Fried Breaded Pork with Miso Barbecue Sauce

Fried Breaded Pork with Miso Barbecue Sauce

Much as I love French food, I am still very Asian and need a good dose of something exotic every other day. In this I am fortunate that Hub and the kids do not usually have any objections. The kids have returned to school (at last) this morning and I am therefore back in my kitchen.

Though when I told Hub that I was going to make Fried Breaded Pork with Miso Barbecue Sauce, he asked me if in other words we would be having soup. Sigh...why do people always think that miso is only good for making soup?

This Japanese fermented soybean (or it could also be made with rice, barley, buckwheat, rye, quinoa...) paste is high in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals as well as in taste and texture. For this dish, I used red miso paste that is lovely when used in stir-fries, soups, stews or as a marinade for meat, poultry and vegetables.

Measures are approximative (so taste and adjust your sauce as you go along) as by the time I was done with mixing and tasting and repeating the whole process I had no longer any idea where I was. But the result, if I may say so, was fantastic. A la fois salty, sweet, tangy, hot and fruity, I love it!

I served my Miso Pork on seasoned sushi rice. And I am so happy to be back tinkering in my kitchen.

Fried Breaded Pork with Miso Barbecue Sauce :

Miso Barbecue Sauce :

1 heaped Tbsp Red Miso paste

1 Tbsp Honey

2 Tsp Sugar

2 Tbsp Water

2 Tbsp Sake

2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar

1 Tbsp light Soy sauce

2 Tsp toasted Sesame oil

1 Garlic clove (minced)

2 dried Bird's eye chillies (crushed)

1/2 Tsp White pepper

1 Tbsp White Sesame seeds

Fried Breaded Pork :

500g thinly-sliced light Pork (suino leggero)

2 Tbsp Miso BBQ Sauce

Flour and Panko Bread crumbs for dusting

Salt and Pepper

Peanut oil for frying

Seasoned Sushi Rice :

1 cup Sushi rice (rinsed and drained)

1 cup mineral Water

7 Tsp Japanese Apple-flavoured distilled Vinegar

4 Tsp Sugar

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Sake

Good-quality dried Japanese Seaweed for garnishing

Mix all the ingredients for the Miso BBQ Sauce and gently heat in a saucepan to combine the ingredients. Set aside to cool.

Marinate the thin slices of fresh pork with some of the miso marinade. Set aside in the fridge for at least an hour. I use only suino leggero (light pork) nowadays as it tends to be more tender and less fat.

Not just any garlic but my precious horde of ail rose de Toulouse

Prepare the seasoned sushi rice by first lightly boiling the rice in the water till the grains are just cooked (al dente). Turn off the heat (without removing the cover) and let the rice finish cooking in its own steam. At the same time, mix the vinegar, sugar, salt and sake together in a bowl and microwave it for 30 seconds. Stir to make sure that the sugar is dissolved.

Remove the cover and stir in the vinegar seasoning. Pour the rice out into a large (preferably wooden) bowl and let it cool slightly. Garnish with seaweed.

Mix the flour, panko breadcrumbs, salt and pepper together. Lightly dust the marinated pork slices in it. Deep-fry in hot peanut oil. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Assemble the dish by serving the pork on top of the seasoned rice and drizzling some of the Miso BBQ Sauce over the pork.