Sliced pork tenderloin is marinated in an Ethiopian Berbere sauce and is quickly pan fried in a matter of minutes on the stovetop. Berbere sauce is a blended combination of oil, ginger, onion, garlic, and a ton of flavorful spices.
Berbere Sauce Inspiration
This Berbere sauce recipe is inspired by a dear South African woman who got me interested in cooking. South Africa is far away from Ethiopia, but she cooked with these spices nearly everyday, and I was a lucky lunch guest.
This Ethiopian inspired Berbere sauce spice mixture explodes with flavor of mild heat and citrus (fresh lemon juice). It is one of my favorite marinades and dishes.
Use Berbere sauce on pork, chicken, eggs, lentils, or vegetables.
What is Berbere Sauce?
Berbere Sauce is an Ethiopian based spice mixture. It is red pepper based mildly hot ground spice blend originating in Ethiopia.
The basis of Berber sauce is ground chili (paprika in this case), mixed with several other ground spices: fenu greek, ginger, garlic, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.
Ethiopian Berbere sauce is mildly spicy, tangy, peppery, earthy, and a wee bit sweet. In this berbere sauce recipe, the ground spices are pureed with olive oil and lemon juice to make a complex chili based marinade paste that has mind blowing taste.
Variations On Berbere Sauce with Pork
Berbere spice blends have a TON of ground spices. Don't trip out if you don't have all the spices. Here's a quick substitution guide that may help out in a pinch:
- substitute dry mustard and/or fennel seeds for fenu greek
- substitute cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves for cardamom
- substitute cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves for all spice
This Berbere sauce recipe goes pork. But, Berbere sauce can also be used with chicken, vegetables, or tofu.
How Hot Is Ethiopian Berbere Sauce?
The great thing about making your own berbere sauce is that you can control the spice and heat.
If sensitive to heat, choose a mildly spicy paprika and go easy on the black pepper, garlic, and ginger.
Freeze Leftover Berbere Sauce
There are a lot of spices in this berbere sauce recipe. Make a double or triple batch of the pureed Berbere sauce. Freeze leftover berbere sauce in small snack ziploc bags and use them later.
The frozen berbere sauce stays good in the freezer for up to 4 months and makes for a quick and impressive sauce or marinade for nearly anything.
Berbere Sauce with Pork Tenderloin FAQ:
Color variations in berbere sauce are because of the different dried chilies (paprika) and other spices used.
Some paprika spice blends are redder than others. Other spices and blends are dull or browner. Find the flavor you like and don't worry about the color.
Ethiopian Pork With Berbere Sauce
EatSimpleFood.com
This Ethiopian Berbere pork recipe has a ton of flavorful spices mixed with oil to create a paste for a sauce. This Berbere recipe can be used on pork, chicken, eggs, lentils, or vegetables.
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb pork tenderloin, sliced
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes - optional for heat
- ½ tsp fenu greek
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground all spice
- 2 Tbsp ground paprika
- ½ cup onions, diced
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 2 tsp ginger, minced
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Slice pork tenderloin thin.
- Add all ingredients, except pork, into a food processor or blender.
- Blend on high until a paste/sauce forms. Add a little oil or water for a thinner consistency if desired. Add more salt and lemon juice to taste.
- Marinate pork with sauce for at least ~ 15 minutes up to overnight.
- Bring a large pan to medium high heat, add vegetable oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan and add marinated pork.
- Cook uncovered, flipping once, for ~ 2-3 minutes or until seared brown on one side.
- Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until pork is cooked through or internal temperature of pork reaches 155F.
- Add salt to taste. Happy Eating! Beckie
Notes
Don't overcrowd your pan! Cook the pork in two batches if the pan is too crowded as you want it to sear and not steam.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Ethiopia
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten Free, Keto, Low Fat, Low-Carb, Paleo, Whole30
Things In My Kitchen:
- Food Processor - for blending up those spices.
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Serving Suggestion
Serve this flavorful and tender Berbere pork recipe with a complementary side dish like:
You May Also Like
If you like this Berbere marinated pork then you may like these recipes with an ethnic spice or sauce.
Color variations in Berbere sauce are because of the dried chilies (paprika) and other spices. Some paprika spice blend are redder than others. Other blends are dull or browner. Find the flavor you like and don't worry about the color.
Full disclosure - I am the author’s husband.
To me, the claim that this recipe takes 15 minutes of prep time is unrealistic for someone inexperienced, who is making this for the first time. By the time I gathered all the spices, measured them out, blended everything, cut and marinated the pork and cleaned up the mess I made in the process, I was 45 minutes in.
But the actual cooking process is fast and easy, and it tastes AMAZING! It’s so flavorful and delicious. I paired it with rice and roasted okra.
The next time I bet I could do the prep in ~30 minutes and I would follow Beckie’s recommendation to make double the sauce and freeze half of it!
Thank you for dinner last night Toby! and also for the feedback! xo