Hoisin Pork and Pineapple Skewers

This is one of those real easy dishes that takes very little preparation and can be made for dinner on a weeknight. I used my grill pan for it but if you are adventurous and want to get your grill going by all means this will be perfect for it. The best tip I can offer if you are going to prepare this on a busy weeknight is to cut the pork ahead when you return from your grocery shopping and either freeze it to use later in the week or refrigerate it if you will be using it within a day or two. It even makes things that much faster when you are ready to go. A quick marinade is all you need to impart the wonderful, full flavors of hoisin sauce and the flavors of garlic, ginger and five spice powder. If you are not familiar with hoisin sauce or five spice powder hoisin is often referred to as a Chinese barbecue sauce and five spice powder is a commonly used aromatic blend of ground cinnamon, star anise, cloves, Szechuan peppercorns and fennel. You can easily find these two items in the international aisle of your supermarket. These wonderful flavors along with my other ingredients give this dish a bold, delicious flavor that your family will love. Please look for my complimentary vegetable side dish from the photographs tomorrow. I hope you enjoy.

Hoisin Pork and Pineapple Skewers

Ingredients:

1 lb. center cut boneless pork chops, trimmed of visible fat, each chop divided into four pieces

2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce

1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp. dry sherry

1 Tbsp. natural juice from canned pineapple chunks

1 tsp. five spice powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1 star anise pod

1/2 cup pineapple chunks, about 16 pieces

Blend all marinade ingredients together and add the pork strips. While this is marinating place about 8 small wooden skewers into a dish of water and let them soak for 30 minutes. The pork will have marinated enough by the time the skewers are ready.

Thread each skewer with one piece of pineapple, a strip of marinated pork and top with a second piece of pineapple. Repeat to use all 8 skewers. Discard any leftover marinade.

Preheat cast iron grill pan until screaming hot. If needed lightly coat with vegetable spray. Place a few skewers in at a time, not crowding pan, and cook for about 2 minutes per side, counting all four sides of the pork and turning onto each side once for a total of about 8 minutes. Please note that the time will also depend on the thickness and size of the pork.

Nutrition Facts

4 Servings of 2 Skewers

Amount Per Serving
Calories 224.9

Total Fat 4.9 g

Saturated Fat 1.5 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g

Cholesterol 55.0 mg

Sodium 360.6 mg

Potassium 62.9 mg

Total Carbohydrate 8.3 g

Dietary Fiber 0.5 g

Sugars 2.4 g

Protein 23.5 g