You know, it’s so easy to get in a rut. Invite some friends over, get what you need, hustle to have everything ready, as people arrive when they may either slightly over or undercooking certain things because it’s impossible to perfectly time, bring out a big platter or two of what-not, “ta-da!” it, dig in, eat and drink too much and well, then what? Is that all there is? It’s not the company but the routine threatens makes it less wild the eighth time around.
And I confess that I was looking for yet another Spring pasta dish when I ran across this recipe that was anything but what I ever thought I’d make. But like those red shoes (I bought mine in February, mind you) or that soft-spoken guy that is so not your type (I married mine almost two years ago), sometimes what you never predicted is exactly what you need.
Thus last night, I both cooked and ate pork tenderloin for the very first time, but most certainly not the last. (I actually supervised the tenderloin, after outsourcing it to my husband. Close enough, right?) It was so much fun. Picture an actual summer day and not this weather whiplash we’ve been inundated with in the Northeast and imagine how delicious it would be to end with a light, bright bowl of glassy noodle salad decked out with strips of mahogany-charred pork, keeping it on this side of Lite Delite Meal Inspirations. Pork tenderloin slathered with a lime, hoisin, soy, sake, ginger and garlic sauce? I love you.
Guess what else? I bought a mandoline yesterday! Frankly, I’ve wanted one forever but those things are notorious for their fingertip beveling abilities and (ahem) I’m not exactly renowned for reigning in my klutziness. Also, they’ve always seemed pricey, as even the OXO one I set out for yesterday morning ran nearly $70. Alas, I found a lovely little Japanese one for $27.99, and it works like a charm. You should have seen how fast it leveled what would have been an hour’s worth of knife-skills-deprived chopping into piles of colorful matchsticks. Behold the slivered perfection! Behold all my fingers still largely intact! I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Cellophane Noodle Salad With Roast Pork
Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez, Gourmet, June 2006
Updated notes, 1/10/14: I hadn’t made this in years, people, but did so tonight and have dozens of new notes to add about it. It’s such a wonderful recipe, but I think a few things deserve revisiting. Read to the end to find them (there are many and I didn’t want to clog the headnotes).
Makes 10 first-course servings, about 4 main.
For pork
1 pound solid piece boneless pork butt (shoulder) or pork tenderloin
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce (low-sodium is best here)
1/4 cup Chinese rice wine or sake
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt (see Note below)
For dressing
3/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup peanut or vegetable oil**
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 large fresh jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
For salad
8 oz very thin bean-thread noodles (also known as cellophane, glass, or mung bean noodles)
3/4 lb Chinese long beans (1 bunch) or green beans, trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces
1 seedless cucumber (usually plastic-wrapped; about 1 lb), halved lengthwise and sliced diagonally 1/8 inch thick
1 bunch scallions, cut into matchsticks
1 firm-ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced
2 thin carrots, cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh small basil leaves
Prepare pork: Cut pork along the grain into long 1 1/2- to 2-inch-wide strips. Remove and discard any sinew but do not trim fat. Transfer pork to a large sealable plastic bag. Stir together remaining pork ingredients in a small bowl until combined well. Add to pork and turn to coat, then squeeze bag to eliminate as much air as possible and seal. Marinate pork, chilled, at least 4 hours but no longer than 24.
Roast pork: Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Put 1/2 inch water in a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan and place a metal rack across top of pan (rack should not touch water).
Remove pork from marinade, reserving marinade, and arrange pork strips 1 inch apart on rack. Roast in oven 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring marinade to a boil in a 1-quart saucepan, then boil 1 minute (marinade may look curdled). Remove from heat.
Brush both sides of pork with some marinade and roast 10 minutes more. Generously brush both sides of pork with marinade again and roast, basting 2 or 3 times, 10 minutes more. I recommend brushing it as many times as it takes to use the marinade up; you won’t regret it.
Increase oven temperature to 400°F and roast pork until strips are mahogany-colored and caramelized on edges, 10 to 15 minutes more (pork shoulder will need the most time, tenderloin the least; totally cooking time will be about 50 minutes). Transfer to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 10 minutes.
Make dressing while pork roasts: Blend together all dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth. (See Note below about an alternate dressing.)
Cook noodles and beans while pork finishes roasting: Soak noodles in cold water to cover until pliable, about 15 minutes, then drain in a colander. Cut noodles in half with kitchen shears.
