Thai Pork with Peanut Sauce

Main Dish

This is just a standard breaded pork chop with nothing standard about it. The breading is delicious and the peanut sauce makes it very interesting. It takes, perhaps, 7 minutes to prepare and about 10 minutes to cook. You get 4 servings. For some reason, this dish just screams for green beans.

Ingredients/Shopping List
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ¼ cup sliced red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ¼ cup chopped green onion
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• ¼ cup coarsely chopped dry roasted peanuts
• 4 boneless pork chops, about ¾-inch thick
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

Combine cayenne pepper, cumin, flour, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Stir to evenly distribute the spices then coat pork chops with mixture, and shake off any excess.

Heat oil in a skillet (I like an iron skillet) then cook pork chops for about 4 minutes. When done, remove from skillet and reserve.

Mix chicken broth, peanut butter, honey, ginger, coconut milk, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. You will have time to do this while the pork chops cook.

Cook peanut sauce in skillet. Stir continuously for about 2 minutes. When thickened, pour over chops and garnish with onion, bell pepper, peanuts, and cilantro.

Many variations are possible. I often omit the peanuts and cilantro. A touch of cream instead of coconut milk works. Similarly you can use a mild onion instead of the green onions and add it to the sauce instead of using it as a garnish. This works well with chicken breasts instead of pork chops too…