Taiwan!!!

I'm gonna blog my time in Taiwan.

I've been here for 10 hours. It's currently 6:30am and I just woke up from a 3 hour nap.  As expected, I've got fierce jet lag.  It's nice to be here though and nothing has changed except for my brother's weight.  Hahaha.  It is crazy humid and hot over here.  Pictures...I've set it up so you can hover over the word "notes" and see the captions:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Also, two brief videos.

This is just so you can see how shiny clean the Taoyuan High Speed Rail station is.


Just a random arcade. These two men were gifted at Street Fighter IV.

That is it for now.  Laters!

Greatest Pork Chop Ever

Remember the pork chop from the previous post?  Here's what became of it:

Nicely golden brown, right?  I'm going to teach you a useful technique which can be applied to steaks, pork chops, seared chicken breasts, whatever.  Very useful.  Start by cooking your meat until it's nearly done.  When it's about a minute from completion, throw in a knob of butter and a few springs of herbs, some sage leaves, a sprig of rosemary, whatever.  Herbs.  I used sage leaves with my pork:

The herbs will flavor the oil so use a spoon and baste your meat with the herby butter.  Careful, it'll be hot.  This technique is great because your meat gets great color, the herby butter adds great flavor and, above all, it's easy.

Random: This ladybug has been living in my room for a month now.  I don't see it very often but I am always happy when it reappears. 

And, very exciting:

Mmmm, fresh mushrooms!  I am curious about this for a couple of reasons.  1. How many mushrooms will I harvest?  I ask because the mushroom box was $25 bucks.  Oyster mushrooms are about $5.00/lb.  If I harvest, say, 4 lbs, I will call it a success.  Additionally, I want to see if I can screw this up because, thus far, I haven't demonstrated much of a green thumb.

A REAL post coming in the next couple of days.

Random Stuff from the Past Few Weeks

Hi Bahar!!!  :)

Just a collection of random things.

BAKESALE BETTY

Most everyone loves Bakesale Betty but not me.  Its claim to fame is a fried chicken sandwich--breaded, fried chicken breast with a vinegar and oil slaw on a fluffy torpedo roll.  In theory, it sounds fine.  In execution, it fails because it is DRY.  D-R-Y.  The breast is overcooked and dry.  Combine it with bread and you've got a starchy mess.  I also find the chicken somewhat flavorless.  The kitchen needs a heavier hand with the seasoning.  Even the excellent slaw isn't enough to bring this sandwich back from the dead. Maybe slather some mayo or slaw juice on the bread?  I've had it four times over the past few months always wondering about the raving masses and whether or not my tastebuds are off but I've come to the conclusion that the sandwich is not all that.  Besides, at $8.50, that sandwich better scale some spectacular heights.  Sorry Betty, but I'm over your sandwich.

However, I feel like an ungrateful ass bad writing this because the staff at Bakesale Betty is AWESOMELY GENEROUS.  They are some of the nicest people I've ever met.  They hand out free cookies and brownies like Santa hands out presents.  And the baked goods aren't just free, they're delicious!  Pumpkin pie with a perfect flaky crust?  Yes please, no matter what season it is!

In short, this is a joint I really, really WANT to love but just can't.  I'll return for the baked goods but not for the (overhyped) sandwich. 

Bakesale Betty
5098 Telegraph Ave
(between 49th St & 51st St)
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 985-1213

How to Supreme an Orange (or any other citrus fruit)

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

1.  Find where the stem used to be.  Cut through the orange to level it.  Level the other side.  You should have two smooth sides.

2. Cut the peel off.  Just follow the flesh.

3. You will have an orange with mostly pulp.  Trim off any leftover bits of pith.

4. Find where the orange naturally segments itself.  Cut in between these segment lines.

5.  Done!

KIM HUONG

I've eaten here a few times over the past week because I love Vietnamese food and I love noodle soup.  The first time I went, I was lured in by the sign for Bun Bo Hue. Bun Bo Hue is a lemongrass scented Viet noodle soup from the city of Hue.  If done well, it is spectacularly delicious.  What brought me back for subsequent visits is 1. the quality of the food and 2. the owner.  The food is pretty good here, not mind blowingly good but pretty good.  The owner is the most loquacious noodle shop owner I have ever met.  He has a real passion for Vietnamese food and he loves what he does.  He wants to make everyone who walks into his restaurant happy.  He is also very specific about certain things.  For Bun Bo Hue, he puts rau ram (a Vietnamese herb), shredded cabbage and bean sprouts on the side plate.  For Pho, he puts Thai basil and bean sprouts only.  When I asked him why, he simply said that it's for matters of taste.  Gotta admire that.

