Island pork with turmeric-veggie rice was one of my my mom’s staples when having people over for dinner. It is packed with flavor, but extremely easy to make. It’s spicy with a hint of sweet, and full of cinnamon, allspice, garlic and ginger. I updated my mom’s recipe to include a bit more pop and paired it with a tumeric-veggie rice.
What drinks should I pair with Island Pork?
This dish is very forgiving on all fronts. Including what you should drink with it. I’ve had everything from champagne to Bud Light to a glass of milk. Full disclosure – I had a glass of milk with it when I went a bit heavy handed with the hot sauce.
However, if you want to impress, here are three potential drinks:
- Beer choice: Light lager
- Wine choice: Riesling
- Non-alcohol: Ginger ale
What are good sides with this dish?
This recipe comes with a side included. If turmeric-veggie rice doesn’t sound appealing to you, then pair the Island Pork with one of the following:
- Immaculate Bite’s Caribbean Cole Slaw
- Roasted Corn on the Cob
- Pan-fried Plantains
- Roasted Sweet Potato Fries
- Salad
What Variations and Substitutions can I do with Island Pork?
- Gluten Free? This is a gluten-free. As always, check the packaging of your ingredients to confirm.
- Vegetarian ? Vegan? I haven’t figured out a way to make this vegetarian or vegan yet while still having the punch of flavor. Do not fret! This is currently in the test kitchen 🙂
- Nut Free? Yes.
- Variations? If you have a little citrus fruit juice (pineapple, mango, orange, etc.), add it to the glaze for a pop of flavor.
How do I meal prep or freeze Island Pork?
Island Pork with Turmeric-Veggie Rice is a very friendly meal prep recipe. It’s fast and easy to make. The best way to meal prep it is to cook as directed, place in containers once it’s cooled down a bit and refrigerate. I’ve found it holds up well for about 4 days in the fridge.
The Island Pork in this dish is extremely freezer friendly. Your mileage may vary with freezing the rice.
There are two ways to freeze this meal. In a cooked and uncooked state.
Island Pork with Turmeric-Veggie Rice
Equipment
- Oven-Safe Pan
Ingredients
Pork & Spice Rub
- 500 g Pork Tenderloin trimmed
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp Chilli Powder
- 1.5 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Allspice
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
Pork Glaze
- 75 g Brown Sugar packed
- 6 cloves Garlic finely minced
- 2 tbsp Ginger Minced
- 1.5 tbsp Hot sauce
- 1 Lime Juiced
Rice
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 200 g Basmati Rice rinsed
- 360 g Water
- 2 tbsp Ground Turmeric
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 Veggie Stock/Bouillon Cubes
- 680 g Frozen Veggie Mix
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Place rack in the middle of the oven.Start the rice before the pork. While the rice cooks, do the pork.
Tumeric-Veggie Rice
- Cook rice according to package BUT add: Tumeric and stock cube to the water.
- Next, once rice is cooked, remove it from the pot. Add two finger height worth of water into the bottom of the pan, add frozen vegetables.
- Cover pot and allow veggies to steam for 5 minutes. Add back in rice and a splash of water. Cover pot and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Add the lime juice and minced cilantro. Stir mixture.
- Cook until veggies are done. Make sure to add water to the pot as nessecary. This will keep the rice/veggies from burning. Once veggies are cooked, remove pot from heat but keep covered.
Pork
- Place a medium-sized oven safe pan with olive oil on medium-high heat.
- In a small bowl, stir together: salt, fresh black pepper, cumin, chilli powder, cinnamon and allspice. Rub pork with spice mix. Make sure to get into all the nooks and crannies.
- Island Pork Tenderloin with Spiced Rice and Mixed Veg Next, place spice-rubbed pork into pan. Turning occasionally for a total of 4 minutes. Once the four minutes is up, remove the skillet from heat. NOTE: The goal here is to get a nice golden brown malliard reaction on the outside of the pork. A common mistake beginner cooks make is reading "turn occasioanlly" to turn constantly. During this portion cooking, I challenge you to only turn it 3 times.
Pork Glaze
- In a small bowl, combine: hot sauce, brown sugar and garlic. NOTE: If you have some orange, pineapple, or mango juice in the fridge, try adding a splash to glaze mixture.
- Cover the top of the pork with the glaze mixture. Place in oven and roast for about 20-25 minutes OR until a meat thermometer reads 140F/60C.
- Once the pork is done, remove it from the oven, cover loosely with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Plating
- Cut pork at a diagonal, pour extra glaze on top and serve with a scoop of rice.
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