I was looking for something interesting to serve for dinner on a day I knew we’d be out and about with house guests and came across this little slow-cooker keeper from Cooking Light. We weren’t gone all day – more like 5 hours or so – and the pork was at the edge of being overdone in my opinion – so much for ‘8 hours on low.’ In defense of my new-ish Cuisinart slow-cooker and this 11 year old recipe, my sister has noticed that newer cookers seem to cook much faster than the old ones. In any event, it made for a wonderful and fairly easy dinner. I served it with Vigo’s yellow rice, limes, peanuts and cilantro; with a side of mango and some sweet Thai chili sauce. The next time I make it; I’ll replace the cilantro with basil, and be certain to have a larger pitcher of Thai iced coffee on hand.
INGREDIENTS
Stew:
•2 lb boned pork loin, cut into 4 pieces
•2 cups julienne-cut red bell pepper
•1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
•4 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar
•2 tsp crushed red pepper
•4 garlic cloves, minced
•1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
Add-Ons Toppings:
•6 cups hot cooked Basmati rice (as I said – I used Vigo’s yellow rice and thought it went well)
•1/2 cup chopped green onions
•2 tbsp chopped dry-roasted peanuts
•8 lime wedges
Other’s have suggested bean sprouts on top; or using glass noodles in place of the rice – both sound good to me.
To prepare stew, trim fat from pork. Place pork, red pepper, teriyaki sauce, vinegar, and crushed red pepper in an electric slow cooker and stir to mix. Cover with lid, and cook on low-heat setting for 8 hours. REALLY – I’d say no more than four hours tops – but go by your machine. Remove pork from slow cooker, and coarsely chop or shred. Add peanut butter to liquid in slow cooker; stir well. Stir in pork.
Combine stew and rice in a large bowl (it also looks really impressive mounded over the rice on a platter). Top the platter or each bowl with onions and peanuts. Serve with lime wedges.