Day Two: Honey-Soy Grilled Pork Chops with Crunchy Bok Choy and Rice

Day two of Operation: Expand Horizons brings us a quick and easy dinner from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, Honey-Soy Grilled Pork Chops with Bok Choy and Rice.

My husband said the pork chops were good- a high compliment from the man who had previously threatened that I'd better not ruin a good pork chop with some silly glaze. He didn't mind the bok choy, except that some of the stalks were too thick and therefore didn't cook all the way through, and he said they tasted too cabbage-y.

The problem with this is that I had to use regular bok choy instead of baby bok choy as the recipe calls for. My grocery store has carried the babies before but I haven't seen them recently, so I bought a head of regular. We've had it in stir-fry before and liked it, so it wasn't entirely new to us. I tasted the raw bok choy after it was drizzled with sesame oil and salted and peppered, and it was delicious. It would make a great base for an Asian salad or slaw.

He was also not enthused by the rice, which is cooked plain and dressed at the end with rice vinegar and red pepper flakes. Martha's people at EDF seem to have a hard-on for vinegar. It must be an East coast thing.

I'm easy with food, though, and I thought that all in all, it was pretty good. I only made two pork chops, so I had some leftover rice and bok choy that I'll probably use for lunch this week with some other things.

And now, the recipe.

Honey-Soy Grilled Pork Chops with Crunchy Bok Choy

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, June 2008

Serves 4

vegetable oil, for grill grates

1 cup long-grain white rice

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

coarse salt and ground pepper

2 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger (I forgot to buy fresh so I used some dried ground ginger and it was fine)

4 bone-in pork rib chops (8 to 10 ounces each)

4 heads baby bok choy, halved lengthwise

1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil

Preheat grill to high; lightly oil grates. (I didn't oil my grill. I usually don't have to.) Cook rice according to package instructions. (I use Uncle Ben's Converted Rice, double the amount of water to the amount of rice, mixing them together before heating over medium to a simmer until done. The rice will have small holes in the surface and will still steam lightly when it's done. Remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.) With a fork, stir in vinegar and red pepper flakes; season with salt. Cover and set aside.

Combine honey, soy sauce, and ginger in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Grill until opaque throughout, 5 to 7 minutes per side (The thick chops I bought took a little longer.). Brush pork with glaze, and grill 30 seconds more per side. Transfer pork to a plate to rest.

In a bowl, drizzle halved bok choy heads with sesame oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Grill until lightly charred on both sides, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer to plate with chops. Serve chops and bok choy with rice.