Cook beans in a 5- to 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer with a skimmer or slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, reserving cooking liquid in pot. Drain beans and pat dry.
Return bean-cooking liquid to a boil, then cook noodles, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain noodles in colander and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Drain noodles again, then spread out on paper towels and pat dry.
Assemble salad: Cut as much pork as desired for salad across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Toss noodles with 1/4 cup dressing in a bowl. Toss long beans with 2 tablespoons dressing in another bowl. Arrange pork, noodles, beans, and remaining salad ingredients on a large platter. Drizzle with some of dressing and serve remaining dressing on the side.
Many notes (Updated 1/10/14):
- Pork tenderloin: As I mentioned in 2007, we made this with pork tenderloin rather than the pork shoulder called for and still do. As the cooking time is relatively short, and pork shoulder is so fatty, we’ve been concerned that the fat just won’t render off in the amount of time that it’s in the oven. Pork tenderloin is gorgeous here; it already comes in about 2- to 3.5-inch wide strips, but I even enjoy halving it lengthwise into two strips that can be cut into small medallions, perfect for a salad. In the years since I shared this recipe (2011 to be exact), the USDA has (to the delight of cooks and restauranteurs, who’ve always preferred it this way) reduced the recommended internal cooking temperature of pork from 160°F to 145°F and this markedly improved the texture and flavor of the tenderloin.
- Meat vs. vegetable volume: While I’m all for a vegetable-centric meal, and truly prefer meat as a “side dish” rather than a centerpiece, each time I make this, I think that the recipe would either benefit from double the pork or half the vegetables. Maybe it’s just that the pork is that good, so it goes quickly. Even if not doubling the pork, the amount of cucumber and green beans seems especially high for a salad of this size. Tweak the amounts to your anticipated tastes (meat-heavier, less green beans, or the like, etc.).
- The dressing: It’s fine, you know? But in the years since I shared this recipe, I’ve shared another noodle-meat-vegetable dish that has a sauce that I’d prefer as a dressing here. The “Dipping Sauce” from these Cold Noodles with Peanut Lime Chicken (with fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, garlic and chiles) is boldly flavored and perfectly balanced. If those ingredients appeal to you, try it here as the “dressing” instead.
- Salt: Taste the hoisin-soy-sake sauce before adding the additional salt; you may find that you don’t need it. (I found this even when using low-sodium soy sauce, and I’d predicate this by saying that we probably already like salt more than we should.)
- Summer rolls: I remain convinced that leftovers from this salad would make for excellent summer rolls, wrapped in 8-inch rice paper rounds.
- Do ahead: Unsliced pork keeps, wrapped in foil and chilled, up to 3 days, or frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a sealed plastic bag, up to 1 month.
Yum, that looks good and healthy. And as usual your pictures are completely inspiring me to get better lighting in the BDL.
Wow, this looks like a pork dish even I’d be willing to try! Like you, I’ve never been much of a pork person, per se. My boyfriend, who does most of the cooking in our house (he’s a keeper), has been trying to get me to give the “other white meat” a chance for quite some time. By the way, I am a huge fan of your blog. Keep up the delicious work!
I’m an incredible fan of both pork loin and noodles! this looks fantastic, to say the very least.
Welcome to the wonderful world of mandoline owners. (I did spring for the OXO, but it’s worth it)
funny, we just ordered some pork loin with our next grocery order. i’ve never cooked pork before, bc my family hasn’t bought it 19 years since arriving to the US. i’m a little apprehensive cooking it…
K
I totally cheated and peekd at your flikr pics lastnight and saw the pork.. i just so happend to have some in the freezer and took them out to defrost in hopes youd post this recipe today.. and, you did.. woot !
next thing is how to adapt this to center cut pork loin chops. A very similiar cut just different enough tho to where I gotta mess with the cooking time a bit..
I hope my results are close.
Joc — You should get track lighting in your kitchen and/or hallway. Make Jill install it when she visits in July. She’s all handy and stuff.
Sarah — I actually love pork, way more than chicken or beef so it’s odd I don’t make it more. If you want a starter dish, I have a pork riblet recipe that’s to die for. But this was super-easy and you don’t get overloaded on it because there is so much else going on.
Jerry — I bet it’s great. Actually, Bowery Kitchen Supply (with OXO headquarters in the same building!) didn’t carry it, and I was too impatient to go elsewhere. I figure that if this lasts a couple years, it will have paid for itself and I would happily upgrade to a fancier one once I know how much use I’ll get out of it. Mmm… matchstick fries. And potato chips! I’ve got plans for us.
