Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Ginger Dipping Sauce

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I am not consistent with many things, but maintaining my scrap cookbook is one of them. I collect recipes from family and friends, magazines, and websites.  In this large, green three-ring binder, I copy, clip, and print recipes that I am eager to try or have prepared many times.  
While flipping through my binder of recipes, I came across this recipe that I have prepared several times with much excitement and success.  I must have clipped this recipe after my return from China in 2008 when I yearned for Chinese food.  It isn't a traditional Chinese dish, but is inspired by Asian flavors.  This recipe was originally published by Hunt's in October 2008.  
The original recipe calls for specific brands when preparing this dish, but I use what I have.

Ingredients
Marinade
1 cup sliced green onions
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper
1 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch pieces

Ginger Dipping Sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (can be adjusted for more heat)

10 wooden skewers soaked in warm water

1. Prepare the marinade.  Place green onions, oil, garlic, jalapeno, ginger, sesame oil, and lime juice in a large resealable plastic bag.  Close and shake to combine.  Add pork; turn to coat evenly with marinade.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
2. Prepare sauce.  Heat small saucepan over medium heat; when hot add oil and onion.  Cook 4 minutes stirring occasionally or until the onion is tender.  Add ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute or until aromatic (don't cook too long, or the garlic will burn).  Add undrained tomatoes, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and red pepper flakes to pan; stir to combine.  
3. Bring the sauce to a simmer; simmer 10 minutes over medium-low heat stirring occasionally.  Carefully pour sauce into a blender; puree until smooth.  Keep warm.  
4. Place marinated pork on skewers leaving a little space between each piece.  Discard the marinade.  Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.  When hot, add skewered pork.  Cook 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until pork is cook and no longer pink.  Serve with warm dipping sauce.

Serving: 2 skewers and 1/4 cup dipping sauce

Makes 5 servings.

Notes: 

• The dipping sauce makes more than 2 people can eat.  I prepare the whole recipe and then freeze about half of it for next time.  
• I have found with many recipes that require meat to marinate that the longer it marinates, the better.  One time saver I use is preparing the marinade the night before when I am cooking dinner.  I put the meat in the marinade and don't have to think about it again until it is time to cook.  
• This recipe calls for seasoned rice vinegar which can be found in the Asian isle of most supermarkets.  I, however, do not keep seasoned rice vinegar on hand.  I use it if I have it, or use just regular rice vinegar.
• To keep the sauce warm, I return it to the saucepan over low heat.
• I usually make this as part of dinner, but it would be a great appetizer.  

Photograph from: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-pork-tenderloin-with-ginger-dipping-sauce-10000001847406/

Japanese Ginger Pork

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I think I have found a new love.  Last week we watched a new Japanese cooking show called Itadakimasu ! Dining with the Chef on NHK World English.  This dish was featured on that episode.  It is very simple to make and is eaten with shredded cabbage, rice, and miso soup.  






Serves 4
Ingredients 
16 oz. thinly sliced pork loin
Salt and pepper to taste
5 cups shredded cabbage
Sauce
4 tbsp. sake
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
4 tsp. mirin
2 tbsp. grated ginger
3 tsp. vegetable oil

1.  Cut the pork into large bite size pieces.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2.  Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
3.  Heat the oil in a frying pan, and cook the pork until cooked.  Place the pork slices in the bowl with the sauce.  Mix and allow to marinate for 30 seconds.
4.  Pour the pork and sauce in the frying pan over the medium high heat.  Cook the pork in the sauce, stirring occasionally until the sauce reduces and sticks to the meat.
5.  Arrange 1/4 of the pork slices over 1 1/2 cups of cabbage.

Notes:
I briefly steamed the cabbage prior to serving.  The cabbage still had a crunch, but some of the bite was gone.    

咕老肉 (Gu Lao Rou) Sweet & Sour Pork

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I had this the first day I was in China, it instantly became a favorite.  I made several attempts at first to cook this, but it flopped each time.  I thought I was destined to only eat this at the "Green Sign Restaurant."  (We named the restaurant across the street from my school's campus this because we couldn't read the Chinese name and it had a green sign.)  Before leaving China in 2008, I finally took the first of several cooking classes and the chef taught us this dish.  It is surprisingly simple, and tastes just like the dish at the Green Sign Restaurant.  



Ingredients
12-16 oz. pork loin roast
1 cup cubed pineapple (can or fresh work equally as well)
1 cup chopped red and green peppers (make sure they are all cut the same)
dash of salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
dash pepper
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 egg white
3/4 cup ketchup
1 cup water plus 2 tablespoons
1 cup cornstarch plus 1 tablespoon
2-3 cups vegetable oil for deep frying

1.  Thinly slice pork loin.  Pork loin roasts are quite large, so I cut it into quarters so that my pieces are small and thin.  Place the pork in a bowl.  Add salt, sugar, pepper, rice vinegar, and egg white.  Using your hand mix these into the pork.  As you do this, massage the meat by squeezing it through your fingers.  (The Chinese chef said that it helps tenderize the meat.)  Allow to marinate on the counter for about 20 minutes.
2.  Prep the vegetables and pineapple.  Set aside.
3.  After the meat has marinated, place 1 cup cornstarch in a shallow dish.  You are going to make meatballs that are about 3/4" in diameter.  (If they are too big, it is harder to eat and the flavor is different.)  Take some meat and drop it into the cornstarch.  Roll it around in the cornstarch forming a loose ball.  Put the ball in your palm and squeeze it to compact the meat.  Rotate it as you squeeze to get a ball shape.  Place on a place with a thin layer of cornstarch.  Continue with the remaining meat.
*Note: You don't want to squeeze the meat ball too tight or the meat will become tough, nor do you want to leave the meat balls too loose or they will fall apart during cooking.
4.  Heat oil in a pan to deep fry until it is 350ºF.  I use my wok which is stainless steel (don't use your wok if it is non-stick.)  Cook about 9 of the meat balls at a time.  You don't want to crowd the wok or cause the temperature to drop.  As the meat cooks, roll them around with a slotted spoon occasionally to allow all sides to be cooked evenly.  Cook for

