All the fresh vegetables in the garden inspired me to create this Hawaiian Pork bowl with a combination of raw and grilled vegetables. The recipe originated from a Food and Wine magazine but I couldn’t resist tweaking it a bit, and definitely adding more vegetables.
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 English breakfast tea bags
- One 1-pound pork tenderloin, butterflied and flattened
- 4 slices cooked bacon
- Three 1/2-inch-thick slices of fresh pineapple—peeled, quartered and cored
- 1 red onion, cut through the core into 1/4-inch wedges
- 1 red pepper, quartered
- 1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 a jalapeno, seeds removed, minced
- 2 tablespoons soya sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon raw sugar
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro, plus sprigs for serving
(I can’t say this enough, TASTE your jalapeno for spiciness, and add as much as you enjoy.)
- Steamed rice, crisp bacon, diced avocado and thinly sliced jalapeño, for serving
In a large bowl, combine the boiling water, sugar and tea bags and let stand for 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags and stir the tea to dissolve the sugar. Let cool completely, then add the pork and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Drain the pork and pat dry with paper towels. Brush the pork, pineapple, zucchini and red onion with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the pork over high heat, turning once, until lightly charred and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the pork registers 135°, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a carving board and let rest for 5 minutes, then slice the pork against the grain. Meanwhile, grill the pineapple and vegetables, turning until charred, about 4 -8 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk the lime juice with the minced cilantro, sugar, garlic, soya sauce, minced jalapeno, sesame oil and the 1/3 cup of olive oil. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.
Serve the pork, and vegetables over steamed rice with crisp bacon, diced avocado, thinly sliced jalapeño .Drizzle with dressing and enjoy!
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