Easy to prepare, Asian Pork Tenderloin is a favorite among my friends and family. The Asian-inspired marinade (which does double duty as a serving sauce) is full of bold, well balanced flavors – honey, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic and ginger. Plus, there’s a unique ingredient that adds an extra kick – curry powder! Whether grilled, roasted or cooked in a sous vide, this tasty pork tenderloin comes out perfectly tender and juicy, every time.
You Will Love This Asian Pork Tenderloin Recipe
This Pork Tenderloin Recipe with an Asian Marinade offers several compelling reasons to enjoy it. First, it’s an excellent addition to your collection of easy recipes. Pork tenderloin is known for its simplicity, making it a suitable choice for both novice and experienced cooks.
What sets this recipe apart is the infusion of delightful Asian flavors. The combination of savory and sweet ingredients including soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, and garlic creates a flavorful and tasty sauce that permeates the tenderloin, enhancing its taste.
Moreover, this dish provides a straightforward way to enjoy a quick, yet impressive meal. Pork tenderloin’s flexibility allows it to work well with various marinades and sauces, and the Asian marinade takes it up a notch.
Most importantly, when prepared correctly, this recipe consistently results in tender and juicy pork. This makes it a great addition to your culinary repertoire, whether you’re cooking for a special occasion or looking for a tasty weeknight dinner
Where Does This Asian Pork Marinade Come From?
This flavorful pork recipe comes from the fabulous cook and hostess, Constance Cain. Whenever the Cain family invites anyone for dinner, they move heaven and earth to be there. The setting is always lovely, the mix of people interesting and the food delicious. This pork doesn’t disappoint; I have served it several times to rave reviews — and the recipe testers for my cookbook “Fresh Tastes” loved it too.
What You’ll Need for This Asian Pork Recipe
For this Pork Tenderloin with Asian marinade, you’ll need the following ingredients.(details, including quantities, are included in the recipe card below):
- Low-sodium soy sauce
- Fresh lime juice
- Honey
- Olive oil
- Garlic cloves, minced
- Chopped fresh ginger
- Curry powder
- Ground black pepper
- pork tenderloin, silver skin (membrane) removed
- Sliced green onions, for garnish
How to Make Asian Pork Tenderloin
Marinate the pork
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, lime juice, honey, olive oil, garlic, ginger, curry powder and ground pepper.
- Combine soy sauce mixture and pork in a large resealable bag and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
Select cooking method
After marinating the tenderloin for anywhere from 1 to 12 hours, you have a choice of three different cooking methods – grilled, roasted, or sous vide. I provide independently tested, detailed directions for all three approaches in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of the three cooking methods:
- Grilled: Grilling the marinated pork adds a delicious smoky flavor and crispy exterior to the meat.
- Roasted: For an extra layer of flavor and texture, you can first sear the marinated pork tenderloin on a grill, in a grill pan or cast iron skillet and then roast it in the oven. This method will give you a tender, juicy pork tenderloin with a delicious crispy exterior.
- Sous Vide: Sous vide is a cooking method that involves placing the pork in a vacuum-sealed bag and cooking it in a water bath. This method delivers tender and juicy pork cooked exactly to the temperature you desire. Once cooked, you can quickly sear it on high heat (again, using a grill, grill pan or cast iron skillet) to achieve a crispy crust.
Note that pork tenderloin is a narrow and long cut of meat (usually around 1 to 2 inches in width). So, the key to keeping it moist and tender is not overcooking it. In fact, I highly recommend cooking it to a maximum internal temperature of 150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, no more.
Asian Pork Tenderloin Variations
While this pork tenderloin recipe is delicious, there are several ways to make it your own. Here are a few variations you can try:
- Substitute light brown sugar for the honey, which will add a rich, caramel-like flavor to the marinade.
- Add nuttiness by using sesame oil in place of the olive oil, and garnish the pork with toasted sesame seeds.
Storing Asian Pork
Place leftover cooked tenderloin in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it for up to 2 months.
To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in a 250 degree oven just until warmed through.
Asian Marinade for Pork Tenderloin FAQs
Yes you can freeze the uncooked pork in the marinade. Simply squeeze as much moisture as possible out of the zip top baggie before freezing. It should last for several months. When ready to cook, thaw in the refrigerator: put the frozen tenderloin in the frig in the morning and it should be thawed in time to cook for dinner.
I wouldn’t recommend marinating the pork in this recipe’s marinade for longer than 12 hours. The lime juice in it can start to break the meat down over time, changing the texture.
Yes you can, depending on the ingredients in the marinade.