His wife, the restaurant's cook, makes a delicious crab dish which isn't featured on the menu.  You have to order it a day ahead of time but it's well worth it.  It's a bit pricey ($25) but makes a fine meal for two people with a bit of rice.  Fresh crab, butter, garlic, salt and pepper...how can you go wrong?

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

If you are in Oakland Chinatown and find yourself craving noodle soup, I encourage you to give this place a try.  

Kim Huong
304 10th Street
(between Harrison St & Webster St)
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 836-3139

I walked 3 freaking miles in the pouring rain for this pork chop:

Sure is a beaut, isn't she?  Look at that layer of external fat.  Look at that intramuscular fat.  Look at that deep rich color.  Man oh man oh man.  And this isn't just ANY pork.  This is Becker Lane Pork.  Becker Lane is an organic farm which supplies many of the better restaurants in the area with their swine.   Just check out the marbling: 

I have delicious, delicious plans for this little piggy.  :) The pork was purchased at Cafe Rouge in Berkeley.


One last thing.  I purchased two slices of bacon at my local butcher today and this is what they wrapped it in:

It just strikes me as egregiously wasteful.  Anyone have any ideas on how I can solve this problem?  Ask them to use less paper?  Incidentally, the bacon was wonderful.  It is from Vande Rose Farms and is made from heirloom Duroc pigs.  This was my first experience with their product but I was very impressed.  Nice fat to meat ratio, a pronounced smokiness and delicious swine flavor.  I sliced it, crisped it up and threw it into a wilted green salad with chicken livers and sherry vinaigrette.  I will absolutely buy more of this stuff.

Potato-Chorizo Tacos with Simple Avocado Salsa

This is one of the easiest recipes that I've ever blogged. Very few ingredients, easy technique and the only specialized piece of equipment is a food processor. Mexican for noobs. From Mexico One Plate at a Time...which, by the way, is one of my favorite Mexican cookbooks. I'm gonna say it. I "heart" Rick Bayless. Ugh. I've defiled my moral core.

INGREDIENTS

12 Ounces of Yukon Gold or red-skin potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Salt
12 ounces of Mexican chorizo sausage, casing removed (my local Mexican grocer had both pork and beef chorizo...I went with pork...However, in the future, I will be making my own...the first ingredient is "pork salivary glands"...subsequent ingredients were equally unsavory)
1 small white onion, finely chopped...(yes, I usually let shoddy knife-work rule the day but I decided to actually do some fine chopping for this recipe...I just kept repeating to myself "take some pride in your damn work!")
4 ounces of tomatillos (you should be able to find these in any well stocked grocer...they are related to tomatoes, in the nightshade family, but are NOT unripe, green tomatoes...whenever you go to a Mexican restaurant and see the ubiquitous green salsa, tomatillos are involved...they have a bright, citrusy flavor)
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed
1 large ripe avocado
corn (NOT FLOUR, please God not pasty, flavorless, flour tortillas...actually, I read earlier today that flour tortillas are consumed in Northern Mexico...) tortillas

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the cubed 'taters and simmer until they are tender...took me about 13 minutes. Drain.

Heat a large (12-inch) skillet and add the chorizo and onion. The chorizo will be sorta pasty so you'll have to break it up with the back of a spatula. Stir regularly. I cooked mine for about 10 minutes. You're looking for soft onions and for the sausage to be cooked through. When you've achieved this, look in the pan...if it looks hella greasy, pour out some of the oil. Just leave a light coating.

Add the pre-boiled potatoes and continue to cook. Stir regularly and mash the potatoes into the chorizo/onion mixture. Scrape the bottom of the pan to ensure that nothing burns. Cook for 8-10 minutes. The recipe says that the mixture will look like hash (not that kind, you druggie) and it really does. At this point, you can refrigerate the mixture if you're not immediately eating it or continue on and make the salsa.

