Pickles and Tea Blog

When I’m struggling to put dinner on the table, I tend to rely on my oven.

My oven is truly a Godsend and my answer to saner, more manageable meal prep at the end of a busy weekday. A quick rub–or if I was actually organized, an overnight soak in marinade—is all it takes before I stick the meat in the oven and turn up the dial. While the meat is roasting, I’ll prepare a starch (often rice in the rice cooker) and a vegetable side (often salad or a quick stir-fry). Sometimes, I’ll just chop up some vegetables, coat with a glug or two of olive oil, and roast them in tandem with the meat. If I’m lucky, I’ll have time left over to watch cartoons with my son.

The meat I roast varies between Moroccan-spiced boneless chicken thighs (it takes barely 25 minutes to cook!)  and brined bone-in pork chops. And then there’s Lynn Chang’s pork tenderloin. A traditional English roast/Chinese barbecue pork mashup, this roast has become a family favorite.

It’s a winner in so many ways: you can prepare it the night before using only three ingredients you very likely already have in your pantry; the meat-loving members of your family will be happy (as will the “I don’t like weird Chinese food” members); you can pair it with rice and bok choy, or potatoes and buttered peas, and the tenderloin won’t mind a peep!

As one who is perpetually making do and making substitutes (I dislike purposefully buying ingredients for just one recipe!), let me give you some hints:

1. Tenderloin can be quite expensive so feel free to use center cut loin or pork shoulder. Just adjust the cooking time a little.
2. Bourbon, shaoxing wine, dry sherry, vermouth, etc. all functional equally well as the alcohol in this recipe.
3. I’ve used whole yogurt instead of sour cream. Crème fraîche or Greek yogurt would work as well.
4. If you don’t have dry mustard powder, any mustard will do—Dijon, grainy, maybe even give wasabi a try!

To celebrate this east-meets-west mashup, we’re giving away a copy of The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook bundled with Mastering the Art of French Eating (now available in paperback) by Ann Mah. I love Asian food and I love French food–it’s the perfect pairing!

All you have to do is sign up for my email list (if you haven’t already, which I’m sure you are) and leave a comment by Friday, October 31^stand I’ll randomly pick a winner.

(We can only mail to U.S. and Canadian addresses, sorry!)

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Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce (Kao Zhu Li Ji)

This dish sounds very much like an all-American roast, but it comes from Lynn Chang’s Cantonese maternal grandmother whom she calls popo. The original recipe uses Chinese rice wine but Lynn’s mother, Li, suggests using more readily available bourbon. It can be served as a main course with rice and a vegetable side dish like Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce.

Time: 1 hour 10 minutes (10 minutes active) plus marinating
Makes: 4 to 6 servings as part of a multicourse family-style meal

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup bourbon
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3-pound extra-lean pork tenderloin
Mustard Sauce (recipe follows)

Combine the soy sauce, bourbon, and brown sugar in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add the pork, seal the bag, and shake to coat the pork evenly. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or up to 12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a small roasting pan with foil.

Place the marinated pork in the prepared pan. Roast uncovered for about 1 hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F. Do not overcook.

Transfer the pork to a chopping board and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice into 1-inch medallions and serve with the mustard sauce.

Mustard Sauce

1⁄3 cup sour cream
1⁄3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dry mustard
3 green onions, white and green parts, finely chopped

In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, and green onions to form a smooth, creamy sauce.