August 20 - Asian stuffed pork tenderloin and coleslaw

Sweet 'n' spicy stuffed pork tenderloin served with Asian coleslaw tossed in a tangy peanut sauce, and a Sambal and oyster sauce demi-glace.

I experimented with an idea I had for an east meets west dish. I made a stuffed pork tenderloin and coleslaw using a basic French method with East Asian flavours.The stuffing was a mixture of breadcrumbs, onion, carrot, celery, chilies, garlic, cilantro, eggs, Sambal, Chinese 5 spice (Szechuan peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, and star anise), extra fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Rolled it up, tied it with string and seared it on all sides in a pan. Once it was sealed all over, a quick glaze of an oyster sauce reduction and straight into a 375F (190C) oven for half an hour. 

Afterwards while the meat was resting I deglazed the pan with some water, oyster sauce, Sambal, ginger root slices and a little brown sugar. I let that boil down and reduce to a little passed half. Then heat turned off, melted a knob of butter and stirred in. After removing the ginge and replacing with a dose of sliced scallions, the sauce was done.

Prior I had made a coleslaw with cabbage, carrot, red pepper, scallion, cilantro, and sesame seeds. I mixed the sauce out of natural peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sunflower oil. 

It was fun to make and turned out really good. It looks like a bit of a mess in the photo. I haven't mastered rolling stuffing into meat yet. Never the less, an interesting dining experience.

Be happy and stay fed,

B