Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Pan-Roasted 5-Spice Pork Loin – Pleasing and Teasing

Now that it’s been posted, I can admit this easy, pan-roasted pork loin was just an elaborate tease for a video I’ve wanted to post for years; the Vietnamese bánh mì sandwich! If you’ve had one, you’ll fully understand my excitement. If you haven’t, do not miss the next video.

Having admitted my true motivation, I will also say that this very tasty technique is impressive enough in its own right. The misleadingly simple marinade produces big flavor, and by splitting/scoring the pork, we not only have something that absorbs the seasoning quickly, but also cooked faster, and more uniformly.

I’ve been trying to get you to buy that bottle of Asian fish sauce for years now, and maybe this will be the recipe that does it. That really is a key here, as is the Chinese 5-spice powder. Mine included cinnamon, ginger, anise seed, fennel seed, and clove; but this can vary brand to brand. Whatever you find should work, otherwise, just combine equal parts of what I just listed, and you’ve made you own.

I think this particular marinade works great for a 30-minute soak at room temp. Just keep turning it over every so often, and that’s it, you’re ready to cook. Or simply wrap and keep in the fridge for 2-3 hours, or even up to overnight. So, stay tuned for the upcoming bánh mì video, and in the meantime, I really hope you give pan-roasted pork loin a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 4 large portions:
2 pound boneless pork loin roast, cut in half lengthwise, and scored
For the marinade:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 cloves garlic, finely minced or crushed
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons sriracha, or to taste
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil for the pan

30 comments:

Kennapop3 said...

Can one cook Asian food without fish sauce, sure but why? We can not wait for what's coming!

Lish & Matt said...

Jalapeño slaw you say? Ok, we are going to need details.

Chef Breaux said...

Just made the marinade, put it in the refrigerator so I can use it for tomorrow's dinner! Question: If I were to put this on the grill, would the cooking time be relatively the same? I was thinking about heating the grill to 350. I was also concerned if it would be too salty, so I cut it down to 1/2 tsp of fine salt.

Chef Breaux said...

What knifes do you use? I have wüstof knifes, but yours seems to cut through the meat easier p.

Unknown said...

You don't have to convince me to buy some Asian fish sauce. I have been using Asian fish sauce for some time now. I use it as my secret ingredient in place of anchovies in my Caesar salad dressing . Just don't tell my husband who claims he's allergic to seafood.

rodentraiser said...

This one goes on the to-do list. Only because I am still behind trying out recipes. *sigh*

Chef John, I was wondering, along with your 'salt' video, would it be possible for you someday to make a short video on why you use certain pans for certain foods, like stainless steel sometimes and ceramic another time, and maybe a crash course on how to cook with those pans?

For instance, I may get a stainless steel set and when I go to Youtube to see how to cook with them, all I see are people seasoning their stainless steel pans. I don't think you do that, do you?

I thought other people might be as confused as I am about this. Anyway, I just thought I'd ask.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Carpe Diem said...

Thank you for another great recipe Chef John. Can't wait to try out this one.
If I may suggest one thing and it has nothing to do with this dish.
Can't you make a video or a blog post on different stuffing's for birds ? You know chicken, duck, turkey ? Please, please Chef John <3

Elisha said...

Question you knew was coming...what do you think about using this technique on turkey breast?
thanks!

Spike Spiegel said...

Wow! This looks incredible and I'll be trying it soon. It is a great indoor recipe for those of us trapped in the frozen tundra and I think the technique lends itself to so many other flavor combinations e.g. Cajun, Honey Mustard, BBQ. It also cooks fast and being able to micro manage and build some crust while basting flavors into the scored areas is genius! Pork loin seems like the perfect cut for this. Obviously I feel like a light-bulb was just turned on.

The only questionable ingredient for me is the diced garlic in the marinade. I love garlic but it seems like there's a good chance of burning it which for me is really unappetizing. When I make this recipe I plan on roasting a few cloves and injecting them in the loin. Problem solved!

Thanks Chef John!!

Anonymous said...

A Gratuitous use of "Hey Everybody!"

Jalapeno Slaws was covered years ago by CJ. Just use the search function in the blog!

Unknown said...

where does one find "the blogpost"

Chef Breaux said...

Finished it a few hours ago! It was excellent and moist!

Leigh said...

Made this tonight. Amazing!

Unknown said...

