But after 15 or so minutes, I gave up caring about what I looked like, settled on my gray grandma sweater (for comfort) and headed out the door. An hour later I was knee-deep in raw pork and onions, wishing I had worn a T-shirt in the sweltering heat of our home-ec classroom -- and loving every minute of it.
Our instructor is a quirky former chef who took a much-needed break from the professional culinary world to focus on ...chemistry. No, seriously. He now makes the nicotine patch...but he's a smoker so he doesn't have a need for them.
Class began with a quick tutorial of some must-have kitchen knives: according to our instructor, the french chef knife (which is rather large) is much better than an American chef knife (which has little grooves at the bottom). At the moment I can't remember why that is, but apparently that's the case. The instructor also said that Farberware knives (which sell for about $25 apiece) are just as good as the more expensive ones.
OK, enough about that crap -- let's talk about the food!
Tonight's menu: Pork and Peach Stir Fry
Ingredients
* 1lb pork tenderloin, cubed
* 1 tbsp. of veggie oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 cloves of garlic, minced
* 3 bell peppers (1 red, 2 green), cubed
* 1 (19oz) can of peach slices (packed in their own juice)
* 1/2 cup of rice vinegar
* 2 tbsp. of soy sauce
* 2 tbsp. of cornstarch
* rice, prepared according to instructions
Directions
1. Coat the skillet with the veggie oil and saute pork in hot oil until brown (MAKE SURE PORK IS BROWNED...trust me, you don't want trichinosis*.)
2. Add onions, peppers and garlic into skillet. Cook and stir until onions have softened.
3. Stir in rice vinegar and soy sauce.
4. Drain peach slices -- reserving juice -- and add peaches to the skillet.
5. Add the peach juice to the cornstarch and whisk/stir until completely smooth.
6. Add mixture to the skillet and cook until it comes to a boil and is thick.
7. Cook until peaches are heated through.
8. Serve with freshly cooked rice.
We were put into groups of four or five to prepare the meal. And, needless to say, my group had NO problems! :) The instructor oohed and aahed over our masterpiece. (True story.)Here are some helpful hints we learned today:
* Put a damp towel underneath your cutting board to ensure that the board stays in place while your cutting your meat and veggies
* When cutting an onion, slice off the top, but leave the core -- which apparently is known as the "nipple" in culinary circles. (Don't ask me.) ...the core, he said, is what keeps the onion together. If you don't, the onion will fall to pieces before you're done cutting
* Most people don't know how to use a whisk properly (Naturally, I found this out in front of everyone). Instead of holding the whisk in between your thumb and index finger and rotating in circles, place the whisk in between your palms and quickly rub your hands back and forth -- like you're starting a camp fire. This tactic seemed weird at first, but it works wonders!
* If you plan on cooking two boxes or packets of rice for dinner -- use two pots. According to my instructor, cooking two packets in one pot will result in soggy rice.
***
So it seems all my worrying was for nothing. My classmates are friendly and talkative and I didn't even come close to slicing off my pinky today. I'd consider that a success.
Next week we're making chicken marsala! Stay tuned!
(image courtesy of reneerogers.com)
(*Trichinosis is a disease caused by eating undercooked meat containing cysts of Trichinella spiralis. Trichinella spiralis can be found in pork, bear, walrus, fox, rat, horse, and lion meat.)
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