Best Main Dish Dinner Recipes with Rice Vinegar
Compared to most vinegars, rice vinegar is a bit milder. It's made from fermented rice and is a key ingredient in sweet and sour sauces and other dishes, where it offers a bright, clean flavors. These are some of our favorite dinner recipes featuring a healthy splash of rice vinegar.
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Pork Lo Mein
Strips of pork tenderloin are stir-fried with snap peas, onion, mushrooms, red bell pepper, garlic, and ginger in a sauce of rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and soy sauce. "I was inspired by another recipe that I changed to add more vegetables, ginger, and sesame oil," says Kendra. "Add/remove veggies how you see fit."
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Chef John's Caramel Chicken
This delicious, Vietnamese-inspired chicken recipe is based on the famous caramelized chicken dish served at the Slanted Door, a popular San Francisco restaurant. Serve this delicious mahogany-colored chicken over white rice garnished with cilantro, sliced jalapenos, green onions, and roasted peanuts.
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Red Curry Flank Steak
"I love Thai food, and in particular red curry beef, which is basically chunks of beef stew meat cooked slowly in a spicy, aromatic red curry sauce," says Chef John. "Inspired by this classic recipe, I decided to see if the same sort of flavors could be turned into a marinade for flank steak. The results knocked my socks off."
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Cardamom Chicken with Salt and Pepper Crust
Marinate chicken thighs in garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and cardamom -- and then season liberally with salt and pepper and roast in the oven. "The marinade is intense with flavor, but it's the final seasoning of simple salt and pepper that really makes it delicious," says DARLA. "Gotta use Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper here."
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Sushi Roll
A little rice vinegar is the key to good sushi rice. "Sushi can be filled with any ingredients you choose," says 1ORANGE1. "Try smoked salmon instead of imitation crabmeat. Serve with teriyaki sauce and wasabi."
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Deb's General Tso's Chicken
"A traditional Chinese favorite, you'll enjoy the spicy sweet soy sauce with ginger and garlic flavors, ingredients that make this dish so addictive," says Deb K. "This is a true General's chicken recipe which requires frying the chicken twice to give it that extra crispiness. The cornstarch batter gives the chicken a light coating. You can save time considerably by making and refrigerating the sauce and chicken up to 3 days. Serve with rice or noodles tossed with lightly steamed fresh vegetables, such as broccoli, zucchini, squash, and green onions."
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Pineapple Pulled Pork Al Pastor
This juicy pulled pork sandwich is inspired by famous al pastor tacos. "If you season aggressively and cook the meat over smoky coals up to a certain temp, you'll be rewarded with tender, moist, and very flavorful meat. Slather it with the grilled pineapple salsa for the full 'al pastor' experience."
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Sriracha Chicken with Scallions
Here's a main dish chicken recipe inspired by the flavors of Buffalo wings. ""The level of heat is akin to hot wings, maybe a step hotter," says Chas.Ā "It can be tweaked to accommodate personal taste on spiciness. Everything in this recipe can be changed to suit personal tastes. Serve with steamed rice and any other side dishes you wish."
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Penang Pork Satay
Get ready for an explosive combination of flavors!Ā "Use a fairly large chunk of pork, because it doesn't take long to develop that beautifully brown, crusty exterior on the grill," says Chef John. "Or under a broiler turned to high. Or in the oven at 500 degrees! Serve over rice with peanut sauce and cucumber salad."
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Sticky Garlic Pork Chops
Pork chops are marinated and then cooked in a sweet, sticky, and subtly spicy sauce with rice vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, fish sauce, and soy sauce. "This sticky garlic pork chop recipe seems too good to be true," says Chef John. "It only takes a few minutes of prep work, requires no tricky techniques, and doesn't call for any hard-to-find ingredients. I served this with some bok choy brown rice."
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Air Fryer Chinese Sweet and Sour Pork
"Skip takeout and make your own sweet and sour pork at home," says Soup Loving Nicole. "I like to toss some egg rolls in the air fryer while it is hot so that the meal has that full Chinese takeout feel to it. Serve over rice if desired."
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Pork Fried Rice Meatballs with Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce
"All the deliciousness of pork fried rice in a portable, bite-sized format," says Buckwheat Queen. "Serve these meatballs with homemade sweet and sour sauce for a fun treat at your next game day party."