I usually say I don’t like pork tenderloin. I have had relatively poor results from the tubular meat in the Cryovac packaging in the past, plus I am just sort of freaked out by the look of it in general.

Still, it was on sale the other day, and I can’t resist a good deal. Also, I am growing weary of my usual chicken, ground turkey, pork chop rotation. I decided to give the old “pork T” another try.

This time I decided to cook it hot and fast instead of my usual slow and low method, and somehow, for meat in this shape, I think it worked better.

Because I’m watching our figures, I’ve been doing a lot of Asian dishes. Asian is great because it’s full of flavor but usually doesn’t have a lot of fat or unhealthy stuff. This meal was perfect on all counts, if I do say so myself.

Because the pork is a relatively small cut, it cooks quickly and left just enough time to whip up some orange noodles to go with.

I had two pre-seasoned pork tenderloins of the teriyaki variety, but if you have a plain one you can go ahead and doctor it up in a marinade of soy or teriyaki, sesame oil and garlic.

Orange Noodles with Pork “T”
4 cups linguini (about half a sleeve)
2 heads fresh broccoli
1 carrot
Handful grape tomatoes, halved
1/8 of a red onion
2 pork tenderloins
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon wasabi paste
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Begin by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. Sear the pork tenderloins in a hot skillet on the stove top on all sides, and then pop them into a baking dish, into the oven, and set the timer for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta in salty water.

Mix up your sauce, beginning with the corn starch and make a slurry with 1/2 cup of the orange juice. Whisk together then add the rest of the OJ, the soy sauce, minced garlic, Sriracha, wasabi, vinegar and sesame oil.

Set aside in a small saucepan.

Into the same skillet where you browned your meat, pour a dab of sesame or olive oil, and add the broccoli florets. Chop the carrot into small pieces and add it to the pan with the broccoli and a bit of the reserved sauce. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat or until everything is softened. Then add the onion and tomato and saute until warmed through and soft.

While the vegetables cook, warm your sauce. As it heats it will thicken. Once the noodles are done, add the sauce and the vegetables and slice the meat. The whole process should take half an hour.

I served it with a lovely spinach salad with a quick dressing I made of orange juice, cider vinegar, garlic powder, lime juice and soy sauce. A perfect complement.

Enjoy!

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