We took a little hiatus from having friends over in the evening but since the kids have started sleeping better WE ARE BACK! And this recipe for Hoisin Pork with Spring Onion Pancakes has entertaining written all over it.

I got the inspiration from the traditional Chinese Duck pancake dish and gave it a few Jana tweaks and I am so happy with the result!

There are a few things that make it perfect for a dinner party:

Make the salad, pickle and pancakes ahead of time. Leaving you to just dress the salad and cook the pork while your guests are with you. Less time in the kitchen more time with chatting!

It’s light, fresh and healthy, but is doesn’t feel like “health food”

It can easily be adapted to have as a starter or as a main.

It’s perfect to share. Big bowls in the middle of the table and everyone gets stuck in. This is my favourite way of dining with friends. I feel like it gets conversation going.

I’m working with Countdown on this post and I’ve featured so many of the Countdown Own Brand products that I’ve lost count! I picked up NZ Free Farmed Pork Fillet for $7 and the fact that it has “No Crates, No Stalls” Written on the labels is a really big drawcard for our family. To be honest we use Countdown Own Brand products at every meal time anyway, I already believe in the quality of the products and I’m really comfortable with the price point, of course. But what I wasn’t aware of was that Countdown are in the process of reformulating products and have removed a significant amount of salt and sugar from much of the range. This is awesome! Countdown have also removed artificial colours, and MSG. At the moment they have more than 350 products with the health star ratings on the range. This is so applicable to us! We try to be really aware of MSG and artificial colours in the kids diets, especially Hunters.

And to top it off, Countdown are in the process of changing their packaging to be more sustainable. We saw them lead the way in going single use plastic bag free and this paved the way for other businesses to do the same thing. Good stuff keep up the good work Countdown!

Right back to the recipe I hear you say! Ok Ok without further ado here it is.

Hoisin Pork with Spring Onion Pancakes

Ingredients

1 Carrot – peeled and julienned
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 Teaspoon White Sugar
2 handfuls of Baby Spinach
1 packet Coriander – picked and stalks discarded
2 Sprigs of Spring Onion
1 lemon
Salt & Pepper
½ Telegraph Cucumber chopped into chunks
Drizzle of Olive oil
1 cup White Flour
2 free range eggs
1-2 Pork Fillets Free Farmed
2 Tablespoons Hoisin
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Malt Vinegar
1.5 cups milk

Garnish

Sesame seeds

Instructions

Carrot pickle

In a jar with a lid place all of the julienned carrot and top with the vinegar & sugar
Give a stir and put the lid on and put in the fridge until ready to serve.

Salad

Make your spring onion curls by cutting one sprig into 3 inch pieces and then finely slicing and putting in ice cold water. They take around 10 mins to curl.
With the other spring finely slice enough for 3 tablespoons for your pancakes. Set aside.
Get your salad bowl and add the spinach as a base.
Then add the cucumber and coriander.
Just before serving add a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, and the juice of your lemon. You may only need half depending on how juicy it is. I also added some of the spring onion but you can just serve this on the side if you prefer.

Sauce

Mix Hoisin, Soy Sauce & Malt Vinegar together in a small bowl.

Spring Onion Pancakes

Sift the flour & a pinch of salt. Beat eggs and add to flour mix. Whisk in the milk, ½ a cup at a time until smooth. Stir through the spring onions if using.
Heat a heavy-based pan to a medium heat. Grease the base with a little butter. Pour in some batter and swirl around the pan spreading it thinly. But don’t worry if the shape isn’t great. You can trim it by using a bowl to get the shape after its cooked. Cook until the edges come free, then flip and cook for 2 minutes on the other side. Continue with the remaining batter.
If you do the cutting trick, then layer up with baking paper and stack until ready to serve.

Pork

Season well with salt & Pepper. Place a little oil in a pan on a medium heat. Cook evenly on all sides until nearly done. I like the pork to be about medium well upon serving so when it is just shy of this, after around 7-8 mins of cooking, spoon over half of the sauce. The rest of the sauce will be using to serve. With tongs move the pork around the pan so it gets coated in the sauce. Once cooked to MW take out to rest on a board.