Radish — Then you should try this. I bet you could even grill the dish. What fun BBQ food it would be!
Cupcakes — We’ll need pictures, you know.
My favorite salad bar has been offering mandoline’d skin-on, seeded zucchini matchsticks. I was actually shocked that they could taste good raw. They are really enhanced by freshly ground black pepper. I look forward to them and your lineup has me thinking of them and wishing I’d had salad for lunch!
I make pork tenderloin with just about the same recipe, but haven’t put it over salad before. This looks just divine. I do like the pork to stay just a tad more pink, though, even though the man says we’re not supposed to. BTW, thanks for stopping by my digs, I answered your comment with a book recommendation for tapas if you get a chance to come back. And the pork riblet recipe? Don’t just tease us with something like that. I’m needing something to die for right around now please.
D’oh. Pork riblets right here.
D’oh! She said “mandoline” not “mandolin”. My first thought was, “Holy Crap, Deb’s gone Bluegrass!”.
a teeny bit of chinese mustard would keep the dressing from seperating and might be a tasty addition!
Yay! WW friendly pork how I love thee. I can’t wait to get home and get better so I can make this. I have almost all the ingredients in the fridge, just waiting for me to cook with them. I can imagine them, every time I open the door, going, “Pick Me! Pick Me!”
Thanks for the reminder about the riblets, I should have remembered it, they look so cute. Both of these are recipes I’ll pass on to my brother and he’ll make them for me, so rare that I don’t have to be the one to cook, but I’m moving near where he lives, I’m psyched.
Thanks for the tasty inspiration. I’ll be cooking this up for Memorial Day weekend. I can also imagine the pork wrapped up in little crepes and using the dressing for a dipping sauce. We will see what the future brings.
You’ve never eaten pork tenderloin? Really? I was raised on pork and absolutely worship it (how can you not love an animal that gives us bacon?!). The pictures are amazing, really delicious looking. I’d love to give the recipe a try, but my family doesn’t buy Asian sauces. For someone who’s just getting into it, what basic stuff would you recommend for the pantry?
The pork looks great! Where in the heck did you find a decent quality mandoline for so little? I can’t possibly do more damage with that than I do with my knives and little dices and with the baby coming, I could see myself really needing the convenience.
Which mandoline did you get? Kyocera’s? :)
My mother in law introduced me to this site back well before you and Alex got married (I was planning my wedding at the same time!) and I’ve been hooked ever since. She and I compare Smitten Kitchen experiences when we get together now. Just wanted to let you know that I made the Chocolate Stout Cake for my father in law’s birthday this weekend, and it was a huge hit! I just sent you a pic!
Howard — Ha! My coworker thought the same thing when I told him about my exciting weekend adventures. God, I’m so boring. But for the record, I have no beef (ha) with bluegrass. In fact, it charms me.
Rachel — Great point. It works with every other vinaigrette I make. I just lack Chinese mustard… right now.
Jenifer — This is SO WW-friendly. In fact, if they had better recipe-creators, they’d have made this themselves. Ah, well.
Kim — Absolutely. These ingredients seem almost the exact same ones in summer rolls.
Jelena — I was deprived, clearly. I’m pretty sure I’ve had a bite in a restaurant or something (Alex often orders something porky) but I’ve never bought it at a store, and never cooked it. A great oversight on my part! We’ve got another 1/2 pound in the oven right now, to go with the leftovers (veggies, not pork) from last night.
Pantry: It really depends on what you want to cook the most. I know some people who can’t live without their Thai chili paste. I can. But I’d be lost without soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin (because it’s one of my favorite flavors on earth), and dark, toasted sesame oil, and maybe a package of rice or udon noodles. With those five things, you can get very far. Others: peanut oil, cook for any cooking, not just Asian, because it has a high smoking point, sesame seeds (black, white, I keep mine in the fridge so they last longer), and I always try to have limes and green onions around.
Melissa — I got it at Bowery Kitchen Supply in Chelsea Market. I mean, it seems great. I’ve only used it a little, so only time will tell. But for a starter, if it gets me through the next year or two, I’m thrilled.
Daniela — The box was like entirely in Japanese, so I have no idea. (Also, I’ve thrown it out so if it was written anywhere in English, I can’t check.) Not Kyoceras, though.
