I have a little obsession with Japanese inspired food at the moment. I just love the fresh, clean and zesty flavours of wasabi and pickled ginger and I am also a tad partial to crumbed meat. You may not think it is the healthiest option but if your oil is at the right temperature then most of the oil will stay in the pan and not be soaked up by the crumbs. I decided to try something a little different and use Wasabi Peas as the main crumbing agent, mixed with some Panko Crumbs. A fresh mixed pea, edamame and radish salad was all this dish needed to freshen it right up and a zesty wasabi & pickled ginger dressing really bought out those Japanese flavours that fuel my obsession. I was super happy with the outcome and so were the Test Kitchen Dummies, they loved it!
Prep time: 30 Minutes Cooking time: 25 Minutes $$ Medium Budget
Serves 4
For the Pork:
Oil for frying (rice bran, peanut or canola)
8 thin pork loin steaks or leg steaks*
100gm of wasabi peas*, blitzed to breadcrumb consistency in a food processor
1/2 a cup of panko crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbs of milk
1/2 cup of plain flour, seasoned with sea salt and pepper
For the Salad:
200gm of sugar snap peas, topped and side string removed
200gm of snow peas, topped and side string removed, then halved diagonally
1 cup of frozen shelled edamame beans
2 large radish, thinly sliced
1 cup of bean sprouts
3 spring onions, white part thinly shredded top to bottom, green tops finely sliced and set aside for garnish
1 tbs of sesame seeds for garnish
For the Dressing:
1 tbs of pickled ginger, finely chopped
2 tbs of sesame oil
1/4 cup of tamari* or light soy sauce
2 tbs of mirin
1 tsp of wasabi paste
To crumb the pork, mix the wasabi peas and panko crumbs together on a flat plate so they are combined. Place the egg in a shallow bowl and place the seasoned flour on another flat plate. To save on washing up, I line the plates with baking paper so any leftovers can just be wrapped up and placed in the bin.
Use one hand to dust the pork lightly in the flour, then dip it in the egg mixture, making sure it is completely coated and then place it in the crumbs. Pat down quite firmly on both sides so that you have a nice thick, even coating of crumbs. Pop it on a plate and the proceed with the remaining pork. Once crumbed, pop the pork in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the edamame beans for approximately five minutes. When they are about a minute out from being cooked, add the snow peas and sugar snap peas. Blanche for 1 minute before draining and running under cold water to stop the cooking process. Place the edamame, peas, bean sprouts, radish and spring onions in a large bowl and toss to combine. Set aside.
Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until the wasabi has completely dissolved. Set aside.
Heat a large frypan and add enough oil to cover the base of the pan. Use a few crumbs to test the heat of the oil. If they start sizzling straight away, the oil is hot enough. Cook the pork in batches on both sides until nice and crispy and golden (approx 4-5 minutes either side). Remove and place on a rack to drain slightly while you cook the remaining pork. You can keep warm in a low oven if you like.
Spoon half the dressing over the salad before serving and toss to coat. To serve, divide the salad between four serving plates and top with two pieces of pork. Spoon over the remaining dressing and garnish with sesame seeds and the sliced spring onions. Enjoy!
*Wasabi Peas can be hard to find in the supermarket but most of them have them. If in doubt, ask someone. The rest of the ingredients, including Tamari which is Japanese soy sauce can be found in the Asian section of the supermarket. Coles have a new cut of thin pork loin steaks, they are perfect for this dish as they are lovely and tender but if you can’t get that particular cut, the leg steak will be fine.
Leftover wasabi & pickled ginger? You might like to try this one…..