Sweet & Spicy Asian Pork Tenderloin

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Originally published 12/20/2014 without video. Reposted 3/5/2016 with new video added.

Hey, guys! Sorry this post is late, this week has been absolutely insane. Today I’m going to give you an awesome recipe for sweet & spicy Asian pork tenderloin, plus an alternate using classic Italian flavors if you’re not into Asian flavors (or maybe you have the right ingredients for the other lying around). Pork tenderloin is one of those things that’s super-easy to make, takes very little time and effort, and you can basically do anything with it you want as far as flavors go.

Regardless of how you season your tenderloin, there’s a series of steps you want to follow for the perfect pork:

Let your pork absorb the flavors of your seasonings in the fridge for at least an hour before cooking whether you marinate or dry season. Pork tenderloin is great for popping in the fridge in the morning, then cooking that evening for dinner after work.
Roast at 450° for fifteen minutes, then drop heat to 350° and cook another twenty minutes (remember to adjust for hot spots or temperature differences in your oven).
Let rest five minutes before slicing. Enjoy.

Once you’ve mastered the recipe below, you can apply the basic theory and start making your own flavor combinations (tip: pork pairs well with sweet flavors, and all meat needs salt).

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin
¼ c. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. orange marmalade
¼ tsp. Chinese five spice
¼ tsp. or 1 clove minced garlic
5 second squeeze of Sriracha
¼ tsp. ginger paste
1 tbsp. tamari or gf soy sauce
Optional:
Salt

Directions:

Combine marinade ingredients in a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Mix well to combine before adding pork tenderloin. After mixing marinade, add tenderloin and squeeze out extra air, then seal bag and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Pull tenderloin from refrigerator with an hour left before dinner. If you have a probe thermometer, insert the probe before cooking. New food safety guidelines state that pork only needs to reach an internal temperature of 145° rather than what’s probably written on your thermometer of 160°. You can line your pan with foil for easier clean-up after cooking.
Roast at 450° for fifteen minutes. Set probe thermometer alarm, a kitchen timer, phone alarm, whatever. After fifteen minutes, reduce oven temperature to 350°, and rotate the pan if oven heats unevenly. Cook another 20 minutes, or set your thermometer alarm to go off at least at 145°.
Pull tenderloin after 20 minutes, or when thermometer alarm sounds. Let rest five minutes before slicing. If a thermometer was used, leave the probe in while the meat rests. Pulling it out immediately will let all the juices out through the open hole. Immediately out of the oven, the proteins in the pork are still constricted. Resting allows the proteins to relax and re-absorb some of the moisture that gets squeezed out during cooking.
For the sauce: strain the contents of the marinade bag into a saucepan with the drippings from the pork, and simmer about 5 minutes until reduced.
Slice pork with a sharp knife, drizzle with sauce, and enjoy!
Note: Tamari is not as salty as regular soy sauce. If not making the sauce, feel free to add extra salt to the marinade. If making the sauce, hold the salt to sprinkle over the pork before cooking. Salting after cooking is an option if someone is on a low-sodium diet, but meat never tastes as good if salted after.

Not feeling the Asian flavor? Out of Tamari? Maybe you need to use up that fresh thyme in the little plastic case you got at the grocery store? Here’s an alternate marinade using some classic Italian flavors.

Italian marinade:

¼ c. olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary (or ¼ tsp. dried rosemary)
2 sprigs fresh thyme (or ½ tsp. dried thyme)
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. salt
5-8 grinds fresh black pepper

Pork tenderloin is great for a quick, easy dinner, and everyone should have at least five different recipes for it (another favorite of mine uses stone-ground mustard and apricot preserves). Leave your thoughts in a comment below, or get in touch with me directly by filling out the form on the contact page.

Sweet & Spicy Asian Pork Tenderloin

Jamie

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