Bowl food is the ultimate comfort, especially after a long day when you just want something to eat that’s delicious, filling and full of flavour. Honey Garlic Pork Bowl is so satisfying, quick & easy to make and the perfect recipe to whip up for lunch or dinner at a moment’s notice. This beautiful bowl of food works just as well on the couch in front of the TV as it does on the table. Honey Garlic Pork Bowl can easily be multiplied to feed as many people as you like, but as written, it’s great for when it’s just the two of you.
I make this recipe myself using pork strips from M&S that I found on Ocado, so it’s super convenient, but if I couldn’t find pork stir-fry strips ready-cut, I’d simply buy some pork medallions or another cut and slice them into strips myself. It wouldn’t take much time or effort at all. I also have no shame about admitting that I use microwave rice pretty much all the time and this dish is no exception. It’s quick, easy and convenient, but also I can’t tell the difference in how it tastes. As for the edamame beans, they’re frozen and can be quickly boiled in 5 minutes so literally everything about this recipe is pretty easy-going, making it perfect for weeknight dinners or quick, reliable lunches at home.
If you’ve never toasted sesame seeds before, here’s a word of caution: they’re very easy to burn. It can happen in the blink of an eye, so be sure to stay focused. If you’d rather not risk it, then just don’t toast the sesame seeds. Toasting does give them more enhanced flavour, but it’s not a deal-breaker if you decide you want to skip this step. Let’s get started!
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon garlic oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- Knob of ginger, peeled & grated
- 300g pork strips (or boneless pork cut into strips)
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 75ml soy sauce
- 50ml honey
- 150g frozen shelled edamame beans, cooked & drained
- 250g sticky rice, cooked according to instructions
- A few sesame seeds, toasted to serve (optional)
- 2 spring onions, green parts only finely chopped into tiny rings to serve (optional)
Method
- Warm the two oils together over medium heat and when it’s hot, add the garlic, dried chilli flakes and ginger. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring a bit and then toss in the pork and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook tossing around with a wooden spoon until the pork is fully browned and showing no signs of pink. Preferable the pork will start to bronze on the outside a bit.
- Pour in the lemon juice, give it a stir and let it sizzle a little. Then pour in the soy sauce and honey. Reduce the heat to medium-low and leave this to simmer uncovered for about 7 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and become sticky and the pork is cooked through.
- While the pork is simmering in its sauce, you can quickly toast some sesame seeds. Put a dry pan over medium heat and pour in the sesame seeds. Push them around with a wooden spoon or some kind of spatula on the heat in the dry pan until they start to turn a bit more golden and are giving off an aroma. It’s super easy to burn these, so once you start to smell them and see them going golden, they’re ready. Remove them from the heat to a small bowl to cool.
- When you’re ready to serve, start by dividing the rice between two bowls. Layer the edamame beans across the top of the rice and then top with the pork strips. Spoon or pour over any remaining sauce from the pan and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Finish the dish with a sprinkling of chopped spring onions across the top and serve hot.
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