Porky for dessert

Yes, you read the title right. Pork…dessert-style! No need to freak out, I did not go all iron chef and whip up pork ice-cream or something. But this pork dish I created yesterday for lunch was altogether innovative, decadent, and oh-so-chocolaty enough to make me feel like I was indulging in some sinful dessert.

Yup, that’s right. Chocolate. Oh, no, don’t give me that disgusted look before you hear me out (or read me out, either way)! Please, give this dish a chance with an open mind and an anticipative stomach, and I promise you, you will be equally bowled over by this meal as I was.

Remember when I was asking for pork recipes? The previous attempt on cooking pork was quite a success, even without a recipe, and I was encouraged enough to just wing it again and slap something together with the leftover piece of pork tenderloin…and came up with…

Mocha-Coated Pork with Raspberry Sauce:

Look at that! Just look at that! You can almost imagine it to be a slice of rich dark chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. And the idea was just so simple and easy! I just mixed together some cocoa powder, cinnamon, ground coffee, and black pepper, then rubbed it all over the pork tenderloin. I let it sit for a while to absorb all the flavors, and then pan-seared it on a skillet over high heat, and then finished it off in the oven. Meanwhile, I just warmed up some raspberry preserves with a spritz of lemon juice. You want to let the meat sit for a while before cutting to keep the juices in (something I learned from watching Food Network. Who says TV can’t be educational?).

I had this chocolaty pork steak with some roasted baby potatoes and a sunny-side egg.

Let me tell you how. freaking. phenomenal. it was. The cocoa-coffee-cinnamon coating was thick and luscious and velvety, and did a great job sealing in all the juice of the pork inside. The raspberry sauce was the perfect complement to play in the sweet vs. savory. It wasn’t overly sweet, but sweet enough to round off the rich bitterness of the cocoa, even leaving a bit of a pleasant tang with its slight fruity sourness.

I am definitely making this over and over again. Who can resist chocolate for lunch? I urge you all, dear fellow food bloggers, to give this dish a try! For those vegetarians out there, I’m pretty sure you can create the same sensational dish with meatless “meats” or tofu. If you ever give this a try, please let me know! (Whether you love or hate it)

So yesterday’s lunch was a huge success, but sadly, today’s lunch was…to put it mildly, horrible. I had pork again, but this time it wasn’t prepared by me. There is this food stall selling rice and different mixed dishes nearby where I am staying, and each time I passed by I would eye the different dishes with curiosity. They’re the non-fancy, home-cooked style food that Singapore eat at home, and quite different from those typical Chinese dishes you’d find in a restaurant. Well, today I decided to try one of the dishes. I though, hey, I’m in Singapore, so I should try what normal Singaporeans would cook on a typical day at home. So I ordered this:

I don’t even know what it’s called. It’s a dense, steamed patty made up of ground pork with some gingery-garlicky flavor. And it was absolutely disgusting.

Let’s take another look at it, cross-section:

You see those white little things? I thought they were onions, or water chestnuts or something. Not so. When I put a huge bite into my mouth, all I tasted was incredibly meaty (not in a good way) pork…and fat. And tendons. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

Basically, this patty was made out of ground cheap pork scraps! Barely half of this was actual meat. Most of it were unidentifiable bits from parts of a pig that I don’t even want to know about.

I tried to finish it, I really did. But I could only manage half of it before I thought I would hurl. So I put it aside, and had a few more of these baked pumpkin:

…and a bowl of yogurt with tangerine, not pictured.

I was quite sad about my disaster lunch, but at least the baked pumpkin was super-sweet and delicious!

For afternoon snack I had sweet ham sandwiches again:

Both had two slices of smoked ham and a slice a cheddar cheese, but one had a base of strawberry jam, the other applesauce. I think I like strawberry jam better.

Love that cheesiness!

So that’s the little adventure I had today. And to keep me amused, I’d like to leave you all with this question: What was the most disgusting thing you had ever eaten?

Have a great rest of the week, dear bloggers, and hope you avoid all disastrous meals!