Chinese-style pork tenderloin with vegetables

I used to get such a kick out of cooking “Chinese-style”. Really hot oil, little pieces of meat, loads of exotic spices and extras. The whole kitchen steeped in the smell of soy sauce. I travelled quite a bit in Asia and loved it. Lately, though, I hadn’t been cooking much “Chinese”.

I recently got back into it for two very mundane reasons. First, I had no fresh meat, only frozen pork tenderloin. Second, once I’d cooked the tenderloin, I liked it.

What’s the deal with frozen meat? Well, a long time ago, a good dozen years or more now, when I was just starting to mess about in the kitchen, I spilled my guts to an experienced cook (heh, choice of words) that I had no bloody idea how the Chinese cut meat into such thin slices. I could never manage it with fresh meat. That cook friend of mine let me in on a technique everyone else probably knows. To slice meat really thin, you have to freeze it first and then go at it with a sharp knife just as it begins to thaw. Honestly, that was a turning point in my “Chinese” cooking. You can cut any meat into slices 1 to 2 millimetres thick that way. Brilliant. Eureka and all that. Plus you don’t have to wait half the day for the meat to thaw properly (I don’t defrost things in a microwave because I haven’t got one and I don’t believe in them).

And since I liked it, it goes without saying that these days there’s always a nice piece of meat back in my freezer awaiting execution.

At a glance:

Prep time: 25 minutes

Serves: 2

How many calories: not especially many for a main meal

Ingredients for Chinese-style pork tenderloin:

• One large pork tenderloin (frozen, as I explain below)
• Two large carrots
• A large leek
• Two red peppers
• Two green peppers
• Light soy sauce
• Ground chilli
• Coarsely ground black pepper
• Curry powder
• A pinch of salt (go easy, the soy sauce already salts the dish)
• Olive oil for frying
• 300 grams of jasmine rice (two boil-in-the-bag portions will do)

Method (a Chinese cook doesn’t copy recipes, he gets cracking):

I slice the tenderloin crosswise into pieces 1 to 2 millimetres thick (you get rectangles about 3 by 5 cm, depending on the size of the piece of meat). Naturally I use the thawing-meat trick. I slice it when it’s like a glacier breaking off the coast of Greenland: not soft, but just yielding enough for a sharp knife to cut through. I transfer the meat to a bowl and give it a few more minutes to thaw completely. Once it’s thawed, I add the spices and pour soy sauce over it. I set it aside for a moment while I cut the washed veg into thin strips (the carrots and peppers) and the leek into rounds.

I heat the oil in a frying pan. You really need a high “flame”. In goes the meat and I stir it vigorously with a spoon so it doesn’t burn. You have to keep the tenderloin moving the whole time. That’s important. As soon as the meat takes on a little colour (starts to brown), I pour in soy sauce, enough to cover the bottom of the pan without drowning all the meat, and keep stirring. The soy sauce needs to evaporate (it takes no time at all). Then in go all the vegetables. I stir vigorously again and after 1 to 2 minutes I add more soy sauce (again, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan). Another good stir, wait for the sauce to evaporate and the dish is ready.

I serve it with jasmine rice. Remember to cook it beforehand. Enjoy!