Spicy Basil Pork

Yesterday I woke up to the sound of thunder outside. It was dark in the room and what I really wanted to do was snuggle up next to J and continue sleeping. But instead, I had to drag myself out of bed and get ready to go to an early meeting. When it rains in Austin, everyone seems to forget how to drive, so I knew it was going to be a challenging morning once I got on the road. What I did not anticipate was the trouble our fur-babies were going to give me before I could even get that far.

Zoey wouldn’t go potty because heaven-forbid she get her fur wet so I had to pretty much toss her into the grass to go. Then when I’m finally ready to leave, I walk from J’s front door hurriedly with the cat and dog, trying to avoid getting my hair wet, while Skeeter is trying to squirm out of my hands and Zoey just stands at the car door and stares at me instead of getting in. And trying to keep them both out of my lap while I’m driving, with their wet little paws, not so fun. Then, when we got to my apartment, Zoey wouldn’t get out of the car so I had to stand there in the rain (holding the squirming cat) and drag her out. Now my hair and the back of me are soaked. I am not a happy mama. It’s 7:30 and I have to be at my meeting, downtown, in 30 minutes. Highly unlikely I will make it. And now I have this annoying wave in the back of my hair. Awesome.

As suspected, I get to my meeting about 15 minutes late and then can’t find the room it is supposed to be in. Some nice folks point me to the room, and it’s locked. Great. Eventually I find where the meeting is being held and go in. The meeting is quick and painless, I say some hello’s and goodbye’s and I head to my office. The rain had thankfully cleared and so had the chaos of the day. The rest of the day was pretty productive and drama-free, but it was hard to shake the foul mood the morning had created.

On days like this, it’s great to have an easy-to-prepare meal planned for dinner. These can be life-savers y’all. Trust me.

• 1-2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 1/4 pound boneless pork chops, cut into 1-in. cubes
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp chili paste, like Sambal Oelek
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp water
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup sliced basil leaves
• white or brown rice, for serving

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook 1 minute. Add pork and garlic and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until meat is cooked through.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, chili paste, sugar, water, and corn starch together in a small bowl. Add fish sauce mixture to meat and cook 1 minute more or until mixture thickens slightly, stirring to coat pork.
3. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Serve over rice.