Pork Wasabi Tacos

Let me let you in on a little secret: I cook all sorts of delicious things that I don't share with you.

It's nothing personal. Really. While I do love my blog and love to share the wonderful things we cook, there are some days when I just don't feel like snapping photos of every step, trying to make my kitchen look pretty in the background (this usually fails - there's no hiding the ugly green counter top). Other days, I plan to blog about a recipe, get all excited for it, and the photos are blurry or the recipe turns out badly. Finally, on a few rare occasions, I have made a delicious recipe, taken lovely pictures, loaded them into blogger and left them there to rot. Some day, I promise, you will hear about the amazing pork schnitzel Jeff made back in the fall. Pinky swear. This recipe is one of the latter. I have made the effort to drag it up out of the archives, dust it off and present it to you now, with plenty of summer grilling season left for you to try it out.

This is one of those dishes where everything comes together in blissful harmony: hot pork meets cool cucumber, crunchy cabbage butts up against a soft flour tortilla, sinus-clearing wasabi washes over the sweet hoisin glaze. The biggest bonus? It takes no time at all to pull together. Put the super-thin strips of pork on the grill, whisk together the five-ingredient sauce, slice a few veggies, remove the pork, assemble the tacos, done. That leaves you more time to get back to the important things, like enjoying the summer evening. There's nothing wrong with being a little lazy in the summer.

Pork Wasabi Tacos
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens summer 2010.

1-1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
1/3 c hoisin sauce
6 flour tortillas
2 tsp wasabi paste
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 head Napa cabbage, chopped
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced

Marinate pork in hoisin sauce.

Thread onto skewers and cook on grill over medium heat for 2-3 minutes a side, turning once. 

Meanwhile, combine wasabi, water, oil, vinegar and sugar in a small bowl and whisk well to combine. Serve pork on tortillas with cabbage, shredded carrot, cucumber slices and a drizzle of wasabi dressing.