Cdk — How wonderful! I thought I recognized your initials. Did you used to comment?
This is somewhat off topic but, as a fellow lyrics-butcherer, I had to give you a ‘bravo!’ for your tagline (just read your ‘about’). My all time best? “In Mexico Shopping” for Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “That’s a Cold Shot Babe.” Who knew?
Love Vienamese bun too . . . great photos!
Great summer dish…………….fresh pesto over bow ties…………with grilled red, yellow, orange bell pepper slices, a liitle grilled and then thin sliced red onion. Grilled veggies lightly tossed with a touch of grape seed oil, salt/pepper and crushed garlic, then put on top of pesto pasta, dash of cheese. Summer time we have the pasta cool and the veggies still warm from the grill………….winter time, pasta is hot too…
I’m blog-tagging you. I hope you don’t mind, but I picked my favorite blogs… so that’s you! For more info on what this means, and to play along visit my blog and read the most recent post.
I bought that OXO mandoline a year or so ago, and now I can’t imagine living without it! So much fun — especially for things like potatoes and cucumber, and making gorgeous vegetable platters like yours.
you certainly put that mandoline to good use! what a wonderful display of fresh veggies. i’m experiencing something like envy right about now
Lovely!
Just PLEASE- ALWAYS use the finger guard!!!
LOVE your blog..thank you for all of the inspiration!
Annie..coming out of lurkdom
Deb-
Just a note to tell you that the chocolate stout cake recipe of yours is indeed possibly the best recipe on here. I make a lot of your recipes and have loved them all. I have made that stout cake three times within four months. I think about it all the time. Daily.
Two thoughts re: your salad dressing…skip the oil but put a wee bit of sesame oil in it for flavour. Wonderful smells and flavour esp. when combined with the coriander. Very Thai. Also, omit the oil all together, put a bit more sugar or Mirin
in the dressing and serve sunomono-style. Dress the salad first and then serve.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v215/ioana/food/P1070603.jpg
Thank you for the recipe.
I was so inspired that I found bowery kitchens online, did a search for “mandoline” and they list a japanese mandoline, normally $30, on sale for $24.99. And it’s just called “Japanese Mandolline Slicer” no brand name : )
Might this be the one?
http://store.bowerykitchens.com/benmanslic.html
Keep on cooking and posting!
That’s it! Great job. I had no idea they had such a comprehensive website, so I didn’t even bother searching for what I bought.
Now, my only caveat is that I’ve only used this twice now. I think it’s great, but I wouldn’t recommend it in full until I see how the blades hold up. However, so far, so good!
You inspired me to take my mandoline out of its box (which it’s been sitting in since I got it for my birthday…last July). This was a perfect summer-evening-on-the-patio meal. I did the tenderloin on the BBQ, which was incredibly fast and easy.
Of course, I can’t do anything without making a few changes. Since this was meant to be a Vietnamese dish, I couldn’t resist the urge to add some fish sauce (with chiles) to the dressing (from which I omitted the oil, as per your suggestion). Additionally, I used snow peas instead of long beans (personal preference). And, after basting the pork with the marinade during its first ten minutes on the grill, I transferred the remaining marinade into a small pot and boiled it down (to both reduce it and kill and lingering pork bacteria) and drizzled a little of this reduction on each serving of noodles. Splendid!
Like you, I was afraid of mandolines, thanks to all the horror stories. I actually owned one for a couple of years, but had never used it. Finally, I decided it was time to try it or get rid of it. What an excellent kitchen tool! And the key to not slicing off your fingertips? Use the freakin’ guard that comes with it. How hard is that? Yeah, it leaves you with pieces of whatever you’re slicing that could maybe yield another slice or two, but vegetables are cheaper than trips to the emergency room. Throw them away.
The OXO mandoline will seriously cut your fingers off, so if yours came with a little cover knuckle saver thingy majigger, use it!
Your pictures are really fantastic, i always say apart from the meal tasing good, presentation is everything and you have that down to T. Very gourmet like. Food & travel enthusiasts will be glad to hear that Gourmet magazine is running a sweepstakes where you can instantly win a trip for 2 to a top resort. All you have to do is enter and find out if you’ve instantly won, you also get to watch a gourmet meal being prepared by a top NYC chef. Just sharing since i work with them . https://condenast.eprize.net/gourmet/index.tbapp?page=intro&affiliate_id=1v&noflash=flash
yessssss! I needed a new excuse to cook pork! pairing it with healthy fresh veggies and cellophane noodles should get me past the kibosh the boy has placed on pork-purchasing, right?
this sounds really damn good. thanks deb!
