Soy-glazed Pork with Quick-fried Rice
Pork loves the salty, “meaty” flavor of soy sauce just as tomatoes love basil. This quick little sweet-and-hot marinade, fragrant from garlic and ginger, permeates and perfumes the meat, and helps it to caramelize over the heat. Flavored with crunchy vegetables, Quick-fried Rice makes a fresh one-pan accompaniment that is nutritious and provides great leftovers. Feel free to add a few stalks of celery or a cup of broccoli florets to the rice. If you’re pressed for time, plain white or brown rice is perfectly fine.
It’s always a good idea to pat dry a piece of meat before and after marinating. Before marinating, removing excess moisture from the meat ensures that the flavors of the marinade won’t get diluted. When it comes to cooking after marination, drying the meat ensures a crispier crust (overly moist meat has a tendency to steam) and also helps keep a sugary-sweet marinade from burning.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Quick-fried Rice
Preparation
Step 1
Use paper towels to pat the pork dry. Mix the other ingredients in a small bowl, then brush the pork generously with the marinade. Marinate pork at least 1/2 hour (or up to 12 hours) in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, make Quick-fried Rice.
Step 2
To cook the pork, preheat the oven to 375°F.
Step 3
Use paper towels to pat the pork dry of excess marinade. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over high heat until shimmering (almost smoking), then add the pork and reduce the heat to medium-high. Sear the pork on all sides (or both sides for chops), then baste with marinade and place the pan in the oven. Cook about 10 minutes, turning once and basting generously with marinade (which will probably bubble and blacken a little because of the honey). The chops will probably cook faster than the tenderloin, depending on how thick they are. Remove from the oven and tent the pork in aluminum foil until ready to serve, then slice and serve alongside Quick-fried Rice.
Quick-fried Rice
Step 4
Heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat in a medium nonstick skillet until almost smoking. Pour in the eggs and a pinch of salt and scramble with a plastic spatula for a minute, then let the eggs set. Stir and lift to make sure the eggs are cooked and no liquid remains, then transfer to a plate and cool. Coarsely chop the eggs and set aside.
Step 5
Wipe out the skillet (or rinse, if necessary), put in the carrot and 1/4 cup water, and lower the heat to medium. Simmer the carrot for about 3 minutes, until tender-crisp. Raise the heat to medium-high, pour off any remaining water, add the remaining teaspoon oil, the cabbage, and garlic, and toss. When the greens are wilted, add the rice and eggs and stir over medium-high heat. Stir in the scallions and soy sauce and a drop or two of sesame oil. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
