Umami and an Easy Sweet-Savoury Pork Tenderloin Recipe Just for You

Have you ever run out of recipe ideas?   Winter rolls around and it’s the same old recipes: the chilli, the meatloaf, the soups, the mac and cheese. All great, but after a very long trying winter, have you just had enough of the same old meals?  And turn to the summer where grilling gets predictable with the chicken thigh, the steak, the rib.  You know what I am saying.  Meal planning gets HARD.  And no one helps or gives us ideas, right?   

I feel like pork tenderloin doesn’t get enough credit.   It’s an amazing cut of meat, boneless, versatile, and so easy to prepare.  It’s one you can throw in the oven or throw on the BBQ. And you don’t really need more than a few pantry ingredients to make it delish, either way.  

When I think of my favorite pork tenderloin recipes, my mind instinctively goes to the single culinary word: umami.     

So, what is Umami you ask?   Umami is described as one of the five basic tastes — alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Think savory, meaty, or brothy — that extra layer of flavour that gives food depth and roundness rather than sharpness.  According to my childhood friend, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, umami is a taste produced by several amino acids … and has a rich or meaty  flavour characteristic of cheese, cooked meat, mushrooms, soy, and ripe tomatoes.  

You will find umami naturally in things like:  

• Beef / Pork / Chicken
• Aged cheeses like Parmesan  
• Anchovies
• Fish sauce
• Mushrooms (especially shiitake) 
• Tomatoes, especially sun-dried 
• Seaweed 
• Soy sauce  
• Miso  

Why does Umami matter when you’re cooking?  Well, simply put, umami puts the complex in cheese, the comfort in broth and the savory in slow cooked meat.  Umami enhances other flavours without being overpowering, it reduces the need for salt, it makes your bite satisfying and full bodied and creates that lingering flavour on our palate.  Umami is more about depth than intensity.  It doesn’t shout at you like salt or sugar does.  If your dish feels a little flat, it probably needs umami, not salt!   

Which brings us back to that perfect canvas for building umami magic: pork tenderloin.  Here is my go-to recipe that you can make in the winter in the oven or make in the summer on the grill. It boasts both umami from the soy and hoisin, while ginger and the sweetness round it out. Be creative with your sides with what is available with the season, and you have a great entree to serve all year long!

I hope you try this and tell me what you think. 

Honey Ginger Pork Tenderloin

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Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 pork tenderloin
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp ginger root
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp ketchup
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon

Method

 

1. Trim pork tenderloin (removing any silver skin or fat) and place in a large ziplock bag.
2. Whisk all other ingredients in a bowl to create a marinade.
3. Add marinade to ziplock bag with the pork. Massage in.
4. Marinade for 1 hour or overnight.
5. Remove pork and grill or cook in a 375 degree oven for approximately 8 to 12 minutes per pound. Oven time may be a little longer than a BBQ due the direct heat of a grill.

   Cook until pork internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.