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I had a lot of influence from Ina Garten in the early stages of my cooking career, assuming I can count the times I was sous-chefing for my mom as official culinary experience.
One of the dishes I became obsessed with for feeding a crowd was her Indonesian Ginger Chicken. I don’t remember when I tried the recipe for the first time. But I do remember the time I forced my mom to make it for 40 people.
In high school, I was a much more enthusiastic host than I was a cook. And my mom was the opposite. But somehow I roped her into letting me invite over all my nerdy horseback riding friends (and their parents) to the apartment we were renting in Lake Placid.
We were up there for a weeklong show, and since I assumed that everyone else ate as well as I did at home, I figured my peers would be craving a home cooked meal by day 3.
The rental apartment, of course, had no cooking equipment. So my mom and I visited the magical world of Costco and loaded up on aluminum roasting pans, 25 pounds of assorted bone-in chicken parts, 10 heads of garlic, and a piece of ginger root as long as my forearm. The marinade was relatively simple—just 4 ingredients, in fact. But the catch formaking it en masse was the grating of the ginger.
My mom had very few appliances in her kitchen (no food processor or mixer to speak of) so it never occurred to her that there might be a shortcut, or that chopping the ginger instead of grating it would probably be acceptable considering we were making an industrial sized batch of chicken with industrialized ingredients sourced from a store that was pretty much the opposite of the health markets where my mother normally shopped. But instead she earned many mommy martyr points, staying up until midnight grating ginger until her knuckles we raw, while I rested my delicate pony wrangling hands and got some beauty sleep.
When looking back and connecting the dots, Steve Jobs style, this dinner is one of the hosting memories that comes up again and again. As I get older, and become increasingly more crotchety and anti-social (more, dare I say it, like my mother), I realize that forcing anyone to interact with a crowd of horse people is probably worse punishment than losing a few knuckles to a box grater. And that probably earns her a few more mommy martyr points for life.
The chicken turned out amazing, in case you were wondering, even with a little extra blood, sweat and tears mixed in with the soy sauce. I’ve made similar marinades over the years, using chopped instead of grated ginger, and I’ve concluded that the real beauty of this recipe is letting the meat sit overnight.
This variation with pork tenderloin was one of the first recipes I posted on the site. I swapped in maple syrup for the honey and gluten-free tamari for the soy sauce. After roasting the loin in a very hot oven, the outside gets a beautiful crust and the marinadecaramelizes in a way that tastes just like a teriyaki sauce. I reduced the remaining marinade and drizzled it over the top for anelegant, upscale take on a basic pork stir fry.
When I’m making it for just Charlie and me, I like serving it over a bed of brown rice ramen and steamed bok choy. You can double the marinade to have extra sauce afterwards if you really like to let it soak your noods.
And so long as you don’t mind slicing up a bunch of meat before your guests arrive, this teriyaki pork ternderloin would also be a very good option to serve 40 or so of your closest friends, or a couple dozen random anti-social equestrians, if you want to earn extra points with your social, yet nerdy daughter.
If you’re looking for more pork loin marinades, this mustard-herb option from my Slow Roasted Pork Loin would also work great on a tenderloin.
Read on for the recipe and the brand new video showing how to make it!
With health and hedonism,
Phoebe
p.s. There’s only a few days left to sign up for this session of my course, 4 Weeks to Wellness! Get more info here on how we can make over your diet, daily habits, and self-care routines together.
Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin with Maple-Ginger Glaze
This oven roasted teriyaki pork tenderloin recipe couldn’t be more simple. It’s marinaded overnight in a healthy, gluten-free maple-ginger glaze and baked in the oven in under 20 min. It’s great over ramen or quinoa, with a side of steamed bok choy.
Prep Time 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes minutes
Total Time 25 minutes minutes
Servings 2 as a main; 4 with some sides
Author Phoebe Lapine
Ingredients
- ¼ cup organic maple syrup
- ¼ cup gluten-free tamari
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 inches fresh ginger root, minced
- 1 pound pork tenderloin
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions for garnish
Instructions
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, tamari, garlic, and ginger until smooth. Transfer the marinade to a resealable plastic bag. Add the pork and swish it around until coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Remove the pork from the marinade and set on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Roast in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, until the pork is nicely browned on top. Allow to rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, transfer the remaining marinade to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
Slice the pork on the bias, drizzle with the reduced sauce, and serve immediately garnished with the scallions.
Nutrition
Serving: 2g
If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe – I’d love to see it!
If you like this Roasted Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin, you’ll also love these other healthy crowd-pleasingmeatrecipes:
Super Speedy Pulled Pork Burrito Bowls with Quinoa and Kefir-Jalapeno Dressing
Homemade Herb Marinated Steak Gyros Plates with Tomato-Onion Salad, Gluten-Free Pitas, and Green Tahini-Yogurt Sauce
Easy Red Pork Posole
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