Chinese Pork and Zucchini Noodles with Bok Choy
Try this Chinese Pork and Zucchini Noodles with Bok Choy recipe
Try this Chinese Pork and Zucchini Noodles with Bok Choy recipe
- salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons honey
- sesame seeds for garnish
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- sliced scallions for garnish
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- â¼ teaspoon chinese five spice powder
- 1-1.25 pound pork tenderloin
- 4 heads baby bok choy leaves separated
- 4 medium zucchini blade d, noodles trimmed
- Carbohydrate 173.071950016558 g
- Cholesterol 1.44 mg
- Fat 37.5724000549268 g
- Fiber 50.5255625605617 g
- Protein 67.4175437562329 g
- Saturated Fat 5.41740000780954 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (4535g)
- Sodium 5173.99182609206 mg
- Sugar 122.546387455996 g
- Trans Fat 4.17194000245526 g
- Calories 1101 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Set a wire rack on a foil-lined baking sheet and set aside.
- In a small bowl mix together the honey, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ginger, and Chinese five spice powder. Cut the pork in half crosswise and and pierce all over with a fork. Rub the pork with 2 tablespoons of the marinade and season with salt and pepper. Place the pork on the wire rack and roast for 10 minutes or until the surface looks dry.
- Brush the pork with another 3 tablespoons of the marinade and reserve the rest. Return the pork to the oven and cook for 16-18 minutes (or if using a thermometer, center registers at 145 degrees.)
- Halfway through cooking the pork, heat half of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is shimmering, add the bok choy and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Set the bok choy aside using tongs and immediately add the remaining oil and then the zucchini noodles into the skillet and cook for 5 minutes or until al dente.
- Once pork is done cooking, slice the pork into medallions (rounds). Divide the noodles into shallow bowls and top with bok choy. Drizzle the reserved marinade on top and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.
A printed ingredient list cannot convey how high oven heat transforms sugars into a lacquered glaze while safeguarding lean meat from drying out inside a dry-heat environment set to 475 degrees. Piercing the pork tenderloin all over with a fork creates microscopic channels that allow the aromatic marinade of hoisin, ginger, and Chinese five-spice to penetrate the protein fibers rather than merely sitting on the exterior surface. When roasting lean cuts, elevating the meat on a wire rack set over a foil-lined baking sheet promotes circulating air currents beneath the roasting pork so the underside cooks evenly without steaming in accumulated pan juices.
Executing this dinner successfully requires pairing the sweet, savory profile of spiced pork with clean, crisp accompaniments that offset the dense concentration of sodium from soy and oyster sauces. Steamed jasmine rice or plain brown rice works well to absorb excess pan drippings and reserved marinade without competing with the ginger notes, while a sharp cucumber salad dressed simply in rice vinegar provides a refreshing acidic contrast to the rich glaze. These straightforward sides balance the intense aromatic qualities of the main course by introducing neutral starches and palate-cleansing crunch.
Home cooks frequently ruin this dish by overcrowding the skillet when cooking zucchini noodles, which releases trapped water and boils the vegetables into a mushy state instead of achieving a tender-crisp al dente texture. High heat and a dry pan are mandatory when flash-cooking zucchini noodles for exactly five minutes, ensuring excess moisture evaporates immediately rather than pooling at the bottom of the serving bowls. Working in batches prevents temperature drops in the skillet and maintains the structural integrity of both the zucchini and the baby bok choy leaves.
Monitoring internal temperature with a digital thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the pork guarantees food safety without overcooking the tenderloin past the optimal 145 degrees Fahrenheit mark. Resting the roasted meat for five minutes before slicing into medallions allows muscle fibers to relax and reabsorb juices that would otherwise bleed across the cutting board. Letting the glaze reduce slightly during the initial ten-minute oven roast builds the sticky viscosity necessary for clinging properly to the sliced pork rounds.