This was one of the best meals my husband and I have ever made and eaten at home – it was a huge hit. THANK YOU!!!
For the oil problem, I found that using soft tofu will help emulsify dressing. This keeps the dressing emulsified and it doesn’t add any extra flavor, though the only downfall is it does give it a soft white color, that is if you don’t want the color.
I love your site! Found it via Real Simple.
Last night I tried this recipe and loved the pork. I thought the noodle salad was good – but pretty time consuming. I would definitely make the pork again – I’m pretty sure my boyfriend almost drank the marinade.
This is a great recipe! It is a bit time consuming, and the mandoline certainly helps a LOT, but absolutely worth it. I took Deb’s suggestion and omitted the oil from the dressing completely and it was outstanding. When (not if) I make this again I might consider a using a slightly more substantial noodle. Those cellophane noodles are a bit tricky to wrangle. Otherwise it was a big hit. Thank you!
Made the Beef,Leek & Barley soup and it was easy and delicious. I have one question about this salad. If you use pork tenderloin, do you use it without cutting it into smaller strips? Some tenderloins may be about four inches wide so maybe you could cut in half. My concern is not drying the meat out while cooking for 50 minutes. Anxious to try this recipe.
Hi Jeanne — We made this eons ago, but I remember our tenderloin being on the wide side, and that we might have cut it as you suggested. As long as you don’t overcook it, it should not get dry. If the time seems a little long, check yours sooner — your oven may run hotter.
Hi Deb – How’s that mandoline working out for you? I need to get a cheap one and yours is still only $30. Also, and unrelated to this recipe, I made your pie crust yesterday and am still swollen with pride at its prettiness. Thank you for being so awesomely enabling!
THREE years later, I’m still using my cheap one.
This looks awesome. Any idea on how long to cook it on the grill? I was thinking about 22 mins total, but I’ve never basted while grilling (usually have the lid on the whole time except to flip).
I cook once a week for a friend and this was her favorite. Great recipe!
Vietnamese foods are so delicious and many foods come with more sauces! Not much cholesterol and good for diet when mix vegetables and fruits, it will make a good taste on our mouth in the first piece (yummyyyy!!!). One day,I hope you will show everyone some recipes about foods of Vietnamese ^^~
I’ve made this salad twice. The first time, I had some left over roast pork and just made everything else to go with it. Today, I had two duck legs from Whole Foods and thought, why not? Both times, the results were outstanding.
If your summer succotash recipe is the most colorful dish I’ve ever made (those cranberry beans turn such an interesting blue), this is easily the prettiest. The flavors are many and varied and it’s been a hit with everyone. Thanks for another great recipe!
Fantastic pictures and great food styling – it always helps the recipes. The colorfulness of the dish really reminds me how healthy and fresh it is. I guess I know whats for dinner this weekend. Love your site :).
I know it’s four years since you posted this — but I just referenced it to help me figure out how to marinate the pork for our Memorial Day summer rolls tonight. My process in terms of rolls vs. salad is almost the opposite of yours — we usually assemble everything and let folks make summer rolls as a do-it-yourself party food, and then throw all the leftovers together the next day for cellophane noodle salad.
Although I haven’t blogged myself in more than two years, I’m still reading you whenever I get into food blog-readin’ mode…and I always find such wonderful things! Thanks, Deb, for being so steadfast and for providing such great inspiration whenever I get into the food doldrums…
I”m making this right now. I got sake that is called Bride of the Fox. It is both charming and delicious…
Made this last night, and my family is still talking about it! What remarkable flavors. Leftovers? Not a smidgeon was left in the bowl, after the four of us finished dinner. Thank you for this extraordinary recipe.
Numerous times I have come to your site looking for dinner party inspiration and you came through for me again! Thank you! This dish was WONDERFUL. It was simple, but colorful and made for great presentation. A nice twist on roasted pork while still appealing to a lot of different people. Perfect. Tasty. Love it.
hi, i have been looking for a recipe for my christmas dinner as I want to break the turkey tradition at home and turn to pork instead (enough turkey for Thanksgiving already).
