When given the opportunity to shop, prep and cook my favourite meal using a VH Sauce of my choice, I jumped at the chance! And I instantly knew what meal I would be making.
As you would know from many previous posts of mine, I grew up eating really good food! My parents always cooked from scratch, and I loved learning from them. With a family of six to feed, my mom often cooked roasts. They were a cost-effective way to feed a large group, could be prepared ahead of time, and there were almost always leftovers.
Whether preparing chicken, beef or pork roasts, they all had one common ingredient – VH Soya Sauce! I remember as a child, watching my parents prepare Thanksgiving turkey. My mom would roll up her sleeves, cup her hands, and call out ingredients for my dad to pour into her hands, like a surgeon ready to operate. Salt. Pepper. Savoury. Soya Sauce. I know...soya sauce is an unexpected ingredient in a roast turkey, but it couldn't be more perfect! This simple ingredient always added incredible flavour and colour to any roast. When I started cooking on my own, I followed suit and rubbed soya sauce into each roast that I made. And still do to this day. While my mother always cooked her roasts in the oven, I prefer to use my slow cooker. This way, we can have roast during the work week.
So after writing out my recipe and making my shopping list, Big-A and I headed to my absolute favourite grocery store to start shopping – Longo's! I’m not a fan of grocery shopping, but shopping at Longo's never feels like a chore...it’s more of a treat! Perfectly stacked produce, the freshest meats, deli products and cheeses you can find. Specialty products that are hard to find elsewhere. And service that trumps any other supermarket. I LOVE shopping at Longo's, and I’m lucky to have one within walking distance from my house.
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| I love seeing this welcome mat :) |
When Big-A and I entered the store, we were immediately greeted with the delicious aromas of the bakery. I let Big-A pick out a container of cookies, a treat for coming shopping with his mom (a HUGE chore for a 7-year old boy!). At the frozen food section, we grabbed a bag of Asian-style frozen veggies. I always have frozen veggies in my freezer at home for quick weeknight meals. We then headed to the meat department to check out the roasts.
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| I love that Longo's proudly showcases Ontario meat, making shopping local easy for anyone! |
I found a 2 lb boneless pork rib roast, a perfect size for our family of four (and leftovers for the next day!). If I'm cooking a roast for dinner guests, I usually go with an 8 lb roast with the bone in. It takes longer to cook, but it makes the meal extra special. When chosing a pork roast, I always look for even marbling to ensure that the meat won't dry out. As we passed through the meat department we came across this awesome VH display!
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| VH Sauces galore! |
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| A perfectly faced VH Sauces section. And on sale too! |
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| My helper :) |
- Place thyme, savoury and pepper on a large flat dish. Pour VH Soya Sauce on the plate and combine all ingredients, stirring with a fork.
- Coat all sides of the pork roast with the mixture, making sure that the herbs stick to the roast. Do not discard the mixture once the roast is coated - put aside.
- Add vegetable oil to a large skillet over med-high heat.
- Once oil is hot, place coated roast in the pan. You will want to hear a sizzle when the roast hits the pan. Brown each side, approximately 2 minutes per side.
- While meat is browning, place halved onions in a slow cooker. Over the slow cooker, pour cold water over the plate with the remaining mixture, covering the onions. This will add flavour to the roast while it's cooking, and will make your gravy spectacular!
- Once all sides of the roast are browned, place the roast in the slow cooker, on top of the onions. Cover and set on high for 4 hours.
- Once the roast is cooked, place in a covered glass dish. Strain the juices from the slow cooker into a medium pot. Bring to a boil, and pour in the corn starch/water mixture slowly, stirring quickly. Once the gravy is at the desired consistency, bring to a boil again and immediately remove from heat.
- The roast will be fall-apart tender, and will be difficult to slice. Break it apart in lengthwise chunks instead.
- Serve over a bed of rice, topped with gravy, with steamed vegetables on the side.
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| The boys approve! |
I have been making this roast, with the exact ingredients for years. With comments like "this is the best roast ever!" from hubby, and "I'm actually in heaven!" from Big-A, I'll never stop making it. It's THAT good!
For meal inspiration, check out the VH Sauce website at http://www.vhsauces.ca/en/home.html. I love the Sauces tab, where you can choose flavours based on Orient, Thai or Indian inspirations. The selection of sauces is incredible! You can also find drool-worthy photos and recipes on the VH Sauces Twitter page, as well as on the VH Facebook page, where this week they are featuring "7 Days Of Burgers", with recipes using their sauces.
Whether you're making an Asian-inspired meal, or adding a little Asian flavour to a traditionally non-Asian meal, VH Sauces will add flavours to your food that will have everyone asking for seconds!
This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias #CBias.
As always, all opinions on this blog are my own.
DISCLAIMER: Not all the food products used in this recipe are certified "Gluten Free". I do, however, causiously check all food labels and Brand websites before making my gluten free desserts. If you have gluten allergy concerns,
I suggest you do the same.
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