Baked Pork Tenderloin

I got this recipe from my cousin who made a tri-tip roast for our family New Year’s Eve dinner. Ever since, the tri-tip roast has been a requested dish for our annual New Year’s gathering. I have discovered that the same recipe can be used for making pork tenderloin and the flavor is still amazing. The only adjustment is to reduce the cooking time.

Ingredients:

2 pounds	Pork Tenderloin (about 2-3 pieces)
1/2 Cup	Fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 Cup	Cooking oil (grape seed oil)
1/4 Cup	Brown sugar
1/4 Cup	Light soy sauce
1-2 Tbsp	Black pepper
1/4 Cup	Garlic salt
1/4 Cup	Chopped garlic
1/4 Cup	Chopped dried onions

Ingredients for gravy:

1 Can	Chicken broth
2 tsp	Cornstarch
2 Tbsp	Water
1 Tbsp	White wine
To taste	Salt

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl, transfer the mixture to a 1-gallon ziploc bag. (Picture 1)
2. Place the pork tenderloin in the bag and toss the bag to make sure the meat is evenly coated with the marinade, refrigerate overnight. (Picture 2)
3. Preheat oven to 350°F.
4. In a large skillet, drizzle a little cooking oil and brown the pork tenderloin on both sides. (Picture 3)
5. Transfer the meat to a baking sheet and bake in the oven until the thermometer reads 160°F. (The federal agency says it is lowering the recommended safe cooking temperature for whole cuts of pork from 160°F to 145°F. This is your preference). Let it sit for 3-5 minutes before cutting.  (Pictures 4-5)
6. While the meat is resting, heat up a cup of chicken broth. Scrape the brown pieces from the baking sheet and add into the chicken broth, then add in white wine. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl, then stir until smooth. Stir cornstarch mixture into hot broth to thicken the gravy. Add salt to taste. (Pictures 6 & 7)
7. Slice pork tenderloin and pour gravy on top to serve.

Orange Sauce Pork Spareribs 橙汁肉排

This recipe is from Christine Ho’s cookbook (Christine’s recipe here). It is so delicious that I didn’t alter any ingredients, so this recipe must be saved here for my children. For all pork lovers, this is a must try dish.

Ingredients:

700g	Pork spare ribs
1 tsp	Minced fresh ginger
1 tsp	Finely chopped garlic
2 tsp	Cooking wine
to taste	Salt
to taste	Pepper

Ingredients of sauce:

1 cup	Freshly squeezed orange juice, sifted
1 cup	Chicken broth
2 Tbsp	Light soy sauce
2 Tbsp	Brown sugar
1/2 tsp	Orange zest

Directions:

1. Rinse pork ribs and wipe dry with kitchen papers. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add all ingredients for the sauce in a pot and bring it to a boil over medium fire.
3. Brown pork ribs on a frying pan/wok until both sides are golden. Push pork ribs to one side of the pan, then add in ginger and garlic, cook until fragrant. Pour in cooking wine and stir to combine all ingredients. (Pictures 1-3)
4. Transfer the pork ribs to the pot with the sauce, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until sauce becomes thickened. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Pork Chile Verde (Instant Pot Cooking)

The good thing about living in Southern California, besides the year round sunshine, is the food.  Here in Los Angeles, which is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, people from different countries allow us to taste different types of authentic cuisine.

There are many good Mexican restaurants and food trucks in East Los Angeles where you can find some of best tacos in the country.  If you go for the Taco Tuesday deals, each taco is as low as $1.  After your meal, you can walk along some streets in East LA, and there are some food trucks selling fresh churros, they are just delicious!

Just because my family loves Mexican food, I came across with this Pork Chile Verde recipe on seriouseats.com using a pressure cooker.  Simply add some homemade Mexican rice (recipe here), some beans and/or tortillas as your sides, and you will have a pretty satisfying meal.

Ingredients:

4 pounds	Pork shoulder (Cut into chunks)
350g	Tomatillos (quartered, papery husks removed)
300g	Poblano peppers (about 2 peppers, chopped, seeds and stems discarded)
170g	Anaheim peppers (about 2 peppers, chopped, seeds and stems discarded)
120g	Jalapeno chilies (about 2 medium peppers, chopped, stems discarded, seeds retained)
1 medium	White onion (chopped)
8	Garlic cloves (peeled)
6g	Whole cumin seed (toasted and ground)
12g	Kosher salt
1 Tbsp	Asian fish sauce
	Fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Roughly chop all peppers, remember to keep the Jalapeno chili seeds.  Chop onion and peel garlic.  (Picture 1)
2. Toast 6g of whole cumin seeds and then grind them with a mortar and pestle.  (Picture 2)
3. Put all of the vegetables into a pressure cooker, then put meat on top.  (Pictures 3 and 4)
4. Add ground cumin and salt to the pressure cooker, then use tongs to stir everything together.  (Pictures 5-7)
5. Cover the lid and cook at high pressure for 30 minutes.  Turn the sealing vault to the “sealing” position.  (Picture 8)
6. After 30 minutes, do a quick release of the pressure.
7. Remove pork with tongs to a bowl and set aside.  (Picture 9)
8. Use an immersion blender to blend the vegetables to a smooth puree.  (Picture 10)
9. Add in a tablespoon of Asian fish sauce.  (Picture 11)
10. Return pork to the pot.  (Picture 12)
11. When serving, add a good amount of chopped cilantro.

I had read some reviews about the vegetables being burned at the bottom of the pot.  The pressure cooker I’m using is an electric pressure cooker, so this problem will never happen.  If you have a traditional stovetop pressure cooker, you may want to test it out by adding a little water to the pot.