Sous Vide Char Siu Tenderloin
Category: Bento Box
Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 1 day
Cooking time: 1 hr 15 min
Serves 2-3
Char siu is a classic Chinese dish that needs no introduction. Sweet, salty, umami, juicy and fatty pork roasted to perfection. This dish can not only be found all over China, it can be found all over Asia and America. However, the only problem with this dish is how many calories it has. Due to the fatty nature of pork shoulder or pork belly (the traditional cuts of this dish), one can end up eating way too many calories by accident. While the concept of switching to a pork loin or pork tenderloin is not new, roasting it in a conventional way just leaves you with a dry product that is not as good. However, by using sous vide you can control the temperature and time the pork cooks out leaving you with juicy, flavorful, and melt in your mouth char siu. Paired with some pickled sweet cucumbers and rice this makes the perfect lunch or easy weeknight dinner.
Food Dictionary:
Sous Vide: A method of cooking, that heats your food in a temperature-controlled water bath. The benefits include the fact that you can never overcook your food and that it is very hands-off.
The Recipe:
Ingredients:
For the Char Siu
1 whole pork tenderloin (roughly 1lb)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon black Chinese vinegar
2 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine)
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 pieces of red or white fermented bean curd
3 tablespoons of honey or malt sugar syrup
3 cloves of minced or grated garlic
½ tablespoon grated ginger
½ tablespoon Chinese 5 spice powder
1 ½ tablespoon of sweet Chinese black bean paste
Pickled Sweet Cucumbers
2 Persian cucumber
1 tablespoon of white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
1 tablespoon of honey
½ tablespoon water
The Process:
Start by getting your mise en place ready. Thinly slice your cucumber, mince your garlic, grate your ginger and mash your fermented bean curd.
In a large bowl, combine your garlic, ginger, five-spice powder, light, and dark soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, sesame oil, Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, red or white fermented bean curd, honey or malt sugar syrup and black bean paste. Whisk until smooth and taste for seasoning. If it's too salty add more honey/malt syrup or just add sugar.
Add your pork into the bowl making sure to submerge it completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and place into the fridge to marinate for at least 12 hours but ideally 24 hours.
Take your thinly sliced cucumbers and add them to a smaller bowl with your, mirin, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, kosher salt, honey, and sesame seeds. Taste and adjust. Let sit for at least 1 hour before use.
Once your pork is done marinating, remove from the marinade (make sure to reserve) and dry on some paper towels. Place the pork into a vacuum-sealed bag or into a heavy-duty ziplock bag and remove as much air as possible.
Fill a large heat-safe vessel with warm water and place your pork inside. Attach your sous vide machine and set it to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook for 1 hour making sure the pork does not float to the surface.
Transfer the marinade to a saucepan and bring to a simmer, reduce the sauce gently by 1/3rd, and set aside to cool.
After your pork is done cooking, remove from the bag and dry on some paper towels.
Brush the pork with your glaze and place into a preheated 500-degree oven for 2 mins on each side
Alternatively, you can use a blow torch to char the outside of the pork tenderloin
Let the pork rest for 1 minute and slice into ½ inch pieces. Dress the meat with some more sauce and garnish with a healthy side of your pickled cucumbers.
