Keto Marinated Asian Pork Tenderloin

This was really good. My family asked for it again before I even put the leftovers away.

Worcestershire in an Asian marinade read like a typo to me. Almost swapped it for more sesame oil. Didn’t. It does something at the back of the sauce that every similar recipe I’ve made without it is missing. Don’t skip it.

I’m the only keto eater in the house, so I made this for myself and didn’t plan to share. My daughter ate half the pork before dinner. She doesn’t eat pork. My best guess is the dry mustard and Worcestershire together. They cut the sweetness and pull the whole thing into savory-umami territory instead of just sweet.

I made this for a pool day this month and brought it sliced with the cooking liquid separate. Poured it over when I got there and it tightened up in the heat, clung to the slices instead of pooling. Someone who meal preps every week asked about the Worcestershire specifically, said it gave it more body than she’d expect from an Asian marinade. Good to know for summer.

2.7 net carbs for something that smells like the sesame noodle place my coworkers always order from (I’m the only one eating low-carb, so this felt like a real win). First time I’ve done a slow cooker marinade and I kept waiting to have to do something to it. You really do just walk away. Still surprises me. The pork came apart when I tried to scoop it and the cooking liquid went thick and glossy, which I wasn’t expecting. One question though: do you reduce that liquid before serving or just pour it over? Wasn’t sure if there was a step I missed.

If you’re using the freezer bag method, double the marinade. The pork absorbs way more sitting in the freezer than it does fresh, and you’ll want that extra sauce to spoon over it after. I’ve tried a bunch of Asian slow cooker pork recipes and none of them quite hit this combo, though I pull back on the monk fruit slightly (the sauce gets sweeter as it cooks down). The dry mustard is the thing I didn’t notice until I made a version without it and couldn’t figure out what was off.

Steam hits you when you lift the lid around hour four, and the smell is already good, but here’s the thing I started doing on batch two: pour the cooking liquid into a small saucepan and reduce it on medium-high while the pork rests, maybe 8 minutes. It goes from watery to glossy and actually sticks to the sliced meat. Takes almost nothing and it tastes like a completely different dish. Four stars as-written, five if you do the reduction step.

There was a takeout spot near where I grew up, Friday nights after practice. The sesame and that sweet-soy thing they had going, I didn’t realize I’d given that up until this came out of the slow cooker smelling exactly like it. Making it weekly now.

Fourth time with this one and I finally added a splash of rice wine vinegar to the marinade. Cuts through the sweetness from the monk fruit and gives the pork this sharper, more complex flavor. The base recipe is already solid, but this is how I’m making it from now on.

Wasn’t sure the monk fruit would hold up in a savory marinade but it caramelizes into the pork in a way that reads more teriyaki than sweetener. Made this on a Wednesday and ate it cold out of the fridge the next morning.

The pork was falling-apart tender at 4 hours on low. Surprised me, honestly. I’d been braced for the full 5. The monk fruit runs sweet though, sweeter than I expected with the soy sauce and dry mustard in there (I double-checked twice thinking I’d misread). Still made it twice this month, dropping to 3 tablespoons of monk fruit and it’s much closer to what I wanted.

My son smelled it from the front door and was in the kitchen before his bag hit the floor. He’s 15 and doesn’t care about keto, which is the real test. Going in the weeknight rotation.

Freaking delicious but I’ll cut the monk fruit back by a tablespoon next time because at full measure with the liquid aminos it tips sweet when I want that soy and sesame punch up front.

Three times in two months and it keeps landing. The sesame oil does something to the pork over those hours that I can’t fully explain, just this almost-glossy coating that pulls all the savory from the liquid aminos into the meat. My one note: 3.5 hours on low is where I’d stop if your slow cooker runs hot. Pushed it to 4.5 once and the edges dried out on me. Not a dealbreaker, still on repeat.

There’s a specific kind of takeout I used to order every week before keto, and I’d honestly written off ever having that flavor again. The liquid aminos and sesame oil together in this marinade, it’s close enough that I actually stopped eating for a second. Made it Sunday, house smelled incredible while it slow cooked, and I just kept thinking I get to eat this on a regular Tuesday night. Going in my permanent rotation.

Worchestershire is full of sugar high fructose corn syrup etc. Do u have a sub for this. One carb per teaspoon and recipe calls for 2 T