Easy Chinese BBQ pork tenderloin on the Blackstone griddle in 30 minutes. A sweet hoisin char siu glaze makes a quick weeknight griddle dinner.
When you need easy Blackstone griddle dinners for a busy weeknight, this Chinese BBQ pork tenderloin delivers. We timed it start to finish, with griddle preheat and prep included, and had dinner on the table in about 30 minutes. And for the folks who always say I started ahead, we put a clock on it.
The recipe is inspired by Chinese char siu, adapted for the flat top. A sugary marinade sticks and scorches on a griddle, so we skip it. We sear the pork plain and glaze it with a sweet hoisin BBQ sauce at the end. You get all that char siu flavor with easy cleanup, which makes this one of my favorite quick Blackstone recipes.
*Check out more of our Chinese and Asian-inspired Blackstone recipes here!
Why You’ll love this Chinese BBQ Pork Tenderloin
- It’s a true 30-minute dinner. We timed it on camera on our griddle cooking YouTube channel, griddle preheat and prep included.
- No overnight marinade. The sauce goes on as a glaze at the end, so there’s nothing to plan the night before.
- Big flavor from pantry staples. Hoisin, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, and Chinese five-spice do all the heavy lifting.
- Budget friendly. Our tenderloin was on sale for under $6. With rice and vegetables, this fed three people for about $12 total.
- Everything cooks on one griddle. Pork, sauce, and sides all happen on the Blackstone at the same time.
Ingredient Notes
- Pork tenderloin. Tenderloin is lean, tender, and relatively inexpensive – perfect for a weeknight griddle cook. It’s one of my go-to proteins that the whole family loves.
- Hoisin sauce. This is the backbone of the sauce. It’s sweet, salty, and a little tangy, and it gives you that classic char siu flavor.
- Chinese five-spice. Five-spice gives the sauce its warm, almost jerk-like quality. If you don’t have it, allspice works in a pinch.
- No red food coloring. Traditional char siu gets its bright red color from food coloring. We skip it. It doesn’t add flavor, and nobody at my table missed it.
How to Make Chinese BBQ Pork Tenderloin on the Blackstone
Heat the griddle. Preheat the griddle with one hotter zone, set to a medium temperature of about 375-400°F, and a cooler zone. On most Blackstone griddles, the edges run cooler than the center, so keep that in mind as you set up your zones.
Mix the sauce. In a small heat-safe saucepan, stir together the hoisin, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, Chinese five-spice, sesame oil, and black pepper. Set the saucepan in a corner of the griddle and let it simmer and thicken while you work on everything else.
*Be careful – be sure to use a hot pad when you grab the handle of the pan. It will get hot sitting on the girddle.
Sear the pork. Add a small bit of high-heat cooking oil to the sear zone and lay the pork tenderloin down. Focus on getting a deep, golden sear on each side, turning every few minutes. Plan on about 15 to 20 minutes total, depending on thickness, but be sure to check internal temperature with an instant read thermometer since it’s pork.
Cook your sides. While the pork sears, use the cooler side of the griddle for your vegetables and rice (see serving suggestions below).
Glaze the pork. Once the tenderloin is close to done, around 140°F inside, start basting it with the reduced sauce. Keep the glazing to one small area of the griddle so the sugar doesn’t burn across your whole cooktop. Turn and baste a few times until the sauce is sticky and caramelized and the pork reaches 145°F.
Clean as you go. Scrape off the scorched sauce right away, then squirt a little water on the hot spot and scrape again. Working in a small patch makes this a 30-second job instead of a 30-minute one.
Rest and slice. Pull the pork and let it rest for about 3-5 minutes. Look at the meat to find which way the grain runs, then slice across the grain into medallions.
Serve. Plate the sliced pork and spoon any leftover sauce over the top. Garnish with sliced green onion tops if you like.
What to Serve with Chinese BBQ Pork
We served ours with garlic fried rice and griddled veggies so everything cooked on the Blackstone at once. Here are a few more ways to round out the plate:
- Garlic fried rice. Our go-to side dish. Use day-old rice, spread it thin, and whatever you do, don’t chop the rice. As the rice heats up on the griddle, make a well in the center and add butter and fresh minced garlic to become fragrant. Mix in with the rice, along with soy sauce. Finish with a tad bit of sesame oil.
- Hibachi-style vegetables. Zucchini, squash, and onions with a little oil, salt, coarse pepper, a splash of soy sauce, and a pat of butter. My wife could eat a whole plate of these.
- Steamed white or jasmine rice. The easiest option, and great for soaking up extra sauce.
- Lo mein or griddle noodles. Toss cooked lo mein noodles on the griddle with soy sauce, garlic, and veggies for a takeout-style night.
- Stir-fried green beans or broccoli. A quick sear with garlic and a little soy gives you a crisp, bright side.
- Asian slaw or cucumber salad. Something cool and crunchy balances the sweet, sticky glaze.
- Pork rice bowls. Pile sliced pork over rice with veggies, a drizzle of leftover sauce, and sliced green onions.
- Steamed bao buns or lettuce wraps. Tuck slices of pork into soft buns or butter lettuce with a few pickled veggies.
- Fried rice the next day. Chop leftover pork and toss it into a fresh batch of Blackstone fried rice for a whole new dinner.
Chinese BBQ-Style Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1¼ – 1½ pound pork tenderloin silver skin trimmed as needed
- ½ tablespoon high-heat cooking oil like avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice or substitute allspice
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the griddle to medium heat (about 400℉).
- Whisk the hoisin, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, five-spice, sesame oil, and black pepper together in a small saucepan. Set the pan on a corner of the griddle to simmer and reduce. *Be careful – the handle of the pan will get hot. Don't let the sauce get too thick. You can take if off the griddle if needed to control the heat.
- Add about ½ tablespoon of oil to the griddle, and spread it around a bit with your spatula. Place the pork on the oiled griddle, and sear on all sides, turning every few minutes so it cooks evenly. *You can also place a melting dome over the pork to help speed up the cooking time. Or if the outside is getting too dark, transfer to a cooler zone on the griddle.
- When the pork reaches about 140°F internal temperature, baste it with the reduced sauce in a small area of the griddle. Turn and baste until sticky and caramelized and the internal temperature reaches 145°F.
- Rest the pork for about 3-5 minutes, then slice against the grain. Spoon remaining sauce over the top and serve.
- *For easy cleanup, immediately add a few squirts of water to the hot griddle and scrape leftover sticky sauce into the grease trap while pork is resting.
Notes
- Scrape and deglaze the glazing area with a little water right away while the griddle is warm for easy cleanup.
- We like to serve this Asian-inspired BBQ pork with garlic fried rice and sautéed zucchini, squash, and onions.
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