When you eat at restaurants, or at your home, or anywhere else, do you frequently find yourself thinking, 'Yes. This is what I wanted.'?
Or is it more like, 'This is good,' 'This is bad,' 'I could make this better,' 'I'm so glad someone else made this for me, I don't care what it tastes like'?
You answer is probably a combination of those and more. I find myself saying the same things, but so rarely do I think, 'Yes. This is what I was craving, this is what I wanted it to taste like, and this is what I have in front of me.'
Then I discovered Jamie Oliver's Rib-Eye Stir Fry and Dan Dan Noodles. (Recipe here). This is one of the few recipes I've found that really fits the bill. (Note: The book this recipe is from is called Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes and all of the meals can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. Because I don't usually make the whole meal, this dinner - sometimes lunch - actually takes me about 15 minutes from start to finish. Win.)
We typically use pork chops instead of the recipe-called-for steak. Both are great. The recipe also works well with scallops.
In this recipe, you rest the pork chops (or whatever meat you choose) for a couple minutes in a mixture of lime juice, ginger, garlic and cilantro. It might seem weird, but it really is worth it. Most of the juices redistribute and you get a great little sauce too.
I like to start the process with the carrot pickle so it can get its pickle on for as long as possible. The vinegar/acid addition to the sandwich is what makes it, in my opinion.
Next I marinade the meat. (The recipe calls for pork but I have also used chicken and it turned out just as well).
Then arrange your extras. The recipe calls for several additions to the sandwich but I stick with greens, lime and cilantro. Oh and pickled carrots of course.
Et voila! A dee-licious sandwich that really only takes about a half hour (with very little clean-up). Done and done.
