Sticky Glazed Pork Rice Bowls

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4.91 from 11 votes

Another incredible easy weeknight meal for you - this time in the form of Sticky Glazed Pork Rice Bowls!

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Fusion

Servings: people

Author: Gaby Dalkin

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.

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