The salsa is pathetically easy. Take the tomatillos, and remove the husks. Rinse them and rough chop them. Toss them into the bowl of your food processor. Rough chop the garlic and jalapeno and add to the food processor. Blend it all up.

Add the flesh of the avocado to the food processor and blend. (I should've made a video to show you how to process an avocado but here's a good link). You'll end up with something close to green, light mayonnaise. Season with salt.

Serve the filling in warmed tortillas with some of the avocado salsa on top. Done!

Time- ~35 Minutes from start to finish.
Food cost-
Chorizo- $1.99
Potatoes- $1.00
Tomatillos- $1.00
Avocado- $1.50
Incidentals- $0.50
Total- $6.00...So far, we've had 8 tacos....maybe another 4 left. So, fiddy cents per taco. 4 tacos per person for a decently sized meal.

LOLCat...

Red Cabbage with Apples and Honey

I want to play the greatest game ever so this is going to be quick and dirty. This recipe is from this cookbook. We had it with roast pork. It would be equally at home with a roast chicken or braised chicken/pork.

INGREDIENTS

4 cardamom pods
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 cup honey
4 cups apple juice
1/3 cup white wine vinegar (both George and I agreed that the dish needed more acidity..so maybe a little more that 1/3 cup)
4 ounces smoked country bacon, cut into 1-by-1/2 inch strips
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 head red cabbage, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced

Put a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 300F.
2. In a spice grinder or coffee grinder, finely grind the cardamom and coriander seeds. Bring the honey, ground spices, apple juice and vinegar to a boil and reduce by half.
3. In a medium cast-iron pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the red cabbage and apples and cook, stirring, until softened about 15 minutes. (Unless you have a really large pot, you might have to add half the cabbage, cook until wilted and then add the other half.) Pour the reduced honey-apple mixture over the cabbage and toss to coat. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven.
4. Braise for 2 hours, or until the cabbage is very tender. Taste for seasoning...shouldn't need much salt.

Btw, the cold cabbage is delicious on sandwiches. Just take the leftover roasted meat, some good, strong mustard, cabbage and bookend it with hearty bread.

Time-10 minutes of prep, 2.25 hours of cooking time.

Cost-Cheap...I think the most expensive part of this recipe is the apple juice.

No LOLCat for you!

Split Pea Soup with Smoked Ham Hocks

I love soup and I love pork so this is a no-brainer recipe. It's also ridiculously easy. Chop stuff, shovel it into a pot and let it cook. It's not much more complicated than that. For those of you who don't know what a ham hock is, a hock is the lower part of a pig's hind legs. Think above the foot but below the lower end of the meaty part. So a ham hock is that cut of meat which has also been smoked. It's a pretty tough piece of meat filled with gristle, bone, connective tissue and some meat so you would never want to quick cook ham hocks. They need a nice, long stewing to transform the meat into something palatable. Beans and ham hocks are classic as are ham hocks and greens. In the south, they commonly throw in a smoked ham hock when they're cooking collards and things like that. In that same vein, I also like ham hocks with braised cabbage.

This is my recipe and, as I mentioned before, it's pretty basic. There are lots of ways to jazz it up so get creative!

INGREDIENTS

3 cups of green split peas picked over, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 stick of unsalted butter
2 carrots peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick coins
2 onions peeled and cut into a large dice
2 stalks of celery cut into half inch pieces
2 cloves of peeled garlic, roughly chopped
salt
pepper
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper (optional; it doesn't add much heat but a nice roundness of flavor)
12 cups of water
3 pounds of ham hocks (I have the butcher cut them lengthwise)

Heat the oil and butter until the butter melts. Add the carrots, onions, celery and garlic to the pot. Season with a teaspoon of salt and a few generous grinds of pepper. Cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent and soft. Add the drained split peas and cayenne pepper. Stir well and cook for a few minutes. Add the water and ham hocks. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat until the soup is just simmering. Make sure you stir the soup every now and then so the peas don't stick and burn.

After about .45-1 hour of cooking, I usually remove the hocks and place them into a bowl. Leave the peas in the pot to continue cooking. I like the meat to have a bit of texture so I try not to cook it to the point of being completely soft. When cool enough to handle, I peel the skin off the hocks and discard. I then remove the meat and break it up into bite size pieces. Set aside. I usually freeze the leftover ham hock bones because there's still quite a bit of flavor in them.

