Korean Pork w/ Baked Apples

It's two for one night! 2 recipes in 1 post!

I usually make a roast chicken on Friday nights, if we don't go out for Happy Hour cocktails and dinner (it's always happy hour at this house!).

With the economy the way it has been lately, I decided to stay in for a change and cook on a Friday night.

Pam from For the Love of Cooking made this great sounding Korean Roast Pork Tenderloin she found in Cooking Light magazine.

I am not a huge pork fan, but I have to say, this was EXCELLENT! So easy and so moist! It made delicious sandwiches the next day with some chutney on top.

Korean Style Roast Pork Tenderloin:(courtesy of Cooking Light)

~ 1/3 cup of low sodium soy sauce (I used Teryaki, because I was out of soy!)
~ 2 tbsp sugar
~ 1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
~ 3 tbsp rice vinegar
~ 1 tbsp dark sesame oil
~ 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
~ 4 cloves of garlic, minced
~ 1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin

I had 2 pork tenderloins that were together in a vacuum packed bag, about 3 lbs., but I used the same amount of marinade as the recipe called for and it was fine.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and place your pork in a zip loc bag. Pour marinade over tenderloins and marinate at least 8 hours (you can marinate it overnight if you like, I did it for about 6 hours and it was super moist).

Take them out of the zip loc when ready to cook. Reserve marinade for sauce.

Brown them in a heavy skillet w/ some olive oil for about 3 minutes on each side.
Then I put the tenderloins in a roasting pan (you can put your skillet in the oven straight from the stove, but be careful, it gets HOT). Roast at 425 for 20 minutes, until temperature reaches 160. Let rest a few minutes before slicing so the juices redistribute.

Simmer the reserved marinade in a saucepan, this makes a nice gravy.

Wonderful!!!! The whole meal, including the baked apples was about $10. No kidding, and it could have fed 4 people generously plus a sandwich for lunch today.
Thanks Pam for posting this recipe. It is a keeper!



(see Baked Apple recipe below).





BAKED APPLES:
This was a great accompaniment to the Korean Pork Tenderloin.

~ 4 large baking apples (I used Jonagold)
~ 2 tbsp brown sugar
~ 1 tsp cinnamon
~ small handful of golden raisins
~ small handful of chopped pecans
~ 2 tbsp butter, cut into little cubes

The only pain about this recipe is coring the apples. If you have an apple corer, then good for you, but I didn't, so I had to cut the core out with a paring knife and melon ball scoop.

Ok, now the easy part.
Sprinkle the sugar mixture inside the holes of the apples and dot with butter cubes.
Place apples in a ceramic baking dish and bake 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees.
Spoon juices over the apples before serving.



The baked apples would also be a great low fat dessert. We loved them served as a side dish with the pork!
A perfect Autumn dish. I guess summer is really over.