Thai Pork Tenderloin with Cucumber Salad

Thai Pork Tenderloin with Cucumber Salad

Serves 4

1	seedless English  cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced thin (I used a regular cucumber, which worked fine)
1/4	cup  thinly sliced  red onion
3	tablespoons  rice vinegar
1	tablespoon  plus 1 1/4 cups  unsweetened coconut milk
5	tablespoons  minced fresh cilantro
	Salt and pepper
2	(12-ounce)  pork tenderloins , trimmed (I used pork chops and that worked fine)
1	tablespoon  vegetable oil
1	tablespoon  grated fresh ginger
1	teaspoon  sambal oelek chili paste

1. Combine cucumber, onion, vinegar, 1 tablespoon coconut milk, 1 tablespoon cilantro, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in bowl. Refrigerate until chilled, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, pat pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook pork until browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.

2. Add ginger to now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in remaining 1¼ cups coconut milk and chili paste, scraping up any browned bits, until incorporated. Add pork and any accumulated juices and cook, turning occasionally, until sauce is thickened and meat registers 145 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer pork to carving board, tent loosely with foil, and rest for 5 minutes. Off heat, stir remaining ¼ cup cilantro into sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Slice pork and serve with cucumber salad

Thai Pork Tenderloin with Cucumber Salad

Pork tenderloin may cook quickly, but its lack of fat content makes it fairly lacking in the flavor department. We wanted to develop an authentic Thai sauce to add some much-needed flavor to our tenderloin. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

To offset the creamy sweetness of the coconut, we paired this dish with a light, refreshing cucumber salad.

It was essential to pat the pork dry before we browned it. Otherwise, it would not sear properly and develop a flavorful brown crust.

Cooking the pork with the coconut milk and chili paste flavored the meat through and through.

Source: http://www.cookscountry.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=29197