By New Year's Eve 2023. Quiet, as always. Lily and James came over. We ate thit kho and watched the countdown. At midnight I clinked my La Croix against James's beer and Lily's champagne and said, "2024. The year Tyler gets married, the restaurant gets closer, and Ava learns to crawl." Lily said, "And the year you turn fifty." I said, "I'm already fifty." She said, "You're forty-nine." I said, "I'm forty-nine?" She pulled out her phone and confirmed: born August 3, 1974. I am forty-nine. I will be fifty in August. I have been wrong about my age for at least three months. This is either a sign of aging or a sign that age is a number I never learned to care about. Both are possible.
New Year's Day 2024. I made my annual thit kho — the caramelized pork that Mai makes for Tet and that I make for New Year's because the two holidays overlap in my personal calendar. I also made a pot of phở gà — chicken pho — because the weather was cold (forty-three degrees, which in Houston is an emergency) and pho is the only response to cold that I recognize as adequate.
Spent the afternoon going through the year in my head. 2023 was: Vietnam. Ava. The house. Lily's restaurant investment. Tyler's engagement. Huong found. Mrs. Thi on the sidewalk. Mai saying thank you. Fourteen years sober. The year was so full it could have been three years. The blog has been a record of all of it — three hundred and some posts now, each one a week of my life, each one a recipe and a story. I started this because Emma told me to. I continue it because I need to. The writing is the processing. The cooking is the therapy. The blog is both.
Resolution for 2024: make the best brisket of my life at Tyler's wedding. That's it. One resolution. Specific, measurable, achievable. I don't do broad resolutions. I do brisket goals.
The thit kho is the anchor — it always will be — but when I want to carry that same New Year’s pork energy into a weeknight later in January, this tenderloin is what I reach for. It’s faster than a braise, the cream sauce has enough richness to feel like a occasion, and pork on New Year’s is just non-negotiable in my personal religion. Think of it as what I cook when I need the comfort of tradition without the full afternoon commitment — which is basically the rest of 2024 in a nutshell.
Pork Tenderloin with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin, trimmed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Season the pork. Pat the tenderloin completely dry with paper towels. Combine salt, pepper, and garlic powder and rub evenly over all sides of the meat.
- Sear the tenderloin. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the tenderloin and sear undisturbed for 3–4 minutes per side until a deep golden-brown crust forms on all sides, about 12 minutes total.
- Finish in the oven. Transfer the skillet to a 400°F oven and roast for 12–15 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 145°F. Remove the pork to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Build the sauce. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, for 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Pour in the chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Finish the cream sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in the heavy cream. Add Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes if using. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the Parmesan and taste for seasoning.
- Slice and serve. Cut the rested tenderloin into 1/2-inch medallions. Arrange on a serving platter, spoon the sun-dried tomato cream sauce generously over the top, and scatter fresh basil over everything. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 445 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 30g | Carbs: 7g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 520mg