Pork Tenderloin with Asian Flavours

Ingredients

Pork tenderloin cooks quick enough for a weeknight dinner. A small tenderloin is perfect for two or three. If you have more people cook two tenderloins and double the sauce.

• Cooking oil & butter - Butter burns easily but adds flavour. Combining it with oil allows the pan to get hotter, but prevents the butter from burning, so the meat gets the nice brown crust we're going for.

• Pork tenderloin - Pork tenderloin is one of the leanest, most tender cuts of meat. To keep the price down buy them in packages of two or three and freeze what you will use for another meal.

• Ginger and garlic - If a recipe doesn't have this combo it might not really be Asian. If you don't use ginger root often keep a knob of it in the freezer and grate it right into your dish from frozen.

• Ketchup - This adds a rich tomato taste with a touch of sweetness and most people have it in their fridge.

• Sherry vinegar - This is a specialty vinegar from Spain, called vinagre de Jerez. It's made from sherry grapes and has a complex flavour. Once you have it in your pantry use it to make a basic vinaigrette dressing recipe and give your salads an upgrade.

• Gluten free soy sauce - A kitchen staple everyone needs. Have a tasting to compare gluten free soy sauce vs tamari and learn about them. If you're strategic you might end up convincing someone they too can switch to a gluten free product. That could be one less question you have to ask when eating at their house.

• Five spice powder - Chinese five spice powder is a unique combination of five spices ground into a powder. They are cinnamon, cloves, fennel, anise and Sichuan peppercorns. Buy five spice powder in the spice aisle and don't miss my stir fry with beef and bok choy. My sister makes Five Spice Cookies once in awhile and borrows the spice from me.

See recipe card for exact amounts.

Instructions

This may seem like a small instruction but it saves time and energy, just what we're looking for at the end of the day. I know exactly what pan I will use that browns the tenderloin on the stove and can go right into the oven.

Get The Tools

A digital thermometer is the tool that helps you serve perfectly cooked meat every time, confirm the water temperature to activate yeast and check the internal temperature of a loaf of bread so it doesn't have big holes. Here are two options:

• Inkbird Digital Thermometer - instant read, rechargeable and waterproof.
• Inkbird WiFi Thermometer for smoker and oven with mobile notification timer alarm. Someone wants this!