Lemony-pork stew with tomatoes and caramelised garlic

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serving: 4

Ingredient:

400g lean pork / *alternative - chicken thigh (skinless, deboned)

1 large tomato

1 slice lemon

3 cloves garlic

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup hot water

Pinch of salt to taste

Seasoning:

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp corn flour

Dash of freshly cracked black pepper

Method:

1. Cut tomato into approximately 2cm dices. Finely chop garlic and set aside.

2. Clean and slice meat into bite size pieces. Trim off excess fat, if any.

3. Marinade meat with soy sauce, sesame oil and black pepper. Add corn flour once meat is well mixed with the seasonings.

4. Heat olive oil in a pot (Note 1) and saute garlic over medium low heat till browned.

5. Add in meat and sear with medium high heat, till slightly browned on all sides, approximately 1 minute. Push to one side of the pot to continue cooking (Note 2).

6. Next, add in diced tomatoes and saute for about 1 minute before stirring into the meat and continue to saute for another 1 minute, or till tomatoes are softened and produces gravy. (Note 3)

7. Squeeze lemon juice into pot and throw in the rind. Mix well. (Note 4)

8. Lower heat to medium low and simmer for 3 minutes or until gravy thickens (add hot water if more gravy is desired). (Note 6)

9. Season with salt to taste (Note 5). Garnish with coriander and julienned red chillies and serve hot as accompaniment to rice. (Note 7)

Notes:

1. I use Corningware to cook and double up as a serving dish, which reduces dishes for washing after meal.

2. Make sure oil is hot before adding in meat, so that it can be browned quickly, sealing in juices while remaining tender. This also prevents the corn flour coating from turning too floury, which may cause the gravy to turn excessively starchy before it's ready.

3. Be generous with oil when cooking with tomatoes for better flavour. Olive oil provides monounsaturated fat that are heart friendly. Cooking increases the level of Lycopene, a type of antioxidant that are found in tomatoes, while making it easier for the body to absorb.

4. The lemon rind provides a nice citrusy flavour that balances the meat well. You may throw away the rind before serving.

5. I didn't add extra water, as my tomatoes produces enough gravy to my liking, and I prefers a thicker gravy.

6. I added in a pinch of salt to bring out the flavour of all the ingredients in the dish. For those requiring low salt diet, I would suggest reducing the amount of soy sauce by half to compensate for the additional salt used. Rock salt, sea salt or kosher salt provides a better flavour as well as a wider spectrum of minerals compared to normal cooking salt, which usually contains only sodium, chloride and Iodine.

7. My child doesn't fancy raw garnishing on dishes, hence I didn't use any garnishing. However, do try coriander and red chillies for additional flavouring while increasing the visual attraction of the dish.

#homemadefood #lemon #pork #tomatoes