Fragrant, moist, and full of flavour (garlic, ginger, Sriracha, ) with a sticky-sweet, slightly charred glaze, this Szechuan Chinese restaurant standard is worlds better made at home! This recipe is for four pork tenderloins, leaving plenty to freeze for fast meals at a later date!
Ingredients
For Homemade Five Spice Powder:
2teaspoonsSzechuan Peppercorn
8whole star anise
1tablespoonfennel seed
1tablespoonground cinnamon
1/2teaspoonground cloves
For the Chinese Barbecue Pork:
4good sized boneless pork tenderloinsabout 4-6 pounds total weight
1/2cuphoisin sauce
1/2cupsoju or light rumKorean rice liquor
1/3cupbrown rice syrup or honeyplus additional for brushing while grilling
1/4cupsoy sauce
2tablespoonsSriracha
2tablespoonstoasted sesame oil
2tablespoonsground ginger
2tablespoonsgranulated onion or onion powder
2tablespoonsred beet powdercan omit or substitute with 1 teaspoon red food colouring
1 1/2tablespoonsHomemade Five Spice or purchased five spice powder
1 1/2tablespoonsgranulated garlic or garlic powder
Instructions
To Make the Homemade Five Spice:
Put a clean, dry, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium low heat. Add the Szechuan peppercorns and shake the pan back and forth until the peppercorns are fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes. Immediately add them to a spice grinder with the fennel seed and star anise. Grind until the mixture is as finely powdered as you can make it. Shake it through a fine mesh strainer. Discard what remains in the strainer. Take the sifted spices and stir in the ground cinnamon and cloves. Return this mixture to the spice grinder and grind momentarily to better combine the spices. Store in an airtight container in a dark, cool cupboard. For most potent flavour, use within three months.
To Make the Chinese Barbecued Pork (Char Siu):
Add everything but the pork tenderloins and the spare honey to a large, resealable, zipper-top bag. Seal the bag and use your hands to gently squish and combine the ingredients until it is evenly mixed. Open the bag and add all of the pork tenderloins. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as you can, reseal it, place it on a rimmed baking dish and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, turning the bag halfway through the marinating process.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the tenderloins on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. While the tenderloins are roasting, begin preheating a grill, using high heat on half of the grill and low heat on the other half. When the tenderloins have roasted for 20 minutes, transfer them to the HIGH heat side of the grill. Drizzle honey over the tops of the tenderloins and use a heat-proof pastry brush to distribute the honey. When the bottom of the tenderloin has good colour, about 4 minutes, flip it over, drizzle it again with honey and brush to distribute. The second side should colour up more quickly than the first as it was brushed with honey. When that has nice colour and a couple of charred bits, transfer it to the LOW heat side of the grill, flipping it over in the process. Continue drizzling with honey, brushing, and grilling until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the tenderloin measures at least 145°F (medium rare). Transfer the cooked tenderloins to a clean, rimmed baking dish and lightly tent with foil. Allow them to rest for at least 3 minutes before slicing or chilling.
To Serve Immediately:
Slice or dice the pork -hot, warm, or room temperature- and serve over rice, in soup, or on sandwiches or salads.
To Freezer for Later Meals:
Chill the cooked Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu) before wrapping tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of foil. Place the wrapped pork on a baking sheet and put into the freezer. When the pork is frozen firmly, place the wrapped pork in a labeled, resealable zipper top bag and freeze for up to 6 months.
To Reheat:
For best results, remove the desired number of cooked tenderloins from the freezer, remove the foil and double layer of plastic wrap, and thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat in a 350°F in a foil covered rimmed baking dish until heated all the way through, about 15-20 minutes.
If you're in a hurry, remove the foil and one layer of plastic wrap, then defrost gently in the microwave. Remove the last layer of plastic wrap, place in a rimmed, microwave safe dish, cover the dish with plastic wrap, venting one corner, and reheat on medium temperature until hot all the way through. The timing of this will depend on the strength of your microwave.
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.