This recipe has been in my binder of favorite recipes for years, and I’ve made it countless times. In fact, when I went to look up the recipe recently, I was sure I had shared it on the blog, but was surprised to discover I had not. So sorry for causing you to miss out on this meal, until now.
I love pork tenderloin because it’s easy to prepare, and it always turns out moist and flavorful. To make this honey hoisin version, you marinate the pork in a sweet-savory mixture of hoisin sauce, honey, green onions, and garlic. Only half an hour of marinating time is required, which is great if you’re like me and tend to forget to plan ahead for those sorts of things. Next, the pork is quickly browned in a skillet and then tranferred to the oven to finish cooking. If you have an oven-safe skillet, you can do the browning and baking all in one pan and save yourself some dish washing.
There are a number of ways that I like to round out this meal. It goes great with either mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, or even brown rice. For a vegetable side dish, I’ve served the pork with a green salad, broccoli, or green beans. Pretty much anything goes, and the leftovers are delicious, too!
Honey Hoisin Pork Tenderloin
Makes about 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 2 tbsp. sliced green onions
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. hot water
- 1 (1 pound) pork tenderloin
- Cooking spray
Directions:
- Combine soy sauce, hoisin, honey, green onions, garlic, and hot water in a small bowl. Pour ¼ cup of the honey mixture into a large zip-top plastic bag; reserve remaining honey mixture. Add pork to the bag; seal and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, turning the bag occasionally.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray the pan with cooking spray. Remove the pork from the bag and discard the marinade. Place the pork in the skillet and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes. Transfer the pork to a baking dish and brush on 1 tablespoon of the reserved honey mixture. Bake for 20-35 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F.
- Remove the pork from the oven and let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Cut across the grain into thin slices. Serve drizzled with the remaining honey mixture.
Source: Slightly adapted from Cooking Light, October 2005.
