gourmet babble

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed (or 1+ tsp ground)
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns, crushed (or cracked or ground)
• 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed (or cracked or ground)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp soy and/or fish sauce
  Warning — high sodium ingredient!
• 1 - 2 stalks lemongrass, chopped into 2" pieces and crushed
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp five spice powder
• 1/2 tsp Ancho chili pepper, ground
• 1 green onion, sliced fine
• Pork loin chops, whole or cubed

Combine all ingredients except the pork and green onion to form a marinade. Place in plastic sealable bag with pork and let marinate 6-12 hours, turning every couple of hours.

If pork is cubed, place on skewers. Grill pork on a grill or in a grill pan until desired doneness. (Make sure the internal temperature is at least 145°; Trichinella spiralis dies at 137°, and you don't want to risk letting any of that live. The USDA recommends a minmum of 160°, resulting in medium doneness; California state law requires 145° unless the customer requests otherwise [CURFFL §113996(a)(3)]. Note that the chops will probably cook up another five degrees after being removed from heat.)

Notes: Originally I had written this with 1/2 tsp of five spice, not 1 tsp. That probably would have been a better option. The spice balance was off. I also probably should have ground the peppercorns a bit finer; the texture of cracked peppercorns was sometimes palate-skewing, especially with the slight anesthetic action Sichuan peppercorns have.

I also was planning on this being a bit sweeter, to more emulate the Caramel Pork dishes I'd so loved back in my New York City days (thanks again, jwgh). I did get some of that effect by finishing the plate with a bit of crumbled caramel rice-and-corn cake, but this dish would have been better had I put something like a little maple butter in the marinade and served with a mound of Spanish or Mexican-hinted rice (maybe made with cilantro leaves and a touch of ground coriander and/or cumin).

I did use 1/4 tsp of fish sauce in the marinade because it is so tied up with the classic flavor of Vietnamese cuisine. However, that mere 1/4 tsp dumped 100mg of extra sodium into my marinade, and most of that marinade did get onto the chops, thus adding about 30mg of sodium per chop! (Yes, that's right, fish sauce easily tags at 1,200mg of sodium per tbsp. A great condiment when used correctly, but it's anathema to the very low sodium way of life.

I completely forgot the green onion at the end. Oops.