PENSIONERS' DELIGHT: £4 COUPLE'S MEAL, 3-COURSE SPICY CHINESE PORK SHOULDER , prepare ahead

£4 Easy tasty meal for 2: main course, carb & salad 

Couple's spicy, succulent Asian spiced pork steaks with potatoes & salad
'Hurrah!  Meat & two veg and no gloopy teeth jarring sauce.' 

These low-fat, low-sugar pork shoulder steaks are perfect for pensioners, a small household or cost-conscious family.  

They're easily prepped ahead, then slipped onto the barbie or in an oven or air fryer. 

67 only had new potatoes to hand; they were cooked al dente and fried till golden in a pan generously sprayed with oil (as in photo above).  Lower-fat options are ultra-crispy, steaming Uber baked potatoes (baked with the meat) OR super-easy 5-minute Asian noodles.   

A simple frugal salad refreshes and satisfies.  

Poaching the meat beforehand helps tenderise the meat and reduces fat.  After marinading, it's succulent, subtly flavoured with Asian spices but without a gloopy, teeth-jarring sauce.  

Note: The pork steaks in the packet* were almost like fillet steaks,  well over an inch thick.  Most pork steaks are about a third that size and will likely require less baking time.

 
Feeds: 2, easily multiplied
Cost:  £4 for 3 courses  (2xPork shoulder steaks £1.50; 2 x baked potatoes £1 - or less; sauce 50p; salad 50p)

Ingred:

2 pork steaks  

1.5 tbsp dry sherry/white wine/grape juice

1.5 tbsp reduced-salt (not low-salt) soy sauce (if there are salt or blood-pressure issues, replace half the soy sauce with water or stock)

pinch sugar

med clove garlic, grated or minced

generous pinch each dried cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves OR rounded 1/4 tsp 5-spice powder

rounded 1/8 tsp salt

1 generous tsp Dijon or other mild mustard

Method: 

1. Give the steaks a bit - really just a bit - of a bash with a rolling pin or wine bottle
2. Fill a med pan with enough water to cover the meat by a couple of inches; add an onion & carrot and bring to a boil.  Immerse steaks; bring to the boil again, reduce heat to med.  The water should bubble gently.  Simmer 30 mins; remove from water.  Cool.
3. Mix sherry, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, mustard and spices in a sealable freezer  bag large enough for the meat. Marinade overnight or a minimum 2 hours, turning the meat or mooshing it around in the bag at least once.
4. OVEN: preheat to 180C, 3505F.  Place meat on a rack in a roasting pan; place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven. Bake 20-25 mins until nicely brown, basting with marinade juices halfway through cooking time.  
5. AIR FRYER: preheat to 180C, 350F; place small tin of water below cooking shelf; cook 10 mins each side until meat is brown, basting with marinade and turning halfway through cooking time.  
6. BBQ/GRILL, cook on cool side of grill according to manufacturer's cooking times
7. Test meat is done by inserting the point of a sharp knife into the centre to check for pinkness. 
8. Cut pork steaks into thick fingers; serve alongside carb and salad or vegetables of choice
9. Serve with hot mustard

*M&S- £3.50 for 4

Comment: 

'This was a great fusion of Anglo-Chinese flavours without gloopy teeth-jarring sauce.  It was a lovely well-rounded meal, easy to prep and good value, too.' Taster

Tips: 

• reduced-salt soy sauces include Amoy (25% reduced salt) and Pearl River Bridge (35% reduced salt - decant into a container with smaller spigot). 25-35% salt reduced is about right - anything above that percentage suffers from lack of 'body' and taste
• If you love Chinese food but worry about salt and sugar, try Guilt-free Oriental Chicken with Chilli & Pineapple 

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This recipes has been developed by B Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.