Recipe Review: Chinese BBQ Pork

Awhile back, I had a troop of Girl Scouts over and we cooked Chinese food together.  Their Girl Scout Leader happened to have a family recipe for Chinese BBQ Pork which she made a brought along for us to add to the Fried Rice we made and to enjoy on it's own as well.  This really inspired me to renew my efforts to learn to cook Chinese Cuisine and sent me on a search to find my own go-to recipe for Chinese BBQ Pork so I could have it any time I craved it.

I searched and Pinned a couple of recipes to return to later and this recipe from Wanderlust Kitchen is the one I finally decided to try this weekend.

It was super easy to make, tender, juicy and the sauce is exactly right.  I opted to make it without the red food coloring but I made absolutely ZERO changes to the recipe and there is nothing I would change now that I've tried it.

Here's how it goes together:

Starting the night before, I mixed all the ingredients for the marinade in a mason jar...



The pork tenderloin came out of the package in two pieces, I cut each piece in half, pricked them all over with a fork (if there was one think I could have done better, this would be it - next time I'll prick it a bit deeper to really get that distinctive crust on the outside) and placed them in a resealable plastic bag.  Then I  poured half of the marinade on top, sealed the bag and massaged the marinade into the pork (this is easier if you let the air out of the bag when you seal it up).  Place it in the fridge overnight (or at least 6 hours) to marinade.

Before I roasted it, I let it sit on the counter a bit to take the chill off so it would be guaranteed to be tender while I worked on making Gyoza and Asian Noodle Salad to go with it.



It was roasted in a 450 degree oven for 25 minutes, until the internal temperature was 160 degrees.  It looked like this when it came out of the oven:





As per my usual MO, I let it rest several minutes before I sliced it up.



The marinade makes and excellent dipping sauce - I thought I'd have to thicken it up, but it was perfect just as is.  I loved this dish and my lunch guests (aka: Gaming Group) loved it and I will definitely be making this recipe again and again!