ITEMS
Scallions
Cilantro Bunch
Red or Green Butter Lettuce
Coleslaw Mix
Montana Rooster Sauce
Pork Chop / Mushrooms Medley
PRODUCERS
Gallatin Valley Botanical - Bozeman
Amaltheia Organic Produce - Belgrade
Lifeline Farm - Victor
Root Cellar Foods - Bozeman
Arthur Wayne Hot Sauce - Missoula
Amaltheia Organic Pork / SporeAttic - Bozeman
Thai-Inspired Lettuce Cups
A bright, fresh dish perfect for a starter or a lighter main dish. Adapted from Peter Meehan + Cook's Illustrated. Makes ~4 servings.
~1 lb pork chop, trimmed if needed, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 1/2 Tbs fish sauce, divided
1/4 C chicken or veggie broth
~1/2 cup scallions, sliced - sub thin slices of shallot or red onion
3 Tbs lime juice (~2 limes), plus 1 Tbs lime zest
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Montana Rooster Sauce, or to taste - start with less and add more later if needed. Sub red pepper flakes or sambal oelek (thai chili paste)
3 Tbs fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
3 Tbs fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated and left whole, washed and dried
Put the pork chunks on a large plate or tray in a single layer. Freeze meat until firm and starting to harden around edges but still pliable, 15-20 minutes. Prep your other ingredients while it's chilling.
Place half the meat chunks in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, 5 or 6 1-second pulses. Transfer now-ground meat to a medium bowl and repeat with remaining chunks. Stir 1 Tbs fish sauce and lime zest into meat and marinate, refrigerated, ~15 minutes. *Note: You can chop it by hand if you don't have a food processor - essentially you want small chunks that resemble ground meat, not a paste. If it's a bit chunkier, that's ok! Or, make it with ground pork and use the chop another time :)
Bring broth to simmer in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook, stirring frequently, until it's no longer pink. Transfer pork to large bowl; let cool ~10 minutes.
Add remaining 1 1/2 Tbs fish sauce, scallions, lime juice, sugar, MT Rooster sauce, mint, and cilantro to cooled pork; toss to combine. Spoon onto lettuce leaves and enjoy!
Mu Shu Pork (or mushrooms!)
This is a mu shu pork recipe minus the pancakes - which is basically a stir-fry. You can use mushrooms in place of pork for a veggie version, or use a bit both! As long as the quantities remain roughly the same, you can tweak the ingredients. Serve with cooked rice, lettuce cups, flour tortillas, or if you're feeling fancy, make actual mu shu pancakes (recipe linked online). Adapted from Cook's Illustrated. Serves ~4.
1/4 C soy sauce
2 Tbs dry sherry - sub dry white wine, vermouth, or marsala if needed
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 tsp pepper (if you have white pepper, use it!)
~1 lb pork chop, sliced thin against the grain
1/3 C mushroom broth or beef broth - water works in a pinch, too
2 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbs plus 2 tsp vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
6 scallions, white and green parts separated and sliced thin on a bias
1 (8 oz) can bamboo shoots, rinsed and sliced into matchsticks (not essential, but yummy!)
3 C Coleslaw Mix
1/4 cup hoisin sauce - available at most grocery stores, or use the link online here to make your own.
Optional garnishes: chopped cilantro, soy sauce, more hoisin sauce, MT Rooster sauce, toasted sesame seeds
Combine 2 Tbs soy sauce, 1 Tbs sherry, sugar, ginger, and pepper in large bowl. Add pork slices and toss to combine. Whisk together broth, remaining 2 Tbs soy sauce, remaining 1 Tbs sherry, and cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add eggs and scramble quickly until set but not dry, ~15 seconds. Transfer eggs to a medium bowl and break up into smaller pieces. Return now-empty skillet to medium-high heat and heat 1 Tbs oil until shimmering. Add scallion whites and cook, stirring frequently, until browned, 1 - 1 1/2 min. Add pork mixture. Spread into even layer and cook without moving until it's well browned on one side, 1 - 2 min. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until all pork is opaque, 1-2 more minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the eggs.
Return now-empty skillet to medium-high heat and heat remaining 1 Tbs oil until shimmering. Whisk broth mixture to recombine. Add bamboo shoots to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until heated through, ~1 minute. Add cabbage, all but 2 Tbs scallion greens, and broth mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until liquid has evaporated and cabbage is wilted but retains some crunch, 2- 3 minutes. Add pork and eggs and stir to combine. Serve hot with rice, lettuce cups, tortillas, or mu shu pancakes, topped with scallion greens and any other toppings/garnishes you like.