The Great Sesame in Everything Meal

This meal did not start with the intent to use sesame as a part of everything but little by little it turned into exactly that. I had these great pork chops that were about an inch in thickness with that wonderful strip of fat on the one side and I was trying to figure out a way to make them not only taste good but look good as well. The other thing to think about was what sides to have with the pork chops. I did not want anything too complicated so I settled on mashed potatoes and baby bok choi.


Sesame Seed Crusted Teriyaki Pork Chops

4 Boneless Pork Chops
3 TBSP Teriyaki Sauce
1 TBSP Sesame Oil
Sesame Seeds
1 to 2 Cups Vegetable Stock
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 380 degrees Fahrenheit

Put the Teriyaki sauce and sesame oil in a medium to large deep baking dish. Place the pork chops in the baking dish and coat them in the Teriyaki mixture and allow them to sit in the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top and bottom of the pork chops. Add in 1 Cup of the vegetable stock and salt and pepper.

Cover with aluminum foil, place in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes. During this time check in about 15 to 20 minutes into the cooking time to make sure that there is still plenty of liquid in the baking dish. If it has started to dry out add a bit more of the stock (you should have at least 1/2" of liquid at the bottom of your dish). Once the cooking time has lapsed check with a food thermometer to make sure that the internal temperature of the meat is at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are curious about food safety and proper temperatures for any food here is a link that will be very useful to you).

Uncover the pork chops, baste them with the liquid in the pan and set your oven to broil. Allow meat to broil for 5 minutes or until you see the top start to to turn a golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to rest.


While your meat is cooking you can make the mashed potatoes and bok choi. I think the mashed potatoes are very self explanatory so I will not go into the method (we all do them our own way any way). For the bok choi it was very simple. Just separate and clean your bok choi leaves. place about one tablespoon of sesame oil in a frying pan. Heat it up place the bok choi in the pan toss a few times and that is it. This is a very tender vegetable and it does not require a long time for cooking, so don't over do it. 2 - 3 minutes in the pan should be more than enough.

The only thing I did extra for the mashed potatoes was a Teriyaki sesame gravy. I made it using the left over liquid from the pork chops. I placed it in a sauce pan and added corn starch a little bit at a time until the liquid reached the right consistency (it should evenly coat the back of a spoon and not be too runny).

Well that is all. I hope you enjoy it.