"PACIFIC RIM" PORK TENDERLOIN

Cooking in a hurry tonight after a Web-weaving project kept me chained to my computer most of the day, I came up with a quick but mighty tasty pan-Asian ("Pacific Rim") slather for a small grilled pork tenderloin. With fresh garden lima beans (yum!), rolls warmed on the grill for a few minutes, and a quick caprese (tomato slices, fresh mozzarella and basil), it was an ample meal that went nicely with a simple, dry Languedoc white.

Here's the procedure: A while before dinner (earlier the better), slather a 12 to 16-ounce pork tenderloin with a mixture of 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon Datil Do It (or other fruity-hot sauce), 1/2 tablespoon lemon vodka and 1/4 teaspoon "five spice." Leave on a plate at room temperature, turning occasionally, while you fire up a bed of coals in the Weber kettle.

About 30-40 minutes before dinner, set up the coals for direct-indirect heat (all coals on one side of the grate), add a couple of well-soaked hickory chunks, and put the tenderloin over direct heat for the first 10 minutes, 5 on each side. Check it fairly closely to ensure that the slathered exterior browns nicely but doesn't start to burn. After 10 minutes, move to the indirect-heat side and continue cooking, turning and basting occasionally with the leftover slather. Check by touch or with an instant-read meat thermometer (you're looking for an internal temperature around 150). When it's ready, cut diagonally into thick (1-inch) slices, and serve.