Pork Salad

If you’re looking for a “meal in a bowl” type of salad, you’ve found it with this pork salad recipe. Plenty of veggies and a hefty dose of protein-rich pork will have you nourished and satisfied, especially if you have a hunk of hearty bread on the side.

Easy to make and packed with flavor, thanks to its host of ingredients, this salad with pork really can be a meal in itself, but it’s also a welcome starter to a larger feast. And once you have the base recipe mastered, it welcomes customization.

Pork Salad Ingredients

• Garlic: You can use a fresh garlic clove you mince yourself, or a frozen cube you allow to thaw before commencing the cooking.
• Gingerroot: The minced ginger pairs perfectly with the garlic, creating a flavor profile that’s rich, earthy, spicy and divine.
• Olive oil: A generous dose of olive oil helps combine the garlic and ginger and cook the meat, and it also adds to the flavor of the dressing.
• Pork tenderloin: As laid out here, this recipe uses 1/2 pound of pork tenderloin that has been thinly sliced.
• Brown sugar: Make sure to pack the brown sugar before considering it properly measured.
• Fresh basil: Fresh basil is highly desirable in this recipe, as opposed to dried basil, so do your best to find some at the grocery store. Or better yet, keep a basil plant growing all year round in a pot by the kitchen window.
• Soy sauce: A reduced-sodium soy sauce is almost always the best choice, and the flavor profile will be great even with a bit less salt.
• Lime juice: Fresh lime juice is desirable if you can get your hands on some fruit, but bottled lime juice is just fine as well.
• Oregano: Where you find basil, you often find oregano, and this salad is no different.
• Mixed salad greens: You don’t want the mixed greens to be chopped, exactly, but they should be torn, resulting in relatively even leaf sizes that will fit well on the fork.
• Grape tomatoes: If you don’t have grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes work fine, as do plum tomatoes cut into quarters.
• Red onion: The small red onion should be thinly sliced and then separated into its many rings.
• Sweet yellow pepper: Cut the sweet yellow pepper into thin strips, making them about the same size as the red onion rings in terms of thickness.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the pork and flavorings

Sonia Bozzo for Taste of Home

In a large skillet, cook the garlic and ginger in oil over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the pork, cooking and stirring until the meat is no longer pink. Remove the pork and set it aside, keeping it warm.

Step 2: Make the warm dressing

Sonia Bozzo for Taste of Home

In the same skillet, combine the brown sugar, basil, soy sauce, lime juice, water and oregano. Bring the mixture to a boil, then stir it and remove it from the heat.

Step 3: Assemble the salad, add the dressing

Sonia Bozzo for Taste of Home

In a salad bowl, combine the salad greens, tomatoes, onion, yellow pepper and pork. Drizzle the warm dressing over the salad and toss everything to coat, then serve immediately.

Sonia Bozzo for Taste of Home

Pork Salad Variations

• Add more veggies: You can beef up this salad, so to speak, by adding carrots, snap peas, broccoli and plenty of other fresh vegetables as well.
• Spice it up: If you like spicy foods, then add some heat to this dish by sprinkling a healthy dose of red pepper flakes into the skillet as you make the dressing.
• Use tofu instead: For a vegetarian-friendly (and vegan-friendly) version of this salad, use tofu instead of pork.

How to Store Pork Salad

Pork Salad Tips

Sonia Bozzo for Taste of Home

Can I use bone-in chops?

You can make this pork and salad with bone-in pork chops, which tend to yield a more tender and flavorful meat. You will need to adjust your cooking time somewhat, and use a food thermometer to make sure they reach 140°F, then slice the meat off the bone for use in the salad.

Can I use dried oregano for the dressing?

Yes, and in fact you might have to, since finding fresh oregano can be a challenge. Substitute 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano for the full teaspoon of the fresh herb.

Make your pork salad recipe with leftovers

The next time you make a large pork roast, consider the leftovers a welcome treat. Heat the chopped leftover pork in the oil and ginger, noting that you’ll need much less cooking time for the precooked pork.