Talk about insanely delicious dinner ideas. These Sticky Glazed Pork Rice Bowls are HEAVEN, and they come together in 25 minutes flat with a sticky-sweet honey-chili glaze, fluffy white rice, and crunchy garnishes. If you've already burned through my Asian Pork Meatball Bowls and Korean Meatball Rice Bowls, this is the next pork-and-rice meal you need on the weekly rotation. And if you're feeling more weekend than weeknight, my Thai Style Baby Back Ribs are right there with you.
Sticky Glazed Pork Rice Bowls at a Glance
- 🕒 Total Time: 25 minutes (10 min prep + 15 min cook)
- 👪 Servings: 4
- 🍝 Cuisine Type: Asian Fusion / Weeknight Dinner
- 🧂 Flavor Profile: Sticky and sweet from honey, garlicky and gingery, with chili heat balanced by quick-pickled cucumbers and fresh herbs
- 📖 Dietary Info: Contains pork; naturally dairy-free; gluten-free if you confirm your chili garlic sauce is GF (most are)
- 📦 Storage Notes: Refrigerate covered for 3–4 days; reheat over medium with a splash of water to loosen the glaze; freezing not recommended (the rice gets gummy)
- ⭐Why You'll Love It: Pork tenderloin in a sticky honey-chili glaze served over rice with quick-pickled cucumbers and fresh herbs. 25 minutes, restaurant-style depth, the kind of weeknight bowl you'll crave again next Tuesday.
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Why I love this Recipe
Here’s the deal - you’ll need 1: a rice base for this dish. 2: some incredible protein in the form of pork that comes with the best sticky sauce. And 3: a few garnishes to really seal the deal. It’s incredible.
Made with pork tenderloin, this is one of those meals that can be made in no time and I promise you, it’ll be on the weekly rotation for dinners. Pork tenderloin can be prepared a number of ways and is flavorful, lean and easy to cook. It’s quick too. Two things to keep in mind when you’re cooking tenderloin: You’re going to be looking for an internal cooking temperature of 145° F. Once it’s cooked, you’ll want to let the pork rest for a few minutes to let the juice redistribute. This will help make the pork as delicious as possible and extra juicy. Check out pork.org for more tips and trips to making perfect pork dishes every time
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Substitutions & Swaps
🐖 Pork
- Pork tenderloin (called for) - The leanest, fastest cook
- Boneless pork loin chops - Cube and sear; same cook time
- Ground pork - Brown and crumble for a faster build
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs - Cut into ½-inch strips, marinate the same way
- Extra-firm tofu - Press 30 minutes, cube, dust in cornstarch and sear hard
🌶️ Heat
- Sambal oelek - Cleaner heat than chili garlic sauce, less garlic forward
- Sriracha - Sweeter and sharper, reduce honey by 1 tablespoon to keep it balanced
- Gochujang - Korean swap, deeper fermented umami
- Reduce to 1.5 to 2 tbsp - Several readers flag the full 4 tablespoon as too spicy for kids; cut for a milder bowl
- Mild ketchup-based glaze - For heat-averse eaters: swap chili sauce for 4 tablespoon ketchup + 1 teaspoon paprika
🍯 Sweetener
- Maple syrup - Same 1:1 swap, cleaner sweetness, slightly less sticky
- Brown sugar (½ cup) - Deeper caramel notes, dissolve in 2 tablespoon warm water before adding
- Honey-mustard blend - Honey + 1 tablespoon Dijon for tangy variation
🍚 Rice or Base
- Jasmine rice - Aromatic, classic pairing
- Short-grain sushi rice - Stickier, gives a more bowl-style hold
- Cauliflower rice - Low-carb option, sauté quickly with sesame oil
- Lo mein noodles - Toss with the glaze for a stir-fry-style version
🥒 Garnishes
- Quick-pickled red onion - Adds tang in place of cucumber
- Crispy fried shallots - Storebought is fine, adds crunch
- Toasted peanuts or cashews - For nuttiness and texture
- Lime wedges - Bright finish that cuts through the sticky glaze
- Soft-boiled egg - 6 minutes, jammy yolk, the move when you want this for breakfast
We all know I love a pork recipe. It’s so wildly versatile:
- We’ve made a Thai-inspired rib platter with smashed cucumbers
- I’ve made it into the best taco filling ever
- Turned it into succulent meatballs
- Made a pork chop to end all pork chops
🐖🍯🌶️ Tips & Tricks for the Best Sticky Glazed Pork Rice Bowls
Restaurant-style sticky glaze, pork that's juicy in 15 minutes flat
- Cut the pork tenderloin against the grain. Look for the muscle fibers and slice perpendicular. Cuts that go with the grain stay tough no matter how perfect your sear.
