Asian Pork Kabobs -- Because Pork Is How We Celebrate, No Matter the Kitchen

Three years. One hundred and fifty-five weeks. Three years of writing about food and family and the kitchen that just got bigger and the family that keeps getting bigger and the food that never changes because the food is the one thing that does not need to change. The sofrito is the same recipe Abuela Consuelo taught Mami. The pernil is the same twenty-four-hour marinade. The beans are still soaked overnight. The flan still has nine eggs. The chain is unbroken and the kitchen is bigger and the table has more chairs and the food, mi amor, the food is good.

What has changed in three years? Everything and nothing. Mami is here, in Hartford, in a green recliner, in a fog that comes and goes. Miguel Jr. is married to Jenny and Lucas is walking. Rosa is engaged to Carlos. David is in Brooklyn with James. Sofia is in college heading for nursing school. Eduardo is Eduardo. And I am — I am fifty-three years old, I am the food service manager at Hartford Hospital, I am a grandmother, I am a daughter of a woman who is slowly forgetting, and I am standing in a kitchen that is twice the size it was a month ago, and the size does not matter, because the size of the kitchen is never the point. The point is the people in it. The point is the food on the plates. The point is the love in the air, which is invisible and infinite and smells like sofrito.

I made pernil for the anniversary, the way I made pernil for every milestone — because pernil IS the milestone, pernil is the marker, pernil is the way Carmen Delgado-Ortiz says I am still here and the kitchen is still here and the food is still good and the world keeps turning and the stove keeps burning and the garlic keeps crushing and the love keeps coming, plate after plate, year after year, one hundred and fifty-five weeks and counting.

Mami came for dinner. She sat in her new spot with her cushion and her cafe. She looked at the pernil. She did not say perfect. She did not say close. She said: More garlic, Carmen. MORE GARLIC. Three years and a bigger kitchen and the response is the same. More garlic. Always more garlic. The three most beautiful words in the Spanish language are not te quiero, mi amor. They are mas ajo, Carmen. More garlic, Carmen. The critique that means I love you. The correction that means you are mine. Three years. More garlic. I would not change a single word.

The pernil gets the milestone, it always does — but between milestones, when the table is still full and the grill is already hot and the family is already here, this is the recipe I reach for. Asian Pork Kabobs are not Abuela’s recipe, and they do not pretend to be, but they carry the same truth: good pork, a bold marinade, and the people you love waiting around a table. Mami would probably tell me to add more garlic. She would be right. I always do.

Asian Pork Kabobs

Prep Time: 20 min (plus 1 hr marinating) | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 35 min active | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (or more — always more)
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium red onion, cut into wedges
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, for garnish
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish
• Metal or soaked wooden skewers

Instructions

1. Make the marinade. In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, and hoisin sauce until the sugar dissolves.
2. Marinate the pork. Add the pork cubes to the marinade, toss to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours. The longer it sits, the deeper the flavor.
3. Prepare the grill. Preheat an outdoor grill or grill pan to medium-high heat and lightly oil the grates.
4. Thread the skewers. Remove the pork from the marinade (reserve the marinade). Thread pork, bell pepper pieces, and onion wedges alternately onto skewers.
5. Boil the reserved marinade. Pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a full boil over medium heat. Boil for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until slightly thickened. Set aside for basting.
6. Grill the kabobs. Place skewers on the hot grill and cook for 12–15 minutes total, turning every 3–4 minutes and basting with the boiled marinade, until the pork is cooked through and the edges are lightly charred.
7. Rest and garnish. Transfer kabobs to a platter, let rest 5 minutes, then sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced green onions before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 295 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 610mg