I have one question though, when you say to place a rack on top of the roasting pan do you mean the second oven rack and place the pork on the rack or a different kind of rack that i need to get from the store?
sorry for the silly question i just want to make sure.
I mean a cooling rack for cookies (that is oven safe, not coated) or a roasting rack. Something smaller that would fit inside a roasting pan. Hope that helps.
Excellent! thank you sooo much! this is perfect!
Vietnamese soup (PHO) is my absolute favorite of food from this culture. This vibrant salad seems like its going to be a good one. This is a great idea. I have a business trip this weekend, and a friend of mine is hosting my colleagues and I for lunch on sat. I am definitely going to see if I can add this to the menu. All the vegetables and succulent flavor from the pork will be a great hit Im sure of it. This is a great alternative to super heavy foods. This meal looks like it can fill you and not have you feeling like a nap is needed immediately after eating. Great for a business lunch. Thanks for the idea and tip.
Once again Great post.
I tried making this dish and it came out really good. It was a big hit with my friends! Thanks for the great recipe!
I jut made this and I hacked away at the pork shoulder till I had a bunch of bits varying in size, threw them in the oven for a while (I don’t know what I’m doing), kinda f’d up the dressing, then tossed the salad together very harried-ly… and it was great! my roommate said it was the best thing she’d eaten in a month. maybe next time i’ll do it right, and it’ll get bumped up to a year! anyway, thanks. this is a beautiful blog as i’m sure you know.
i know this comment is five years (!!) old, but just a tip – if you want to cut up pork shoulder before you cook it, put it in the freezer first. you don’t want it frozen solid, obviously, but a bit frozen makes it a breeze to cut. then just slice into 1/2-1″ slices. (they’ll end up looking boneless porkchop size/shape.)
oh also i was going to say that I f’d up the dressing because I thought it was going to be way too sour with all that lime juice and rice vinegar (plus i didn’t have seasoned rice vinegar) so i added a tablespoon of sugar (like in a similar thai dressing recipe i do) but it turned out too sweet / not sour enough for me, so i’ll remember to defer to you form now on, haha !
I admire your photography! Such a colorful dish, can’t wait to try this recipe!
I made the salad on the weekend with a normal roast pork! Was absolutely delicious. I also added some chopped almonds in it that I had leftover and it gave the salad a some crunch. We had a lot leftover – as there were only 5 of us, my boyfriends parents ate it the next day and said it was still just as delicious – even after all the dressing had been poured in.
I’m a little late to the party on this one but after receiving the SK cookbook for Christmas, I’m going through all the recipes and giving many a try! I added a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes to the pork and just loved the added heat. Please keep adding pork recipes – I love the other white meat!
I followed your advice, and used the dipping sauce from the peanut chicken recipe (a regular in our house). I loved this salad, but we all felt that the dipping sauce really overpowered the pork.The bits of pork were so delicious on their own, but when added to the salad I could barely taste them.
This looks delicious!
I am confused though. I’m probably overlooking something BUT:
Did you cut the pork BEFORE or after cooking? Directions read to cut before marinade but then there’s a photo of you cutting the cookED meat?
I did scan notes and comments…
Thank you so much!
Sheila — It’s been so long since I made this (much to my husband’s disappointment) I couldn’t even remember. But I think I see what confused you. The strips in the beginning are lengthwise, you’re supposed to cut the tenderloin narrower. Then, at the end, once cooked, you cut them crosswise for assembly. Hope that helps.
I’ve been on a bit of a soup craze (made the hot and sour last week, so good!) so I followed the noodle salad recipe, then added contents to approx. 1 1/2 quarts of hot vegetable broth in which I’d boiled some carrots, broccoli, and celery (and threw in some of the pork drippings from the roasting pan to add extra flavor to the stock). It’s really tasty. Limey and gingery and the noodles stand out/meat doesn’t overwhelm. Perfect for the late winter/early spring season.
“Can you make this every night for the rest of the summer?” – request from boyfriend after finishing dinner last night.
Perfect recipe for a hot summer night. Didn’t have everything on-hand, but stuck to the recipe as best I could. The broth had a nice balance of tangy-spicey goodness and sliced cucumber helped cool you down.
Another fantastic recipe from smitten!
