Firecracker Sriracha Honey Pork Loin

Sriracha is one of Thailand's gifts to the world and honey is arguably the the most most natural and healthy sweetener.  Combined the mixture of sweetness and spice work wonders on the taste buds.  You can handle quite a bit of heat when you add sugars.  That makes this combination one of the more interesting culinary adventures I've had lately.

Sriracha Honey Pork

The Reason Sweet and Spicy go so well Together

In physical therapy we often use gate control theory to help alleviate pain.   According to chowhound.com this is what's going on here if I understand them right.   It works like this, there is a gate going into your brain.

How Gate Control Theory Works with Spicy Foods

Pain and sensation nerves pass through that gate.  There isn't enough room for both to fit their signals through when there is a lot of stimulus.  Sensory nerves are mylenated which means they are built for more efficient transmission of their signals.  Pain nerves are not, you can see more on this here.  When you load up the sweetness the signal from the brain doesn't get in as much.   This makes this recipe an interesting science experiment for the mouth as well. 

How our Taste Buds Differ by Person and Over Time

Taste buds vary in their tolerance for spiciness so this is somewhat subjective.  There are two main variables that affect how we perceive spices over time.   1.  As we age our taste buds abilities dull and we need more stimulus in all forms to perceive the stimulus.  2.  You actually dull the taste buds ability to perceive spiciness the more you eat it.  It dulls the sense when you overwhelm it too much according to a livestrong.com article.

Check out my wife who can handle a lot of heat since growing up in Thailand.  She is taking down 5 habanero peppers with no drink in this video.

The Thai Taste Bud, One of the Toughest in the World

Calculating How Much Sweet or Other Flavor to Add to Counteract the Heat

Since our taste buds vary I think it's best to taste as you go when making your Sriracha honey sauce.   I first put ¼th cup Sriracha sauce in my measuring cup.  Then I just added honey 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing evenly, each time until it was just right.  I often use a well established recipe to base my primary measurements off of but on this one I just inferred.  I think it turned out great.  I am passionate about my sauces and would be a saucier if I were a chef. 

Sriracha Honey Sauce

The Thai Food Heat Scale

You may see the scale used in different ways at different restaurants.  The most common way I have seen it at American based Thai restaurants is a scale of 1-5.  Level 3 is pushing it for my American taste buds.  Here is another scale from 1-7.  Based on the 1-5 scale I would put this sauce between a 2-3.

Choosing a Sweetener

There has been a lot of changing of minds and argument in this area lately.  I was at a recent continuing education in which we had this debate.  Honey is the most natural which is the most important thing for some people.  This isn't true for me because so is sugar.  Agave nectar has high fructose levels so it may be too hard on the pancreas.  Stevia may be a good choice for this because it is both natural and lower in calories.  I chose honey just because the sound of it resonated with me.  I would love to hear how you decide on this topic.  🙂

For the Pork Loin

For the pork loin you typically want to cook to between 145 -160 degrees F.  This is according to the counsel for pork on their website.   Any time you do a rub on a meat it is a good idea to place holes in it and rub the sauce in first.  I did this here as well.

Sriracha Honey Rub is One of My Favorite New Meat Rubs

Pork has come a long way when it comes to health!

Vegetarians, especially those who eat only vegetables and fish tend to live the longest.  But if you crave other meats like we do you can find some solace here.   Pork is lower in fat than ever and the loin is one of the best cuts for lower fat.

According to porkbeinspired.com, the website of the association promoting pork, pork is actually better than lean chicken on several metrics.  The trick is just to know which cuts to choose.  To quote the site.

In total, six pork cuts meet the USDA guidelines for “lean,” with less than 10 grams fat, 4.5 grams saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving. Any cuts from the loin — like pork chops and pork roast — are leaner than skinless chicken thigh, according to USDA data.

To see a table of the common cuts of pork compared to common lean chicken cuts click the link to their comparison site here.

Ingredients:

• ¼th cup Sriracha
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 1 pork loin
• ⅛ cup cilantro for garnish

Instructions:

1.  Heat the oven to 350 degrees
2.  Poke holes in the meat
3.  Mix your sauce
4.  Cover the meat with the sauce making sure to rub it into the holes
5.  Cook for 1 hour
6.  Slice and garnish with cilantro

If you like this recipe  you might also like one of these!

Stir Fried Tom Yum Pork (ต้มยำแห้งหมูสับ)

Two Ingredient Sizzling Pork

Easy Waterfall Pork (หมูน้ำตก)