Hey chef I've got an equipment question for you! I've read a lot about how you shouldn't be using acid on well seasoned cast iron, but it seems to me that the bulk of the marinade was acid. Can you tell me a little bit about when it's okay to use acid in a cast iron pan?

I second rodentraiser's request for an equipment video, or even a quick blog post if you can!

Thanks chef!

Jeff the Chef said...

This looks delicious, but I still will not buy fish sauce ... only because it's called "fish sauce." I'm still working out my feelings about duck sauce; maybe I need duck sauce closure before I embrace the fish.

Lillian Chung said...

My food wish: That Chef John will visit Austin TX and try the green chile queso at Torchy's Tacos, and present his version of it here. Oh, how I wish... =)

Unknown said...

I just made this and it is fantastic! Really easy, quick, very flavorful and moist. Sevie, I didn't find it too salty at all. Spike, I think because there's plenty of/enough liquid in the marinade, burning garlic was not an issue. Jeff the Chef: jump in and buy some fish sauce. It will open up to you an entire hemisphere of delicious foods to you!

Unknown said...

OUTSTANDING chef John!!!

Unknown said...

Tasted good, couldn't get the final product to look as good as yours though.

Elisha said...

Made it with turkey breast (keep kosher, so no pork) and it was absolutely delicious. I used the same technique of slicing in half and scoring, and it cooked to juicy perfection. Served with white rice and your Pickled Ginger & Asian Pear Coleslaw...a wonderful meal.

Thanks!

Jim said...

Finally made it this week.

Best. Pork. Ever. Seriously.

Carrie said...

OMG Amazing! Easy and delicious 😋
Thank you very much, Chef

Billy MacKenzie said...

Our kitchen fan doesn't blow smoke outside but actually believe it or not blows it back into the kitchen, hence rendering the house full of smoke anytime we cook meat like you do in the video. I'm saving up for a fan that blows outside but it's expensive. In the mean time would you have a recommendation on how long and at what temp I should cook this in the oven for?

Uncle Ebeneezer said...

This looks like a great recipe. We just got back from Vietnam last month and the Banh Mi over there (Hoi An) was SOOOOOO good. Our favorite was Banh Mi Phuong which was made famous by Anthony Bourdain, and wow, it did not disappoint. A couple things of note. Over there, most of the Banh Mi we had used red "bird's eye" Thai chiles as opposed to jalapenos. They had much more flavor than jalapenos, which imo, are mostly kick/heat but not as much flavor. Also the mayo/sauce on the sandwiches was spicy and more towards the brown side of the spectrum than this recipe. Heavier on the Hoisin, I assume. Anyways, gonna try this recipe tonight with a few slight mods. Can't wait!!

@Chef John- if you ever get the chance, you should look into Khmer recipes as well (if you haven't already.) The Khmer food we had in Cambodia surprised us with how yummy it was. Their black pepper pork chops alone are worth a look. Cheers.

Unknown said...

I loved the 5 Spice pork loin. I just made it today for my brother. I wasn't sure if he would like it but we both thought it is EXCELLENT. I made Jasmine rice , sautéed Snow peas and homemade crab Rangoon . The pork was tasty I had to leave a review! Thanks for the video recipes!

Unknown said...

Ok Chef John, I've recently discovered all of your videos and have had two successful meals this week thanks to you. Not just successful... LEGENDARY. This pork loin roast (and the bahn mi that it turned into, and plans for pho with leftover pork tomorrow) turned out as beautiful as the pictures! And tasty, did I mention it was in fact the best sandwich I've had in a long while? The other meal would be the chicken KE-BEHBS with homemade pita... you have no idea how many people have asked me for the pita recipe. But that's another post. Keep them coming, John! You are the top dog of your food blog.

Dantwan said...

Made this today, it was incredible! We ate most of it before we even had a chance to make the Bahn Mi to put it on! The meat tasted just like at the Vietnamese restaurants I've been to, and it was super easy to make!

Bill said...

So I tried this -- and got very good reviews.
Thanks, Chef!

Unknown said...

I make this sandwich with the 5 spice pork loin probably once every other month. It’s certainly in my rotation and it’s truly wonderful. Although I add a splash of fish sauce in my secret sauce, and I add more jalapeño but I include it with the quick pickle dikion/carrot slaw. I love spicy but prefer is more equally distributed throughout the dish.
I serve it with crispy fries and a ketchup/sriracha “srirachup” dip for the fries.
Props, Chef. Great recipe.