After around 1.5 hours, the veggies and peas should be completely soft. I turn the heat off and wait for 15 minutes. I then blend the soup with an immersion blender or with a regular blender. Use some care as the soup will still be very warm. Taste the soup for seasoning. Undersalting isn't a bad idea because the ham hocks will add a nice hit of saltiness. When the soup is blended, stir in the ham hock meat and you're done!

Feel free to have fun with the seasoning. Maybe go Indian? I mean, I make Indian lentils all the time and lentils aren't too far from split green peas so I think it would be delicious.

As for garnishes: croutons, freshly minced herbs, olive oil, pumpkin seed oil, tangy yogurt, sauteed carrots, onion or celery, shucked, blanched green peas...ummm, this is right off the top of my head. I'm sure you can think of a few for yourselves!

Time- About 10 minutes of prep, 1.5 hours of cooking...most of it unattended, passive cooking.

Food Cost-
Peas- $1.35
Veggies- $1.50
Ham Hocks- $12.00 (Somewhat expensive, I know...gotta hate the upscale butcher's prices)
Total-$14.85...18 cups of soup. Say, 2 cups per serving? $1.65 per serving

LOLCat:

Grilled Tofu with Chinese Sausage and Black Beans

I cooked this a while ago but have never gotten around to posting about it. Poor neglected recipe...not that there was anything wrong with it! It turned out surprisingly well given my previously lackluster experiences with the cookbook from whence the recipe came (Braise: A Journey Through International Cuisine). What a word, whence. Anyhow, this recipe is a fun one even if just to make the grilled tofu. I was very, VERY surprised at how visually appealing it was. A technique which I will definitely use again. This is an insanely easy recipe and if you are a cooking newbie, give this one a try. Hard to screw up.


Cookbook pet peeve here...bad recipe testing. For instance, the first ingredient is Szechuan peppercorns. The first step of the recipe is to toast and grind the peppercorns...so far, so good. However, it never tells you when to add them to the dish! Am I supposed to toast the peppercorns as a strictly mechanical exercise? L'etude de Cuisine? Because the authors want my kitchen to smell of peppercorns? C'mon! As a consumer, I have paid good money for the book...put a little more effort into it! I just realized, it's not even bad recipe testing, it's bad editing! Reading the recipe should've been sufficient to notice the error!

1 teaspoon of Szechuan Peppercorns.
1 pound of firm or medium firm tofu
oil
1/2 pound ground beef (Given my experience, I urge you to buy lean ground beef...if you buy the fattier stuff, the beef fat and fatty sausages make for an overly oily dish)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 1-inch piece fresh, peeled, grated gingerroot
1/4 cup fermented black bean paste (Pretty common product, not too unusual)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon packed dark brown sugar
1 bunch scallions
3 Chinese sausage links cut into 1/2 inch slices

Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.

Toast the peppercorns, let them cool and then grind them.

Heat a grill pan. Grill tofu. This will take some time. I grilled it until I got a nice charred crosshatch. I cut the tofu into large chunk.

Heat a small, ovenproof pot. Add oil (just a touch). Add ground beef, garlic and ginger. (At this point, I also added the peppercorns.) Cook until the meat is browned. Add the bean paste, soy sauce, sugar and a cup of water. Stir. Add the tofu, stir well and bring to a simmer. Scatter the sausage and scallions over the tofu. Add a bit of water, if you need. Add seasoning...shouldn't need much. When the pot is at a simmer, cover it and move it to the oven. Or, I guess you could finish it on the stovetop but at a super low heat.

Recipe calls for a 1.5-2 hour braise. I did 1.5 and was perfectly happy. Serve with PLENTY of rice.


Time- 5 minute prep. 1.5-2 hour cooking time. Much of it is unsupervised.

Food cost
Ground Beef- $0.75
Tofu- $0.80
Chinese Sausages-$1.25 (Working from memory here)
Black Bean Paste- $0.75
Incidentals-$0.50
Total-$4.05, Will serve 4 with rice and a veggie side dish/$1.00 per serving.

