Fusion Cooking - Chinese Inspired Pork Stew

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Chinese Inspired Hungarian Pork Stew (Sertés Pörlölt)

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With the ever-increasing interest in "Fusion Cooking" (where two different cuisines are combined in one recipe) it is interesting to try seemingly unusual combinations.

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In this recipe I have combined Hungarian pork stew (sertes porkolt) with typical Chinese ingredients. I start out by making a typical Hungarian pork stew and then adding Chinese baby corn, snow peas and water chestnuts about 20 minutes before the meat is tender.

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In addition, I add a tablespoon of dark soy sauce and a teaspoon of Sesame seed oil. And I serve the entire dish with rice instead of Hungarian dumplings (galuska).

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If you enjoy this combination, like I did, you can try a number of other similar variations. You could use asparagus or broccoli in place of the snow peas or you could add small chunks of Daikon radish in place of the water chestnuts. You might even consider replacing the soy sauce with oyster-flavored sauce. There are many possible, tasty combinations.

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Difficulty:

Moderate

Preparation Time:

40 Minutes

Cooking Time:

1 Hour

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Ingredients:

2 Lbs. of Boneless Pork cut into ¾ inch cubes

2 Slices of Bacon cut into half inch strips

1 Tablespoon of oil

1 Large Onion coarsely chopped

1 Large, ripe tomato peeled and chopped

2 Cloves of Garlic peeled and finely chopped

1 Small Can of Chicken Broth

1 Large Ripe Tomato peeled and coarsely chopped

1 Tablespoon of Hungarian Sweet Paprika

1 Teaspoon Salt

Pepper to taste

½ Cup Baby Corn drained and cut in half lengthwise

½ Cup Snow Peas cut in half lengthwise

½ Cup Water Chestnuts cut in half lengthwise

2 Tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce.

1 Teaspoon of Sesame Seed Oil

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Preparation and Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large cast iron frying pan or Dutch oven and cook the bacon pieces until they begin to brown but are not crisp.
2. Add the onions to the bacon in the pan and cook for 60 seconds while stirring.
3. Next add the pork cubes, the garlic, the paprika, the salt and the pepper and continue cooking until the meat turns white.
4. Add the chicken broth mixed with the soy sauce and the cornstarch and also the chopped tomato and cook for about 45 minutes until the pork is fork tender but not mushy.
5. Finally add the baby corn, snow peas and the water chestnuts and cook about 15 more minutes.
6. Before serving, stir in the Sesame seed oil.

Serve with steamed rice but you could also use egg noodles, galuska or spaetzle.

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