Asian Pork, Kohlrabi, and Broccoli Bowl
A couple years ago when Blue Apron and Sun Basket and all of the meal kit services were hitting the Market, Buy Fresh Buy Local teamed up with Chef Ryan Lewis to see if we could make a local meal kit. The concept was the same: pre-portion everything, include a recipe, and make it all as simple as possible-- but we sourced as many ingredients as we could from farmers at the Old Capitol Farmers Market in Springfield, highlighted the farmers on the recipe cards, and sold the kits at the Market as well. The goal was to offer up convenience and introduce shoppers to knew vegetables and cooking techniques, while also supporting local farms. It was a lovely little experiment for a season, and while Chef Ryan Lewis moved on to greater things, his meal kit recipes live on-- like this Asian Pork, Kohlrabi, and Broccoli Bowl. It was built to be simple and crowd-pleasing. I've made it myself numerous times over the years, and for numerous friends and family, and it is always received with rave revues. As a bonus, it's a great way to introduce kohlrabi into your life and honor that weird but delicious alien-spaceship-vegetable for the culinary delight that it is. Serve this up for Sunday supper for the fam, or divide into 5 tupperware bowls for a healthy lunch throughout the week. This meal also freezes beautifully if you want to make meals in advance and defrost for dinner down the line.
Farmers Market Shopping List
4-5lb bone-in pork shoulder
1 heads broccoli (substitutes include cauliflower, broccoli rabe, additional kohlrabi, or cabbage)
2 kohlrabi
1 bunch green onions
1 small bunch kale
1/2 cup honey
2 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped. (Note: ginger can be grown in Illinois, but isn't widely available. Check your farmers market first. If you can't find it, simply pick it up at your favorite local grocery.)
Pantry & Spice List
1.5 cup brown rice (Order Cahokia rice for locally grown brown rice! or if you're going grain free, pick up 1 head of cauliflower from your farmers market and pulse in a food processor for cauliflower rice)
3 cups stock
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup chili-garlic sauce (such as Sriracha)
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch.
Instructions
1. Place pork shoulder, soy sauce, honey, chili garlic sauce, and ginger in a crock pot and cook 7-8 hours or overnight.
2. Remove meat from crock pot, let cool for 10 minutes, then shred with 2 forks and set aside. Remove 1/2 cups of the sauce from crock pot to a small bowl and whisk in cornstarch. Stir cornstarch mixture back into crock pot and cook sauce, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
3. Bring 3 cups of stock to boil with the rice. Turn heat to low, cover pot, and continue to cook for 20-25 minutes, or until all water is absorbed. Set aside.
4. Wash all vegetables. Cut away outer green layer from kohlrabi and slice the inner white bulb thin. Chop broccoli into florets, and thinly slice the stems just like kohlrabi. Heat a pan with a little oil over medium heat and saute broccoli and kohlrabi for 8-10 minutes. Do not overcook. Set aside.
5. Discard kale stems and rough chop leaves. Trim roots from green onion and slice into small pieces. Set aside.
6. Divide rice, broccoli & kohlrabi mixture, and raw kale evenly between 5 containers. Top with meat, sauce, and green onion. Save the leftover meat for dinner, or freeze. Meal containers can be frozen and reheated, or will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To serve, simply heat in the microwave (the kale does not need to be pre-cooked as it will soften and steam when heated in the microwave). Enjoy!