LOLCat:

White Bean and Sausage Stew

Mmmmm, I just ate the most delicious grapefruit. George and I had a discussion where we debated whether of not grapefruits are underrated. After an informal survey of our IM friends, grapefruits ARE underrated. Just like I thought. I win, George. You lose.

So I've been the apartment cook for the past few days and this has given me the chance to cook fromChef On A Shoestring. As with the pizza recipe and an upcoming braised beef recipe, this recipe turned out really, really well. Absolutely no complaints.

I forgot to take the traditional picture of the collected ingredients. Oops. Please forgive me. But for this recipe it doesn't really matter 'cause it's so easy.

Start by soaking 1 pound of small, dry white beans overnight. Although there is debate over the necessity of soaking beans, I'm not going to get into it here. If you prefer other types of beans, feel free to use them. Just be sure to adjust the cooking time.

The next day, pick through the bloated, engorged beans. You're looking to get rid of any pebbles and things of that sort. Some people like to sort the beans before soaking them...this is fine. The important thing is to pick through the beans at some point.

After the beans are soaked and picked through, it's time to cook them. Add the beans to a large pot. Cover with water. ALOT of water. Toss in 5 or 6 Italian sausages (hot or sweet) and a bay leaf or two.
Bring to a boil and then drop to a simmer. Remove the sausages after 15 minutes of simmering and set aside.
Continue cooking the beans until smooth and creamy. This will probably take between 1-1.5 hours.

While the beans are cooking, dice some veggies. You're looking for a cup of carrots, a cup of celery and a cup of onion. If you want to use more veggies, feel free. If you feel like adding other veggies, feel free. It's your call. Also, mince some garlic until you have a few tablespoons worth. I made the mistake of pureeing mine with my Micro-plane. I say mistake because pureeing the garlic releases ALOT of garlic flavor. I felt it was a bit overpowering. Oh well, you live you learn. Slice the sausages into bite size pieces.
Once the beans are done cooking and have had a chance to cool for 1/2 an hour, drain them but reserve 4 cups of the bean cooking liquid. Take 1/2 of the cooked beans and blend them with 2 cups of the cooking liquid.

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to your large pot and saute the carrots and onion until the onions are soft and transluscent. Toss in the celery and garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so. Pour in 1/2 cup of dry white wine. Recipe calls for a full cup but I felt 1/2 cup was sufficient. Cook for 30 seconds. Toss in the drained beans, sliced sausage and blended/pureed beans. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover and chuck into your pre-heated oven. Cook for 30-45 minutes.

Remove from oven, re-taste for seasoning. If the stew is a bit thick, thin it down with the reserved bean cooking liquid.

Done! I like to drizzle each bowl with a nice glug of good quality olive oil.

And just a short video to show you the aftermath of pizza night and white bean stew...actually, our kitchen has been much, MUCH worse than this.


Time-Overnight to soak the beans, a few hours to simmer the beans but the rest of it takes no more than 30 minutes.

Food Cost-
Beans-$1.09
Sausage-$3.29
Veggies-$1.00
Incidentals- $0.50
Total- About 6 bucks. Serves 4-5. $1.20-$1.50 per serving.

Text only link click here.

Lolcat:

More Noodle Soup

The title says it all...I've been busy lately so noodle soup allows me to throw together dinner in under 20 minutes. This meat topping is a derivative of this recipe and, as I mentioned in the old post, you can flavor this recipe as you please. For this version, I used some doubanjiang, cinnamon and star anise. I would also like to share that in addition to writing this post, I am also playing some online poker. I have just moved up to a higher limit game and am getting absolutely killed. Those $0.05/$0.10 players are ruthless!

