A delicious 30-minute honey hoisin pork tenderloin recipe infused with savory and fresh Asian-inspired flavors. Served with a healthy creamy carrot puree.
Are you looking for a flavorful and easy to prepare Asian-inspired meal for your weekday dinner? This honey hoisin pork tenderloin recipe is a great option. It’s not only simple, but it also looks like you could have spent hours in the kitchen!
This meal is served with a super smooth and creamy carrot ginger puree as a great healthy side. I’ve been making this particular recipe for my family for almost a decade, so I’m so excited to share this tasty dish with you!
The combination of hoisin sauce, soy, honey, garlic, ginger and green onions in the savory-sweet marinade adds a ton of flavor to each pork slice. The pork is seared in a hot pan for a few minutes to create a golden amber surface from Maillard Browning reaction. To finish cooking the tenderloin, it’s roasted in the oven to keep it moist and juicy.
Carrot ginger puree is a super smooth and creamy side dish that is an excellent alternative to heavier grains like rice and potatoes. The natural sweetness from the carrot and kick from the ginger is a perfect accompaniment to the honey-hoisin pork tenderloin. I also like to serve stir-fried bok choy or green beans.
The intensely sweet and savory flavors of the honey hoisin sauce, plus the pungent green onions, ginger, and garlic provide a nice kick to the sauce! Nothing is easier than only having to prepare one sauce for the marinade and garnishing the delicious pork. This is going to spice up your weekly dinner plans!
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How to achieve a beautiful colored sear
Briefly searing the pork tenderloin on a saute pan over high heat is the best way to create a beautiful golden brown color on the surface of the meat before finishing the cooking in the oven. The goal is just to add color, not to cook the meat all the way through in the pan on top of the stove. Unless you are broiling the meat in the oven, it’s difficult to achieve the caramel color. This is because the transfer of heat through the air is much less efficient and intense than through direct contact with the hot oil.
Hoisin Pork Tenderloin with Carrot Puree
Ingredients
Pork Tenderloin
- 3 tablespoons green onions, sliced, (2 tablespoons for sauce, 1 tablespoon for garnish)
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon ginger, minced
- 1 ½ pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Carrot Puree
- 3 cups carrots, sliced
- 1 cup onions, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, sliced
- 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
Pork Tenderloin
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Line a baking sheet with foil, lightly grease and set aside.
- Combine 2 tablespoons green onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, honey, water, minced garlic, and minced ginger in a small bowl.
- Add the pork tenderloin to a large plastic resealable bag. Pour ¼ cup of the hoisin sauce mixture into the bag. Seal and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour, turning the bag occasionally. You can also marinate overnight. Reserve the remaining sauce.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, carefully remove the pork from the marinade and add it to the pan.
- Sear and brown 1 minute on each of the 4 sides, 4 minutes total.
- Transfer the seared pork to the sheet tray lined with foil. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 140-160°F (depending on the desired degree of doneness).
- Begin preparing the carrot puree as the pork is roasting in the oven.
Carrot Puree
- In a medium-sized pot, add carrots, onion, fresh ginger, and garlic.
- Cover the ingredients with water, until the water reaches about an inch above. Boil the ingredients until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked ingredients and ¾ teaspoon salt to a blender. Blend for 1-2 minutes until smooth.
- Add the oil to the puree, and blend for 1 minute. Taste and season with more salt if desired.
To Serve
- Once the pork is removed from the oven, glaze the outside with about a tablespoon of the sauce. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds, so that they adhere to the surface. Allow the pork to rest for 10 minutes. Cut across the grain into thin slices.
- Warm the hoisin sauce before serving, either on the stove or in a microwave for about a minute
- Add about ¼ cup of warm carrot puree to each serving dish. Place overlapping slices of the meat on top of the puree. Drizzle with warm hoisin sauce. Garnish with freshly sliced green onions. Serve with your favorite vegetable or rice if desired.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
JJ says
This Honey-Hoison Pork Tenderloin recipe is absolutely HEAVENLY. I had a center cut pork roast, and all steps came out sooooo good. I marinated, then splashed some on top of the roast b-4 popping into the oven, and warmed up the rest of the sauce for dribbling over cut pieces. We only ate half of the roast, but the sauce was gone with that half, so I think when I make it again, I’ll actually double it. Or, better, I might make a 3 or 4-cup batch at a time, and just keep it on hand. I know this sauce will be great on chicken too (roasted thighs or white-meat chunks, for say, chicken rice bowls) or maybe even a bunch of cut baked or BBQ’d veggies.
I also wanted to mention that, seeing the picture showing halved, grilled baby bok choy as I side, I did that too, when I cooked this recipe. That was not only a first that I served bok choy, but we discovered how easy and absolutely delicious it is…and you can eat every bit of it.
But for the carrot puree (not favored, but I’ll work on it), this is a terrific recipe for a quick weekday meal, or for entertaining friends.
Mark says
When you transfer the carrots to the blender, do you pour everything in the blender including the water?
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Mark- No water, just blend the cooked carrots, onion, ginger, and oil.
JJ says
NOW I see this detail! I didn’t use a mixer, but a blender, and of course I needed to add almost all the boiled liquid into the jar just to get it smooth. Then I spent about 30+ minutes trying to simmer it back down a thicker puree. I had baby-food carrots all over my cook top, and it STILL pee-peed all over the plate. Wasn’t our first choice, as it turned out but the meat was delicious, so I might bake and blend butternut squash instead. Also side with a few baked apple slices…dash of cinnamon.
Rosa Tomazic says
Jessica, this was one of the juiciest pork tenderloins I’ve ever made! It was quick, easy and kid and teenager approved:) I was so pleased to find that the Hoisin sauce I bought was gluten free. I used Tamari so it made the sauce gf. Thank you for sharing your amazing creations.
Jessica Gavin says
Yay Rosa! You made my day 🙂 I’m so happy that even your teenager gave a thumbs up! Great substitution with the tamari and hoisin sauce to make it gluten-free.