Indonesian Pork Tenderloin

I love cooking pork tenderloin!

It is a very healthy cut of meat, with almost no fat. According to The Other White Meat, USDA studies show that pork is leaner than skinless chicken breast per serving.

It is also incredibly tender! The tenderloin is comparable to the filet mignon.

Because they turn out great, with every recipe I try, I love eating pork tenderloin (whether I am dieting or not)!

I found a wonderful recipe that I want to share with you all!

This recipe reminded me some delicious Thai Peanut dishes, so I decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did! 

 Indonesian Pork Tenderloin, I found the recipe on Pinterest from Tide and Thyme

You'll need... 

• 1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound)
• 1/4 cup apricot preserves
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup orange juice (for thinning out the marinade, do not put in the zip lock bag)
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Combine preserves, garlic, coriander, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, peanut butter, lime juice, crushed red pepper and black pepper in a small bowl. Whisk well to combine, paying attention to break up the peanut butter.  Place pork tenderloin in gallon sized Ziploc bag and pour the marinade on top. Squeeze out the air, and seal, using your hands to squish bag and distribute marinade evenly. Place in refrigerator and let marinade for at least 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours. (I ended up marinading it for about 3-4 hours).


Preheat oven to 425. Heat  the vegetable oil in large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the pork tenderloin, and sear on all sides, until it’s nicely browned – about 7 minutes or so. Place the entire skillet into the preheated oven, and cook until a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees – about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
( I don't have an oven proof skillet, so I seared the meat in a skillet, and put the tenderloin on a cookie sheet. I also don't have a meat thermometer, so I just put it in for about 20-25 minutes and it was fine. It was still incredibly tender!)

While the pork is in the oven, pour the marinade into a small saucepan. If it seems too thick, add a splash or orange juice or water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, then turn off heat (I was paranoid, so I boiled it for 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly) . Pour sauce over the sliced tenderloin and sprinkle with chopped cilantro for garnish.

We all LOVED it! It was so tender and delicious! The flavor was really permeated throughout the whole tenderloin and it was SO, SO heavenly! :)

I doubled the recipe, because my package had two 1 pound tenderloins in it. We have quite a bit of marinade left over, so I'm planning on using it as a pasta sauce for some Thai rice noodles. I will cut up some of the pork tenderloin and put it in my pasta. Yum!

Enjoy!

-Anita 

Thai Mango Curry With Chicken

This is my favorite meal to make at home. It is so good!

Many years ago, my cousin came to my house and made this curry. I have no idea where it came from, but I know it is delicious!

You have to try it!

I'm warning you now, it is not the prettiest, but it is the tastiest! :)

You'll need

• 1 Serrano pepper 
• 2 mangoes (or 2 cups of frozen mango)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce (La Choy and Kroger brand are gluten free)
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1/4 cup of flaked coconut 
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar 
• 1/4 cup of thinly sliced green onions
• 1 small package of silvered almonds (found in the baking aisle)
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• Rice noodles
• 1-1.5 pounds of cubed chicken (spiced with powered ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper)

First, season the chicken with salt, pepper, powered ginger, and powered garlic.

Cook it up on a skillet (or in the oven, or grill...or however you'd like!)

Get your blender out.  Put the garlic, ginger, Serrano pepper (with the seeds), and soy sauce inside. Give it a blend. 

Then, add the cilantro to the blender and give it another blend. 

Lastly, add the mango. I have to blend everything in many steps, because I want the liquid to help blend up the frozen mango. If it it is fresh mango, you should be able to blend all of the ingredients at once. 

I know it's not the most appetizing color, but you're going to have to trust me on this recipe! :) 

Now, head to the stove. Let one tablespoon of butter melt, and add the sliced green onions and the silvered almonds. The almonds in the recipe are my favorite part! Don't leave them out! 

Cook them until the almonds are fragrant, but  not brown. If you can't tell, just cook them for about 5 minutes. Continue to stir them around so they don't burn. 

When the almonds are done, add the cilantro mixture from the blender to the skillet. Add the flaked coconut and brown sugar to the skillet. Stir until they're completely mixed in. 

By now, your chicken should be cooled, so cut up your chicken into bite sized pieces. Add the chicken pieces to the mixture. 

It's done! Hooray! Serve with rice noodles (follow the directions on the package. It takes about 5 minutes once the water is boiled). 

Instead of eating it right there and then, I wanted to take it over to my boyfriend's house. So I got a little creative... 

And it didn't spill on the car ride over. Yay! 

When I got to Daniel's house, we cooked the rice noodles and ate. It was delicious! 

This is SO good! You will love it! It is seriously one of the tastiest foods ever! 

Enjoy!

-Anita