Caramel Pork

This is a really simple and delicious, potential week night meal.

Usually I go with  the original recipe ingredients and directions with a new recipe and tweak after I have made it for the first time.  But not this one. I knew right away that cooking the pork like they said would not work.  Pork tenderloin can be overcooked very easily.  When I use it in recipes I cook it first, set it aside, make the sauce and then re-warm the pork in the sauce quickly.  When I read the reviews, this is exactly what people were doing.   Another reader tossed the pork pieces in a cornstarch/salt/pepper mixture.  I had used this technique before with the chicken in the Sesame Chicken  and thought that would be a great addition to the recipe.

I have doubled the sauce in the recipe.  You may not want that much sauce so in parenthesis are the original amounts.

I served this with steamed broccoli for this post but in the past I have had peas as a side vegetable.  Both excellent.

In the original recipe from Cooking Light, they add a recipe Radish Squash Slaw to serve with the dish. They mention it in the review and wanted to share with you.  I have not tried it yet but seems like it would be a nice addition.   Recipe is below:

Serve with Radish-Squash Slaw: Combine 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon lower-sodium soy sauce, 2 teaspoons honey, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Add 3/4 cup each of julienne-cut carrot, daikon radish, and yellow squash; toss. Top with 3 tablespoons cilantro leaves.

Caramel Pork (Cooking Light)

6 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

few turns of fresh black pepper

1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1-1/2 to 2 inch pieces

1/2 cup chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion (have used Vidalia and a regular onion, both good)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 (1/2) cup chicken stock

6 (3) tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 (1) tablespoon lower sodium soy sauce

2 (1) teaspoon bottle ground fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (this is to your taste, the original has 1/2 teaspoon which would be 1 teaspoon if doubled)

4 (2) canned anchovy fillets, rinsed and minced or 2 (1) teaspoon anchovy paste

Place cornstarch, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Stir to combine.  Set aside.

Make sauce:  combine chicken stock, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, red pepper and anchovies in medium bowl.  Stir together and set aside.

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add about 1 – 2 teaspoons of canola oil.  Place pork pieces in large bowl with cornstarch mixture.  Toss to combine.  Remove pork, a few pieces at a time with a slotted spoon or equivalent, shaking off excess cornstarch mixture.  Add pork to pan.  Continue with the rest of the pork.  Cook pork for 5 minutes, turning pork half way through cooking.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Add onion and garlic to pan.  Stir fry for 2 minutes.

Stir in sauce mixture, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thick.

Add pork and stir into the sauce.  Simmer for 1-2 minutes until pork is heated through.  Do not over cook.

Serve over rice with brocolli or peas as a vegetable side.  If making slaw, place on top of pork.

cornstarch mixture:

sauce ingredients:

mise en place:

tossing pork in cornstarch mixture:

then add to pan and cook:

set pork aside:

add onion and garlic and cook:

add sauce mixture and bring to a boil:

add pork back in and simmer:

yum!