Home from Vacation and Cooking Light’s Hot and Sour Pork with Cabbage
Thankfully we dodged Ike (what is it with these hurricanes this year!) and got great weather for most of the week. There was wind and rain for a couple of days, but it was actually beautiful and so peaceful on the beach after the storm.
The kids had a blast…
We ate great. Every restaurant we tried had awesome food and atmosphere. The Bubble Room, Lazy Flamingo, Cheeburger Cheeburger, and a cute little Mexican restaurant in Captiva.
We had a few hairy moments with my 18 month old at the restaurants – but we’ll try to forget those. Due to those “hairy moments” I must apologize for the lack of photos of the great food we had!
It was hard to leave Friday…but I was ready to come home…refreshed.
So… things are getting a bit tight over here. Well, not things, but clothes. Yeah, between a lazy summer and a great vacation, I’m finally accepting the fact that I have put on a few pounds. I don’t think anyone is ever proud of getting to this point. I’m not going to get down about it, instead my husband and I have started a little competition amongst ourselves. We are holding our own version of Biggest Loser. In 3 weeks we will be celebrating our 6 year anniversary and are planning a weekend get away to Savannah. Whoever has the biggest percentage of weight loss by our anniversary gets to pick the “anniversary gift”…his being a new TV for our bedroom and mine being new light fixtures for the foyer and dining room. Anyway…3 weeks is not a long time at all so I have my work cut out for me. My treadmill and I are about to become best friends.
I found this Cooking Light recipe last year when I was trying to lose my baby weight. My husband and I loved it…its the best Asian stir fry I’ve ever made at home. It may be a bit too spicy for some (not me – I add extra!) but my husband was dousing his in white vinegar to cool it down a bit. So if you prefer less spicy, go ahead and cut the Hot Chile sauce down to 1/2 tablespoon. Also, please take the time to shred/chop the cabbage, I’ve made it with the pre-shredded bagged cabbage and it came out very limp and soggy, when you shred/chop the cabbage yourself it turns out so much better, it’s worth the extra time. Enjoy!
Hot and Sour Pork with Cabbage
from Cooking Light
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into strips
1 tablespoon cornstarch, divided
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon peanut oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
12 cups coarsely chopped green cabbage (about 2 pounds) (I added more cabbage to get in more veggies)
1 cup matchstick carrots (I added this for some color and extra veggies)
1/3 cup chopped green onions
Combine pork, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, white pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
Combine remaining 2 teaspoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl; set aside.
Combine ketchup and next 3 ingredients (through soy sauce) in a small bowl; set aside.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Remove pork from pan; set aside. Add cabbage; sauté 2 minutes (allow for more time if you shredded your own cabbage – more like 7-8 minutes). Add carrots at halfway point of cooking cabbage. Add ketchup mixture; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in pork; sauté 1 minute. Stir in cornstarch mixture; cook 30 seconds or until thick. Remove from heat; stir in onions.
Great served with brown rice.
Coming tomorrow…Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings for Game Day!
Are you following me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest? If you’d like to subscribe to Aggie’s Kitchen and have each post delivered straight to your e-mail box, then please add your email here. Happy cooking!
There are affiliate links in this post. I make small earnings through any purchases made through these links. Thank you for supporting Aggie’s Kitchen!
This looks really good. Thank you for sharing! I’ve got a few (well, more than a few L.B.s to lose before March. I’m in a wedding and I don’t want to embarrass my friend lol
Sounds like such a perfect vacation. My family and I have been dying to get the beach this year, but just didn’t make it. Fun competition with you hubby, I need to try that. A little motivation never hurt anything! The dish looks delish!
Sounds like a wonderful vacation. Glad everyone enjoyed it so much.
This recipe looks great. I think I will give it a shot soon. I’m with you on trying to shed some weight! Sounds like you had a great vacation, and the place looks fabulous!
Love pork and cabbage. Thanks for sharing the pictures. The one of your kids is just precious! Welcome back!
Looks awesome! I love Cooking Light magazine…they have great stuff. Can’t wait to try it. –lisa
I am so glad you enjoyed your vacation here!!! Aren’t we lucky to have all that so close? Sorry it took so long for me to get over here but things have been crazy. Maybe next time we can meet up for a bit!
Love it! another tasty and simple recipe. I have bookmarked your website.