PORK ASADO

* 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, shoulder, or butt
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
* 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
* 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
* 2 tablespoons ketchup
* 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon liquid honey
* 2 teaspoons brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder
* a few drops red food coloring, optional

PREPARATION:
Cut the pork into strips approximately 2 inches wide and 5 inches long.

Smash and peel the garlic, and mash it with a mortar and pestle or with a fork.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice wine or sherry, hoisin sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, liquid honey, brown sugar, mashed garlic and five-spice powder.


If using the red food coloring, add it now.

Place the pork in a shallow 9 X 13-inch glass baking dish. Pour the marinade over. Marinate the pork in the refrigerator, covered, for 3 hours. Remove the pork from the dish. Reserve the marinade.

Preheat the oven (425 degrees Fahrenheit for pork tenderloin, 350 degrees for shoulder or butt). Fill a shallow roasting pan with 1/2-inch of water and place in the bottom of the oven. Place the pork on a rack above the water. Roast until golden brown, brushing 2 or 3 times with the reserved marinade (about 30 minutes total roasting time for the tenderloin, 45 minutes total roasting time for the shoulder or butt). The internal temperature of the pork should be 160 degrees F. Remove and cool.

When the pork is cool enough to handle, cut across the grain into pieces 1/4-inch thick. Serve at room temperature, cold, or use to make steamed buns.