Today I’ve got a super fast, super easy, super yummy recipe to share with you: Soy-Marinated Pork Sandwiches. This is yet another recipe from the April 2013 issue of Cooking Light magazine. This issue focused on quick recipes and it is turning out to be my all-time favorite issue I’ve received in the 10 years (on and off) that I’ve been subscribing to CL. I’ve made five or six recipes from this issue so far and they’ve all been great. And my kids have eaten all of them! And I still have a bunch left on my list!
Soy-Marinated Pork Sandwiches
recipe courtesy of Cooking Light
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- 2 teaspoons sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste) or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil
- 12 ounces pork tenderloin, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons canola oil, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup shaved carrot
- 1/4 cup (1-inch) diagonally cut green onions
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 4 (1 1/2-ounce) whole-wheat hamburger buns
Preparation
- Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add pork to bowl; toss well to coat. Let pork mixture stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
- Preheat broiler to high.
- While pork marinates, combine vinegar, 1 teaspoon canola oil, and granulated sugar in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Add carrot, onions, and cilantro; toss to coat.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 teaspoon canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes or until done, turning occasionally.
- While pork cooks, place buns on a baking sheet, cut sides up. Broil 1 minute or until lightly toasted. Top bottom halves of buns evenly with pork. Divide carrot mixture evenly among servings. Cover sandwiches with top halves of buns.
Modifications
I’ve made this recipe twice and followed it very closely both times. The only ingredients I leave out are the green onions and cilantro for the carrot salad because I don’t care for onions and I know the kids would rebel against the cilantro. The second time I made this I grilled the pork instead of sauteeing it. It was OK, but a lot of the marinade dripped off so it wasn’t as flavorful as it was when I cooked it on the stove. Next time I’ll go back to the skillet.
The Verdict
This was definitely a successful recipe! It’s really fast, even with the marinating time which was a little bit of a surprise to me. When I make it, I get the pork into the marinade first thing, then prepare the rest of the meal while it sits. The pork cooks so quickly that I actually have the kids set the table before I make it so it will still be hot by the time we sit down. Both my kids and my husband commented that it smelled awesome while it was cooking with good reason — the pork is delicious and tender. I also really loved the carrot salad which adds a nice crunch to the sandwiches but the boys could take it or leave it, I think.