Made this using pork tenderloin. It was a great way to use this cut of pork as it is really cheap and I always buy it from costco, but am often not sure what to use it for. I couldn’t find green beans today so i sliced red peppers into matchsticks and also added some shredded napa cabbage. I found this was nice as it takes away one less cooking step. The dressing I used was some sort of hybrid between the dipping sauce and the peanut dressing from the cold noodles with peanut lime chicken, but instead of peanut butter I used a couple tbsp of tahini. I found that dipping sauce by itself was WAY too lime-y and I love limes. Garnished with some sesame seeds. This was a very healthy and bright weeknight dinner.
I made this for our family dinner tonight and it was delicious. I used the dressing from the later recipe as recommended and it was great. I used a whole jalapeño pepper. The mango is important to the overall flavor. I thought we had heaps of vegetables and it was all eaten. It is also is a very pretty dish. Being winter I didn’t bother to buy packaged herbs and didn’t think there was a noticeable lack of flavor.
this was excellent. i cook with pork shoulder all the time, but never in a short time frame like this, even though i’ve read a handful of recipes lately that promise it works. i’ve always been too afraid to try until now. (and even as i made this i was thinking “why! why couldn’t i have just spent the extra money and gotten a pork tenderloin!”) but honestly, really and truly, it turned out awesome. not fatty at all. (and we are both decidedly not fans of gelatinous bits in food.) since i was a bit lazy when cutting my slices they were on the thick side so i cooked them for an hour at 400 the whole time.
i did use the salt in the marinade as my hoisin sauce (sun luck brand) did not taste particularly salty to me. i also can never be bothered to buy sake for this sort of thing so i used 3T unseasoned rice vinegar with 2T water and a splash of pineapple vodka. i won’t pretend this is some official sake sub i’ve discovered, just used what i had on hand to fill in the blanks and make it taste like i thought it should without it.
i eyeballed the veg since i would be the only one eating most of it (i made my partner’s bowl with just the herbs & scallions) and used persian cukes. i also used rice vermicelli as i couldn’t easily grab glass noodles. the biggest thing though, is that i made the alternative dressing as suggested in the notes and it made the dish, in my opinion. it was so delicious. the two of us polished off all of it though, so next time i would make a 1.5 or even double batch. (as is it made roughly 1 1/3 cups when all was said and done and i’d tired of squeezing limes by hand, lol.) i used a whole (with seeds & membranes) rather large serrano but could have used a smidge more.
my partner who eats but is usually un-opinionated about my asian inspired cooking attempts, went back for seconds and commented more than once on how good this was. (the man ate rice noodles, people!) i also loved that it was a great summer dish to be eaten room temp, i didn’t sit down to dinner sweating and no longer interested in eating what i’d cooked as can often happen on hot days. thanks again, deb!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVWSnYxgHAC/
Glad it was a hit. This is an old favorite of ours so I’m always glad to see others find it.
made this again last night with a pork tenderloin, and i have to say that while i had no issues with the pork shoulder the tenderloin was just easier to deal with. didn’t bother with a rack or water or changing the oven temp. just plopped it on a foiled sheet pan at 400 with a probe thermometer set to 145 and let it go, basting as often as i could.
this time we had it with rice sticks (like for pad thai) and i tossed them with a couple ladles of the alternative dressing which i 1.5’d with two whole serranos and it was perfect. i also tossed the chopped mango with some chili garlic paste because we like it that way, and put everything on a big cutting board so we could make our own. (but put the noodles in our individual bowls before bringing to the table.) not bad for 90 degrees in september >:|
Thinking of trying the pork in my Instant Pot. Have you tried this?
Made this last night for dinner and it was delicious! Used a pork tenderloin that I left whole, only marinated for about 45 minutes and then grilled it, frequently basting as I flipped. Really tasty! Also took Deb’s recommendation to use the dressing from the Cold Noodles with Peanut Lime Chicken for the noodles and veggies, which we have made a lot before and love. We’ll be making this again!
Link for Japanese mandolin is broken above
Thanks. I actually use this one these days because it’s wider, so I can use it for larger vegetables/fruit too (although it might be out of stock).
Hello, What was the mandoline that you ended up with, please?
I want to give one to my son-in-law for Christmas. He is my partner-in-crime in the kitchen. Thank you for your help.
I use this mandoline these days — I like the width, which is helpful with larger vegetables.
LOVE this salad!! I used shaoxing wine for the rice wine and wonder if that is why the pork was on the salty side. I did not add any salt and used low sodium soy. Any suggestions? I’d love to add it to my regular rotation, but want to fine tune it. Thanks in advance