- Slice the strips uniform thickness. ¼-inch strips at 3 inches long is the move. Anything thicker overcooks on the outside before the inside hits 145°F.
- Pull the pork at 145°F internal temp. Use a meat thermometer if you have one. Pork carries over 5°F as it rests, so 145 in the pan is 150 by the time it hits the bowl. Past that and it's dry.
- Rest the pork 3 minutes before glazing. Slap it on a plate while you build the glaze. Resting redistributes juice into the meat instead of onto the cutting board.
- Sear in batches no bigger than a single layer. Crowding drops the pan temp 100°F and you'll end up with steamed gray pork. Two or three rounds, even if it feels slow.
- Get the pan hot before the pork goes in. Cast iron over medium-high until you see the oil shimmer and just start to smoke. That's when you build crust.
- Build the glaze in the same pan. All that browned fond at the bottom is flavor. Hit it with the honey-chili-vinegar mixture and scrape as it bubbles.
- Reduce the glaze until it coats the back of a spoon. Two to three minutes at a hard boil. If it's still thin when you add the pork back, the bowls will be soupy instead of sticky.
- Toss the pork in the glaze for 30 seconds, no longer. You're coating, not cooking. Past a minute and the lean meat tightens up and dries out.
- Quick-pickle the cucumbers while the pork sears. Five minutes in rice wine vinegar with a pinch of salt is plenty. They cut through the sticky glaze and refresh every bite.
You get the idea…. So say hello to these Sticky Glazed Pork Rice Bowls and add them to your pork rotation!!
Sticky Glazed Pork Rice Bowls
Another incredible easy weeknight meal for you - this time in the form of Sticky Glazed Pork Rice Bowls!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless center cut pork tenderloin, cut into ¼-inch thick strips, about 3 inches long
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 6-8 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 inch knob of ginger, finely chopped
- ½ cup honey
- 4 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
For Bowls
- white rice, cooked
- green onions
- sesame seeds
- thinly sliced cucumbers, tossed in rice wine vinegar
- cilantro and mint to garnish
Instructions
- Whisk together the honey, chili garlic sauce, and rice wine vinegar. Set aside
- Heat the oil into a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Season the pork liberally with salt and black pepper and toss to combine. Carefully add the pork to the pan once the oil is hot. Depending on the size of your pan, you might need to do this in batches to avoid overcrowding. You just want an even layer of pork so all the strips are touching the cast iron on one side. Let the first side brown, flip the pieces with a pair of tongs, and brown the second side. Transfer the pork to a plate.
- Once the pork has been cooked and all has been removed to a plate, add about tablespoon of oil if needed and add in the garlic and ginger. Sauté for 30 seconds. Once fragrant, pour in the sauce mixture and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently so nothing sticks or burns. When the sauce is bubbly, add the pork back in and toss to coat everything. The sauce will reduce to a thick, sticky glaze and coat the pork. Serve immediately over rice bowls with all the assorted toppings.
Notes
- Cut the pork tenderloin against the grain. Look for the muscle fibers and slice perpendicular. Cuts that go with the grain stay tough no matter how perfect your sear.
- Slice the strips uniform thickness. ¼-inch strips at 3 inches long is the move. Anything thicker overcooks on the outside before the inside hits 145°F.