Ingredients, the ramekin on the left is filled with chili powder, the ramekin in the lower right contains the doubanjiang:
Dried shiitake mushrooms, 7 or 8:
Soak 'em in water:
Grind the whole, dried chiles. I used 7 or 8 Sichuan "Facing-Heaven" chiles. You can use whatever chiles you want or just use pre-ground:
Dice an onion:
Make the ground meat mixture. 1 pound pork, two tablespoons of soy sauce, two tablespoons of Shaoshing rice wine, a couple heavy shakes of white pepper, a few pinches of salt and 3-4 teaspoons of corn starch. Chinese cooking aficionados will note that the quantity of seasoning seems a bit much...this just reflects my personal preference: Mix it with your hands. It should be slightly sticky..if it seems too loose, add a bit more corn starch:Stem the mushrooms and slice:
1 teaspoon of cinnamon, a piece of star anise:
Saute the onion:
Add the meat and mushrooms:
If you, like me, have a weak stove, it may be difficult to brown this large quantity of meat but do your best...at the very least, cook it so all the meat changes color.
Add 3 tablespoons of doubanjiang and the ground chili powder. Stir it all up:
Add water or broth to cover. Bring to a boil and drop to a simmer:
Cook for 15 minutes and you're done! You should end up with an intensely flavored meat mixture. It will be an angry shade of red. Adjust the seasoning with salt, soy sauce and a bit of sugar. It shouldn't be soupy but if it is, just cook it longer so more of the water evaporates.
For the noodle soup.
Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil. When I say well salted, I mean it...The water should taste SALTY. Add baby bok choy. Cook for 1-2 minutes:
Ladle out the bok choy and drain:
Add noodles to the boiling water and cook as per the instructions.
While the noodles are cooking, cut up a few green onions and add them to the bottom of your noodle soup bowl. Add a smidge of sesame oil:
Heat up your broth. I've been using pork bouillon cubes. They're actually quite tasty. To the broth, add a quarter cup of the meat mixture.

Drain the noodles and add them to the soup bowl:
Nestle the boiled greens to one side:
Pour the broth over...I poached a few peeled, de-veined shrimp in the broth:For the above bowl, I garnished with extra green onion and Thai basil.
For this bowl, Chinese zhacai, fried shallots and cilantro.
Noodle soup is so ridiculously inexpensive I don't feel like food costing it out. No shrimp, it's probably around a buck a bowl. The shrimp probably double the cost. Either way, it's incredibly filling and incredibly cheap.

Meat will take about a half hour to make.

Here's a link to a text-only version of this post.

Here's the LOLCat of the post:
Oh, and I got ABUSED on the poker table...ended the session down about $2.25. Rough stuff.

Lemongrass Marinated Pork

This is going to be a quickie post where I give you a pretty standard marinade I use for grilled pork. I usually make lettuce wraps with the pork but sometimes, like tonight, I just want a plate of fresh rice and pork.

Pork. I'm unsure what cut this is...All I know is that I was at the Asian market and I saw an unmarked cut of pork. I checked it out and noticed that it had a terrific looking mix of fat to lean so I asked the butcher where on the pig it was from. He didn't speak English so he grabbed another butcher. This butcher just pointed to his face. I assume cutlets of pig face? Who knows. Anyhow, it looked terrific and was thin so I decided to grill it. This is a little under a pound of meat. You could also use thin loin cutlets or thin pork chops. Given that I was at the Asian market, I grabbed stuff for a Vietnamese marinade.

The marinade: Half of a grated onion, 2 cloves of grated garlic, 3-4 tablespoons of finely chopped lemongrass, a tablespoon of fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1.5 tablespoons of brown sugar, a powerful shake of white pepper, a teaspoon of curry powder and 3 tablespoons of oil. Mix well, combine with the pork. I usually marinate this overnight.

I am using a grill pan. I let the thing heat up for 15 minutes over high heat. I want it good and hot...just set a timer and walk away. Remove the pork from the marinade and try to wipe off the excess marinade. The sugar will burn so you need to be careful. Dry the meat off and slap onto the heated grill. Let it sit for 3 minutes, undisturbed. Don't peak, don't touch it. Nothing. After three minutes, rotate the meat. This will give you those cool hatch marks. After the second 3 minute set, flip the meat over and...voila!
Cook the second side in a similar fashion to the first side.

Let the meat rest for 5 minutes. This is enough time to quickly saute some bean sprouts.
Cut the meat...it'll still be slightly pink:
Here's a fun garnish...take a lime wedge and stick the wedge part, not the rind, in salt...get it nicely coated. When you squeeze the lime over the meat, it'll take some salt with it. Delicious, trust me.

Since I'm trying to be more veggie-centric, here was my dinner:
Three small slices of meat, rice, bean sprouts with an Indonesian sambal (homemade!) and lemongrass braised long beans. Mmmmmm. And no, the picture isn't supposed to be artfully presented. It is what it is.