook until they are barely tender, 4 to 6 minutes.

Drain the noodles and immediately submerge the noodles in cold water.

Combine the remaining soy sauce, brown sugar, pepper and Chinese five spice in a small bowl and mix well.

Drizzle the sauce over the noodles and add in the cucumber, cilantro, mint, and peanuts.

Top with the pork, toss and serve.