Pork Tenders in Soy Honey Sauce

 

Description:
For this recipe, I wanted a little sweetness but instead of sugar, I decided to use honey. What a wonderful surprise honey brings to the dish! There's a hint of natural sweetness to the sauce; it tastes so good that you might be tempted to finish it up, leaving the meat pieces behind!

Ingredients:
About 500g pork tenderloin, sliced into big chunks
Chopped garlic and onions
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/8 cup light soy sauce
3/4 cup water
2 tsp. honey (more if you like it sweeter)
Salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
Saute onions until aromatic, add in garlic. Saute until light brown. Add the tomatoes, continue sauteing, then add the pork tenderloin.
In a separate bowl, mix light soy sauce, water and honey.
While pork is still pink, add the soy sauce mixture. Continue cooking until pork tenders are just done, being careful not to overcook or meat will be tough.
Serve with hot rice.

Pork Medallions with Gravy

Description:
With the goal of being healthy this year (aka lose weight), Brandon and I are trying to consume less meat in every meal. We still eat pork, particularly pork tenderloins. Pork tenderloin is one of the leanest meats available, comparable to chicken breast. It's a bit pricier but it's tender and healthier so it is worth it. Here is a very simple recipe for pan-fried pork tenderloins which I fancily call pork medallions. (I got the recipe from America's Test Kitchen.) The gravy is a nice extra that the kids just love so I always serve it with this dish.

Ingredients:
1 piece pork tenderloin
Salt and pepper

Gravy:
Pan with browned bits from cooking the pork
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup broth, chicken or pork
Worcestershire sauce


Directions:
Remove the white membrane from the tenderloin then cut into half inch rounds.
Pat dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
Add a little oil just to coat the pan and wait until hot and the oil shimmers.
Place the tenderloins and cook each side for 80 seconds. (I even use a timer for this.)
Place on a plate and serve with gravy.
Tip: Flip the tenderloins using a tong to keep the brown color of the meat.

For the gravy:
Using the same pan for cooking the tenderloins, add butter and swirl it around to melt. Add the flour and cook very shortly, mixing briskly.
Slowly add the stock while scraping the bottom of the pan.
Continue cooking until gravy thickens, whisking everything to ensure there are no lumps.
Add worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

Baked Pork BBQ and Garlic Java Rice

I discovered a very nice marinade for barbeque- Mama Sita's Barbeque Marinade (I heard that this product came from the family who opened Aristocrat's), and so I thought of making pork bbq at home.  But instead of going through the hassle of grilling (but I'm sure Brandon wouldn't mind doing it if I asked him to), I decided to bake them using a Turbo Broiler.  The result?  Really nice and flavorful barbeque.  Not oily at all and no burnt bits.  Here's the very easy recipe:

Baked Pork Barbeque



Ingredients:
Fresh Pork Kasim, fat portion removed and cut into small cubes
Mama Sita's Barbeque Marinade

Procedure:
Marinate the pork cubes in Mama Sita's Barbeque Marinade overnight.  Place meat through skewers or barbeque sticks.  Bake in preheated turbo broiler at 375F for 10-15 minutes (or until done), turning each stick halfway and brushing the tops with remaining marinade.



Just before dinnertime, I decided to whip up a very easy java rice as the perfect accompaniment to any barbeque dish.

Garlic Java Rice 

Ingredients:
Cooked plain rice
Cooking oil
Star Margarine
Lots of minced garlic
Minced onions
Tomato Sauce (I used Hunt's)
Salt and Pepper

Procedure:
Place oil and Star Margarine in a pan (both oil and margarine were used to prevent margarine from burning).  When hot and ready, saute the onions and garlic until very fragrant.  Don't let the garlic turn brown and bitter.  Add the cooked rice.  Combine thoroughly.  Add the tomato sauce little by little (too much tomato sauce will make the rice sour), then toss well until rice turns into a nice light orange color.  Season with salt and pepper.  If desired, add more margarine as a finishing touch to make rice glossy.  Serve with pork barbeque.  (I wish we had atsara and java sauce!) 


Note:  I'm sorry that these recipes don't contain exact measurements, but that's how I usually cook.  Just trust your tastebuds :)    

Pork Steak ala Pobre

We had this very healthy, light, yet fulfilling dish for dinner.  Trixie and Brandon kept on picking on the onion rings!  They do have plenty of similarities when it comes to food.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 slab/ piece of pork tenderloin, white skin removed then sliced into about 1/2 inch pieces
3 pcs. calamansi, juiced
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 white onions, sliced into rings
1 tablespoon minced garlic

Procedure:
Combine calamansi juice and soy sauce, then marinate the pork tenderloin pieces in the mixture for about 1 hour.
In a medium saute pan, fry minced garlic in enough oil until light brown.   Note:  Garlic frying can be pretty tricky, so as soon as the garlic changes color, lower the heat and keep watch!  Turn off the heat before you reach the desired color because it will still continue cooking in the hot oil.  Remove crunchy, golden brown garlic unto a plate then set aside.
In the same pan, saute onion rings until caramel in color.  You can undercook the onions if you like them slightly raw, but personally, I love onion rings that are well-done.  Remove from pan and set aside.
Still using the same hot pan, dump the pork tenderloin with the marinade and cook until done.  Make sure not to overcook the pork or else they'll turn tough.
Assembly:  Place tenderloin on a plate then top with onion rings and garlic.  Serve right away.
Serves 4-6.