Meal: teriyaki pork wraps
Cost: about $2.50 per person
Time: about 45 minutes
Leftovers: some noodles
Local ingredients: pork, cucumber
Organic ingredients: flour

Last night was slated to be roasted pork wraps, but I didn’t get the pork roasted up earlier in the week like I’d intended to, and so we opted for teriyaki pork wraps instead. We recently raided our local Asian grocer so as to have teriyaki makings again, and we’ve been overdosing on the stuff (teriyaki tofu, udon, and squash and zucchini last Saturday; teriyaki tofu and green salad on Tuesday; and last night.) Our normal homemade teriyaki sauce is equal parts soy sauce, rice wine, and honey and/or maple syrup, with garlic and ginger powders and sesame seeds to taste. However, our local Asian grocery carries an extra-fermented soy sauce and a “mirin sweet cooking seasoning” that, combined together with a little maple syrup and the above spices, makes a killer sauce, eliminating the need for honey. (No, these sauces are in no way local, but, we’re supporting a local small business when we buy them, so I’m okay with that. Moderation in everything, right?)

This meal was a little fiddly, which is why it took a little while in prep time. I made up the tortilla dough and let it rest, then I thawed the pork tenderloin (which didn’t take long; we’re purchased it sliced into thin disks). When it was thawed, it marinated in the sauce for about ten minutes or so. Water went on for the udon, and I started the pork, cooking it on medium in the largest, most shallow skillet we have, and stirring it occasionally (using a large skillet on medium heat meant that some of the sauce caramelized onto the pork, and some just thickened up a bit. Jeff had extra sauce for his noodles and we both had pork that was completely saturated in the sauce, which is what I’d been aiming for.) Meanwhile, when the water was boiling, udon noodles went into it (another purchased item; I’ve tried making homemade udon, and they don’t come out nearly as well as my linguine and lasagne. Yet.) I rolled out the tortillas and got them cooked up, and sliced up a cucumber. We wrapped up pork, noodles, and udon together into the tortillas, and feasted.

The pork came out amazingly well. It was sweet, tender, and coated in the sauce. The whole meal was tasty. I spent a little while in the kitchen, but it was Friday night, and what better else do I have to be doing besides cooking in the kitchen, drinking a beer, and talking to Jeff? :)