Pork Tenderloin with Couscous and Green Beans!!

 

One of the hardest things about working out and maintaining a  healthy diet is maintaining a healthy diet. First of all, I hate the word "diet", it feels so restricted and limiting. However, now that I'm committed to doing the P90X workout program, I have to be more mindful about foods. While watching a documentary (Food Inc) yesterday about the food culture in the U.S., it solidify the idea that healthy-alternative foods are way more expensive and inaccessible to the public as unhealthy fast foods or process foods. This is another reason why I like to cook so much; I love the idea of controlling the ingredients and making sure that my food is being handle properly. That and the fact that I'm a control freak with OCD tendencies. At the same time, I realized that cooking alone is not enough to be healthy, it's what you cook that makes all the difference.

Now, you may think, "but you said that healthy food is expensive!", it can be, but it doesn't have to be, if you know the right things to cook. Take pork tenderloin for example, very lean-high protein meat; when cooked properly could rival the best cut of steaks (and I love me some steaks). Usually, I'm not a big fan of pork, I prefer my beef over the "other white meat" any day, but you know, I'm beginning to change my mind. 

Last night, I made roasted pork tenderloin with a red wine and raspberry reduction, served with couscous and green beans sautéed with garlic and butter (the healthy smart balance kind). The result? Simple and delicious!

Please keep in mind that there are multiple cooking processes (4 in all) to this dish, but they're all pretty simple and straight forward. 

Stuff you'll need:  

• Pork tenderloin (enough for 4 servings)
• Curry powder
• Garlic powder
• Five-spice powder or ngu vi huong (in Vietnamese), you can get it at any Asian grocery stores very cheaply
• Lime
• Salt and pepper
• Sugar
• Cumin 
• Red pepper flakes
• Red wine
• Raspberry (get it fresh if you can, if not, get it in a jaw)
• Unsalted butter
• Sriracha sauce for some heat
• Onion
• Garlic
• Green beans
• Chicken stock
• Couscous
• Red bell peppers (optional)
• Green onions (optional) 
• Olive oil 

The meat:

This is the star of the show, so we'll spend the most amount of time here, prepping and cooking wise. First, you have to marinate the meat evenly with a dry rub consist of garlic powder, black pepper, salt, cumin, red pepper flakes, cumin, curry powder, and the five-spice powder. Don't be afraid to use your hands and really get to know the meat, making sure that the spices cover every inch of it. You should marinate this for about 8-12 hours; I just prepped it before bed and cook it the next day after work. Once you're ready to cook this, place it in the oven with a bit of chicken stock and cook for 1h and 20 mins at 400 degree.

The Sauce: 

This is a simple red wine reduction. First, sauté fresh garlic and onion until they're brown. Add the raspberry and red wine and lower the heat to simmer and reduce. What you're looking for is for the sauce to burn away most of the alcohol in the wine, leaving you with just a hint of alcohol and a ton of fruit flavors. Season with salt, pepper, lime, and lime zest.

The Couscous? 

I just like saying "couscous". This is the first time that I cooked couscous, and the process couldn't be easier. Again, start with your garlic and onion with a little bit of olive oil, and sauté them with chopped red bell peppers and green onions for about 1 min or 2. Add chicken stock to your pot and wait until it comes to a boil. Add the couscous and stir until it absorbs all the stock, this might take about 2-3 mins, add more stock if you find it a bit dry. What you're looking for here is a balance between moist and dry. Add butter to make it a bit creamier if you like; I did not (P90X!! The X stand for X on the excessive butter).

The beans

This is one of my favorite things to eat, and it's so simple and quick to make. Basically, you just want to sauté the green beans with garlic, olive oil, and butter for about 2-3 mins, and you're good to go. The trick here is to use a lot of garlic so that you really taste it in every bite.

To serve: 

Place the couscous at the bottom of the plate, then place a couple slices of pork tenderloin on top, drizzle some of the red wine sauce on it. Put the green beans on the side, and you're ready to enjoy your hard work.

This dish may seem like a lot of work, but once you do it, you'll realize that you everything cooks relatively quickly. The only thing that takes a while to cook is the pork, but that can't be help, nobody wants to eat raw pork :).