- Pull the pork at 145°F internal temp. Use a meat thermometer if you have one. Pork carries over 5°F as it rests, so 145 in the pan is 150 by the time it hits the bowl. Past that and it's dry.
- Rest the pork 3 minutes before glazing. Slap it on a plate while you build the glaze. Resting redistributes juice into the meat instead of onto the cutting board.
- Sear in batches no bigger than a single layer. Crowding drops the pan temp 100°F and you'll end up with steamed gray pork. Two or three rounds, even if it feels slow.
- Get the pan hot before the pork goes in. Cast iron over medium-high until you see the oil shimmer and just start to smoke. That's when you build crust.
- Build the glaze in the same pan. All that browned fond at the bottom is flavor. Hit it with the honey-chili-vinegar mixture and scrape as it bubbles.
- Reduce the glaze until it coats the back of a spoon. Two to three minutes at a hard boil. If it's still thin when you add the pork back, the bowls will be soupy instead of sticky.
- Toss the pork in the glaze for 30 seconds, no longer. You're coating, not cooking. Past a minute and the lean meat tightens up and dries out.
- Quick-pickle the cucumbers while the pork sears. Five minutes in rice wine vinegar with a pinch of salt is plenty. They cut through the sticky glaze and refresh every bite.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 1508mg | Potassium: 712mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 2mg
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I have a pork sirloin roast in the freezer. Would there be a way to subsitute that and make it a slow cooker or instant pot meal?
What can you substitute for the chilli garlic sauce? We hate spice
just omit it
So tasty! I used ground pork since that's what I had on hand and also added pickled jalapeños
I am confused. Is the pork tenderloin in the recipe, raw or previously cooked?
Pork is raw and you cook it in step 2
Made this for my dinner for my family and everyone licked their bowls clean! It’s worth noting that we really love spice, and this dish is spicy! If you’re making for kids you may want to cut the chili garlic sauce in half. Will definitely make this again!
I made this recipe last night and my family, once they got over the extreme heat from the chili garlic sauce, really enjoyed it. It’s going on repeat but with maybe 1/2 the chili garlic sauce.
Can I make this with chicken breast?
I make it with chicken and it's awesome!
I shared this recipe with my husband so he could make it for dinner. I purchased 1.5 lbs of pork as per the original recipe. Maybe it was the music, the activity in the kitchen, or the whiskey, but somehow my husband accidentally clicked on 3X in the recipe early in the process. As we sat down to enjoy our dinner, he noted, "Wow! This recipe called for an entire bottle of honey and like 12 tablespoons of chili garlic sauce..." Yes friends, this is a true story. Was it sweet and spicy? Yes would be an understatement. Did we still eat it because we have ravenous teenage boys and were all starving? Yes again. Did we feel the aftermath that night and the next day? Yep. Would we make this again? Absolutely!!!! Thanks for another great recipe, Gaby. Your chicken parm meatballs are our new favorite.
Maybe you'll appreciate this story as someone with a husband as well. 😉
Just to clarify - we would make it again with the *correct* ingredient quantities.
FANTASTIC!!!
This was amazing. I added some quick pickled red onion to the bowls too. This will go into regular rotation.
What is the chili garlic sauce? Where do you get it? Brand?
Also can you sub olive oil for veg oil or another kind of oil/fat?
Thanks
Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce - the one with the green cap! and yes you could use olive oil for sure
This dish is amaZing!!! Super easy, big flavors and we ALL enjoyed. The only change I made was the amount of chili garlic sauce added - We (kids included) love spice and wanted to be able to add more if needed. I only used 1 1/2 tablespoons and it was warm but perfect0!!! For us, 4 would have been too much...
Thank youuuuuuu Gaby 🙂
This is a fantastic recipe! Easy and quick to put together and so delicious! It’s everything Gaby says it is!
I cannot wait to try this one! I know I will love it!
Oh my Gaby, this looks absolutely delicious! You just keep binging it!!