about 3-4 minutes.  The crust will turn golden brown.  Remove one meatball and test it by cutting it open to ensure that the meat is cooked through.  Remove to a covered plate to drain. (Like to use brown paper bags.  It keeps the crust from getting soggy.)  Repeat with remaining meatballs.
5.  After cooking the meat, place peppers and pineapple into the oil.  Immediately remove.  (I am not sure why this needs to be done, but the Chinese chef said it was important.) 
6.  Combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl.  Mix until the cornstarch is dissolved.  In a clean wok, (I pour the oil into another container and just was my wok) add about 1/2 tablespoon of the used oil.  Heat the oil on medium-high heat.  Add ketchup and water.  Stir until it is combined.  If the ketchup mixture looks too thick add a little more water.  Bring to a boil.  Add meatballs, peppers, and pineapple.  Stir until the meat is coated by the sauce.  Add about half of the cornstarch mixture, and stir.  Bring back to a boil.  Allow the sauce to thicken.  If the sauce is still thin and not sticking to the meat, then add a little more cornstarch mixture.  

Notes:  I have tried using ground pork instead of slicing the pork loin.  It is a time saver, but the meatballs have a different texture.  The flavor is still awesome, but the sliced pork gives the meatballs a more tender bite.  The pineapple is the key ingredient in this dish.  Don't forget it. (I speak from experience.  Without the pineapple, it was just ketchup on pork meatballs, and not very tasty.)    
                                                    

Chipotle Pork Tenderloin

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Pork tenderloin is one of my favorite ways to eat pork (bacon is my favorite).  I found this recipe from Eatingwell.com (and borrowed their picture), and it is one of the best ways to prepare pork.  When I made this the first time, I had never worked with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and found it overwhelming at first, but I stuck with the recipe and after marinating and cooking the tenderloin, it was amazing.  The chipotle gives the meat a smoky flavor (one that I miss since living in an apartment with no access to a grill), and the lime juice and orange juice give it a hidden tang in the background.  You only taste it at the end of each bite.  This is best when it can marinate overnight.  The original recipe says to grill the meat, but like I said above, I do not have a grill.  I do have a grill pan thanks to a wonderful mother-in-law.  I have been trying to figure out the best way get the tenderloin cooked through without smoking us out of the apartment.  I think I finally figured it out.  The oven. This recipe would work very well on chicken too.  Give it a try!

Ingredients
1 canned chipotle chile in adobo plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce,
1 garlic clove, minced (or crushed in a garlic press)
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8 ounces pork tenderloin, (see Kitchen Tip), trimmed of fat
*For some added heat, add some sliced jalapenos seeds and all

1.  Combine chipotle and sauce, garlic, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper in a blender or mini food processor; blend or process until the chipotle is chopped and the mixture is relatively smooth. Pour into a sealable plastic bag, add pork and seal, squeezing out any excess air from the bag. Turn to coat with the marinade. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.

2.  Preheat grill to high.  Remove the pork from the marinade (discard marinade). Grill the pork, turning occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted diagonally into the center of the meat registers 145° F, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.





In the oven: 
Heat the grill pan on the stove over high heat.  Once it is hot, add the meat.  Turn several times browning all sides (and allowing gorgeous grill marks to leave their mark).  Put both pan and meat into a preheated, 400ºF oven and allow to cook for about 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 145ºF.  Allow the meat to rest under foil for about 5 minutes, and then slice.

Garlic Pork with Tomato and Basil

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This is one of my all-time favorite recipes.  I think I could eat it every week.  I got this recipe from Cooking Light, April 2006.  As you will notice, many of my regulars originated with Cooking Light.  
This dish packs a spicy yet tangy bite that can only come from Sriracha.  I like to add a little extra in for that extra kick.  The recipe calls for pork tenderloin (which is the best type of meat for a stir fry), but I will also use pork chops or pork shoulder if I have that in the freezer.  I also double the quantity of tomatoes and the sauce in this recipe.  (Shhh...don't tell anyone, but I like this sauce.)  With doubling the tomatoes, I also have to add an additional teaspoon of cornstarch due to the extra juice produced by the tomatoes.  I usually eat this with a steaming bowl of sushi rice (which only took me three years to perfect) and Garlic Green Beans.  I will post that recipe soon.  

12 ounces pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
3 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons oyster sauce (doesn't taste fishy; kind or sweet; kind of salty; essential!)
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)
2 tsp. peanut oil (I use vegetable oil)
2 tsp. minced fresh garlic (I get a little garlic happy,and add more)
1 tsp. minced ginger (not originally in the recipe, but goes very well with pork)
2 cups chopped seeded plum tomatoes (about 3 tomatoes)
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped green onions (about 2 onions)


1.  Slice pork.
2.  Combine water, oyster sauce, sugar, Sriracha, and cornstarch in a small bowl.
3.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet (or Wok) over medium-high heat.  Add minced garlic, ginger, and pork.  Saute 3 minutes or until the pork is done.  
4.  Add chopped tomatoes, salt, and pepper.  Saute 1 minute.  Add cornstarch mixture; cook 1 minute or until thickened.  Add basil; stir to combine.  Remove from heat, and sprinkle with onions.  Serve with steamed rice.