For this recipe, I would marinade the pork for at least 1 hour. Because you are going to boil and use the marinade as a sauce, you’ll still get lots of the Asian flavor.
This cut of pork tenderloin, as the name implies, is naturally a tender cut of meat. Just make sure not to overcook it and it will come out moist and tender.
Pork loin and pork tenderloin are both cuts of pork, but they differ in terms of location, size, tenderness, and best cooking methods. The loin is a wider, thicker cut from the back of the pig, whereas pork tenderloin is a long, narrow, and cylindrical cut. And pork loin is relatively tender but not as much as pork tenderloin, which is renowned for its exceptional tenderness. Lastly, pork loin is often roasted or cut into chops, while pork tenderloin is typically cooked quickly through methods like pan-searing, grilling, or roasting.
The tenderloin cut of pork is best cooked quickly rather than slowly. Its natural tenderness and leanness make it ideal for fast cooking methods like pan-searing, grilling, or roasting at high temperatures. Slow-cooking methods may risk overcooking and drying out this cut.
How to Serve This Asian Pork Tenderloin
I recommend serving this pork with jasmine or basmati rice (or the Saffron Cilantro Rice in “Fresh Tastes”), and Lemon Dijon Green Beans with Caramelized Shallots. And, it’s also delicious with Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole.
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Cooking with fresh ginger
Are you intimidated by cooking with fresh ginger? Not sure how to buy it, prepare it or store it? Then watch my short video “All About Ginger”!
More Delicious Pork Recipes
- Spicy Rubbed Pork Tenderloin
- Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, Roasted or Grilled
- Pork Tenderloin with Port, Balsamic and Cranberry Sauce
- Roast Pork Loin with Fruit Conserves
- Boneless Pork Chops in Sous Vide
- Breaded Pork Chops
- Chimichurri Pork Chops
Asian Pork Tenderloin
Tender and juicy, Asian Pork Tenderloin is a family favorite. The Asian-inspired marinade (which does double duty as a serving sauce) is full of bold, well balanced flavors. Whether grilled, roasted or cooked in a sous vide, this easy to prepare pork tenderloin comes out perfectly tender and juicy, every time.
Note that the pork needs to marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Marinade + Rest time: 70 mins
- Cook Time: 18 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 33 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
(See gluten-free adaptations in the Notes section at the bottom of the recipe.)
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup (2 large limes) fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 (1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds) pork tenderloin, silver membrane removed
- Sliced green onion (white, light green and some dark green parts, for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, lime juice, honey, olive oil, garlic, ginger, curry powder and ground pepper.
- Combine soy sauce mixture and pork in a large zip top bag and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
Cooking on the grill
- Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill on high.
- Remove tenderloin from the bag and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour marinade into a medium saucepan.
- If using a gas grill, reduce heat on all burners to medium. Grill tenderloin, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Turn over and continue cooking, covered, for another 5 to 10 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 145 to 150 degrees.
- Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Finish the sauce while meat is resting (see below).
Cooking in the oven
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove tenderloin from the bag, place marinade in a medium saucepan and set aside. Sear the outside of tenderloin on a grill (or in an oiled grill pan or cast iron skillet) over high heat to mark; it usually takes about 5 minutes.
- Place tenderloin on prepared baking sheet and roast for around 10 to 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 145 to 150 degrees.
- Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Finish the sauce while meat is resting (see below).
Cooking in a sous vide
- Remove tenderloin from the bag, place marinade in a medium saucepan and set aside. Place tenderloin in a sealable bag, or in a zip top baggie and seal. If using zip top baggie, remove all the air from the bag (follow directions for your sous vide machine).
- Set your sous vide cooker to 140 to 145 degrees.
- Once preheated, add sealed bag to the water and cook for 2 hours.
- Around 10 to 15 minutes before you plan to take the pork out of the water bath, preheat a grill to high. Alternatively, just a few minutes before taking out of the water bath, preheat a grill pan or cast iron skillet.
- Remove pork from bag. Oil grill grate/pan/skillet. Grill pork on all sides, just until golden brown and nicely marked.
- Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Finish the sauce while meat is resting (see below).
Finishing the sauce and serving
- While the pork rests, in a small saucepan bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Slice tenderloins into 1/2- inch thick pieces and place on a large serving platter or individual serving plates.
- Spoon sauce over the top and sprinkle with green onion. Can also pass sauce on the side.
Notes
Gluten free: Substitute gluten-free tamari sauce for soy sauce.
- Category: main dish, meats
- Method: grilling, roasting, sous vide
- Cuisine: Asian
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