Vietnamese Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Cold Asian Noodle Salad

Recipe: Grilled Pork Tenderloin w/ Cold Asian Noodles

Wine: A crisp, refreshing Viognier like the one from the Viognier Queen, Morgan Clendenen, of Cold Heaven Cellars. You can’t go wrong with the 2008 Le Bon Climat Viognier| $30 bottle with flavors of peach, pear, apricot and vanilla. On the nose and in the mouth there is wet stone and stone fruit pit. The structure is completely natural and is the product of Santa Maria’s long cool growing season.

Recipe compliments of Jennifer Cox, head chef at Occasions By Jennifer.

This culinary trip found me visiting the far off land of Vietnam, which is actually the birthplace of my husband, who was adopted by an American family at the age of 6 month – right at the very end of the war.  Having been integrated into all things American, my husband had never so much as tasted foods from his native culture until I made this dish for the first time a few years back.

To his delight, the flavor profile was not as foreign as he had imagined it and he enjoyed the meal immensely.  Well, there was one thing.  The fish sauce.  Of that ingredient he was not a fan.  I tried to explain to him that it added depth to the marinade – a complexity that you couldn’t get from anything else – but it didn’t matter.  From that point forward it was requested that any Asian dish I cooked be “fish sauce free”.

Well, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.  I snuck it in there, but just to the point where if there were one more drop he’d pick it out.  Sneaky, I know – but so worth the outcome.  My personal ingredient confusion was with the combining of cilantro, mint and basil.  I couldn’t figure out how those three could possibly marry and make sense.  I think you’ll agree with me once you’ve tried it that it is one of the most surprisingly amazing trio of tastes your tongue has ever met!

This dish is the perfect summertime meal as it utilizes the ease of outdoor cooking (no hot kitchen!) with clean and bright ingredients that come together beautifully.  The contrast of the sweet and spicy pork with the light, cool flavors of the noodle salad is just right, especially with the combination of the fresh cilantro, mint and basil.  Pair with a Gewurztraminer to keep the whole thing harmoniously refreshing.

Cheers!
Jennifer

(Side note:  Make sure you make enough for leftovers as this dish is even better the next day – and you will want more – trust me . . .)

Vietnamese Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Marinade

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon shallot, minced
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced or 1 teaspoon hot chili oil
• Asian fish sauce, to taste
• 2 teaspoons toasted or black sesame seeds, optional

Place pork tenderloin in heavy duty zip-top storage bag.  Mix together all nine marinade ingredients and pour over tenderloin.  Seal bag and refrigerate for at least an hour.  Remove bag from refrigerator and let pork come up to room temperature before grilling.

Heat grill to 400.  Remove pork from bag* and place on grill grate.  Grill for approximately 4 minutes on each side or until desired doneness is reached.  Remove from grill and let rest for approximately 5-10 minutes before slicing.

*You can either discard the remaining marinade or you can bring it to a boil in a sauce pan until it reduces by about ½ and then you can use it to glaze pork as it cooks on the grill.

Cold Asian Noodle Salad

• 1 package rice noodles (vermicelli)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon hot chili oil, optional
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced or julienned
• 2 green onions, greens and whites, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced or julienned
• 3/4 cup julienned English cucumber
• 1 cup bean sprouts, optional
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh mint
• 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh basil

Optional

• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted, for garnish
• 4 tablespoons unsalted peanuts, for garnish

Boil noodles according to package directions and drain.  Rinse with cold water to halt the cooking process.  Gently toss noodles with the first 4 ingredients, coating thoroughly.  Add the remaining eight ingredients, distributing as evenly throughout the noodles and dressing as possible.  Refrigerate for approximately 45 minutes to an hour or until chilled through.