Dinner Tonight: Five Spice Pork Kabobs

What's the point of looking at all those recipes in magazines if one never tries them?

I have magazines I save just for the recipes I want to try, but then they get lost in the clutter and I never get around to trying them. I am vowing to start trying a new recipe every week and start going through all those magazines, picking out something that, surely, the whole family will love.

This came from a recent issue of Better Homes and Gardens, July 2011.

Five Spice Pork Kabobs

Now who doesn't like eating food off a stick?! yum!

These reminded me of those teriyaki beef-on-a-stick things you can get at chinese restaurants and it looked simple enough to try. The only thing missing was the spice-- Chinese five-spice powder. We planned to make a trip to a town that has an international grocery soon, so that went on the list. As soon as I got all the ingredients I needed, I was so anxious to try this!

Here's the recipe:

2 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp packed brown sugar

1 tsp chinese five-spice powder

1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin

8 skewers (if using wooden ones- soak in water to prevent burning)

1/4 c peanuts

1/4 c cilantro sprigs

lime wedges (optional)

For sauce, in a small bowl, combine ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar and five-spice powder. Set aside. For kabobs, trim tenderloin, slice thinly, then thread slices onto skewers. Brush skewered meat with some of the sauce.

Grill kabobs directly over medium hot coals for 3 to 4 minutes. Brush with remaining sauce. Turn kabobs and grill 3 to 4 minutes more or until fully cooked. To serve, sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro. Serve lime wedges alongside. Makes 4 servings.

We doubled the recipe and halfway through cooking on the grill, the propane ran out, so we finished this in the oven.  So good and tasty!!  I wished there was more sauce though, so the next time I make this, I'll make extra sauce. I also omitted the lime, peanuts and cilantro-- I didn't have any on hand when I made this, but I don't think we missed out on anything, it was delicious! I made ramen noodles and broccoli to go with this and the kids all seemed to like it,  as there was very little leftover meat, which I later chopped and added to ramen noodle soup a couple of days later.

Just to make things fun, and I wish I remembered to take a picture, we also had fruit kabobs for dessert. Evelyn helped thread cantaloupe, grapes, strawberries and peaches onto skewers. Talk about a major hit! The kids ate about 3 each of those fruit kabobs!

Let me know if you try this!

Happy eating!