This spicy lemongrass pork is definitely a new family favorite meal!
I partnered with Kroger on this post. All opinions and photos are 100% mine.
I love to cook, but I have a real knack for either forgetting to purchase an ingredient from the grocery store, and forgetting to thaw something out for dinner. As a busy mom, I think it’s something we all struggle with. I also tend to get stuck in a cooking rut. I am constantly on the hunt for a delicious new recipe, but usually end up sticking with the basics. Dinner has gotten completely boring in our home.
A few weeks ago, I stopped at Kroger to pick up some chicken to cook for dinner, and I noticed that they had a new section with Prep + Pared meals. There were several options, including Crispy Fish Tacos, Vietnamese-Inspired Spicy Lemongrass Pork, Peruvian Salmon, Thai Turkey Wraps, Athena’s Lemon Chicken and more. There were so many options! I decided to grab one for us to try, and I couldn’t be more excited about going back for more!
I chose the Vietnamese-Inspired Spicy Lemongrass Pork with coconut rice and cabbage salad. We love pork, so I thought this would be a safe one to try first. Also, the colors of all of the fresh vegetables drew me in, along with the promise that this was a 20 minute meal.
At home, I opened the box, and placed all of the contents on my kitchen island. Everything was perfectly chopped and packaged so well. I especially love the pouches with the wet ingredients! Even the pork was chopped and ready to cook!
The directions for cooking were also included, and I love how easy they were to follow. I read over them before starting and got out a few bowls and my pan to get started.
This dish started with prepping the coconut rice. I followed the instructions and placed the rice and coconut milk in a microwave safe bowl and set it aside to warm right before plating the meal.
The next step was preparing the cabbage salad. This literally took me less than 2 minutes to put together with the pre-portioned ingredients at the ready. I also love that the instructions start with prepping things so that the entire meal comes together at the same time. Sometimes when I am cooking a meal, I’ll get to the end and realize that I have forgotten to cook a part of the meal. It happens way more often than I care for.
Next, I cooked the pork for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. While the pork was cooking, I prepared the sauce that would be added next.
I added the lemongrass sauce and finished cooking the pork for 5 more minutes. During this time, I warmed the rice per the instructions. The sauce thickened perfectly!
Once the pork and rice were ready, it was time to plate the meal. I added rice to the plate and poured the lemongrass pork over it. Next, I added some cabbage salad and garnished the pork with chopped peanuts and scallions. Time to eat!
I can honestly say that this is one of the most delicious meals I have cooked in a long time! My family was amazed by the flavor as well as the presentation, and said they felt like they were eating something from a fancy restaurant. I think what I loved the most about this meal was that I used flavors and ingredients that I had never used before and wouldn’t think to use. I consider myself a pretty good cook, but these flavors were new and delicious, and I’m excited to use them again.
The Kroger Prep + Pared meals are definitely going to be on my grocery list going forward. I just love that everything is prepped and ready to go, and I don’t have to buy a bunch of ingredients that I won’t fully use. The fresh ingredients are 100% measured and prepped, and are kit to fork in 20 minutes. They are meant to feed 2 adults, but there was more than enough to feed Matt, Kate and myself. You can find the Prep + Pared meals at Kroger and Ralphs stores, exclusively. I’ll be making a trip this weekend to grab at least 3 more Prep and Paired meals for dinners next week. I’m definitely going with the Crispy Fish Tacos next! What meals would you choose?
This looks so tasty, plan to try and make it