Asian BBQ Pork Kabobs – Hey Grill, Hey

February 13, 2026

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With a simple, 9-ingredient marinade, and pork tenderloin, you can grill these Asian BBQ Pork Kabobs in your own backyard! These savory skewers are big on flavor and make the perfect, shareable meat.

Asian BBQ Pork Kabobs

These Asian BBQ Pork Kabobs help you balance flavorful Asian ingredients blended with that classic BBQ profile. A simple Asian BBQ marinade comes together quickly with pantry ingredients and infuses melt in your mouth pork tenderloin with big flavors. The marinade cooks down while you assemble the kebabs, doubling as a perfect basting sauce! Pair with some jasmine rice and grilled vegetables, this will become a new go-to weeknight meal!

“The sauce is sooo yummy. Really interesting flavor and super easy to make.”

– Amy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Asian BBQ Marinade for Pork

While pork tenderloin is already an amazing cut on its own, my Asian-style marinade takes things to a whole new level. With just 9 ingredients you’ve likely got on hand already, you can make it at home. Here’s what you’ll need:

½ cup ketchup
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup sweet Thai red chili sauce
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 bunch scallions (sliced)
2 teaspoons coarse black pepper

How Long to Marinate Pork

The key to tender, juicy pork skewers with a caramelized char starts with how long you marinated the pork. When you don’t allow your pork to marinate long enough, you lose out on the deep flavor. If you let it marinate too long, you’ll run into texture issues. There’s a sweet spot for marinating pork, which I break down below:

Less than 8 hours: If your pork marinates less than 8 hours, the marinade won’t have time to soak deep into the meat. The pork will still get great surface flavor, but the inner bites will be mild.
8 to 24 hours: This is the window I recommend if you have the time. You get the most flavor without sacrificing texture. The marinade has enough time to tenderize the pork while infusing the flavor deep into the meat.
Over 24 hours: The acids in the marinade can start to break down the pork if you go longer than 24 hours.

The Best Skewers for Pork Kabobs

You can assemble these Asian BBQ Pork Kabobs on whatever type of kabob skewers you have available. We love kabobs, so I’ve invested in a set of metal skewers that will last a long time. If you’re using bamboo or other wood skewers, be sure to soak them in a shallow pan of water for a couple of hours prior to grilling so they don’t burn up on the grill.

No skewers? No problem! Pick up your preferred style here:

Can I skewer my pork with veggies?

You’ll notice this pork kabob recipe doesn’t call for vegetables placed on the skewers with the pork. This may not be traditional for that classic American kabob, but it is very intentional. The pork and vegetables will be done cooking at different times. Pork is done at 145 degrees F internal temperature and these skewers cook very quickly over direct heat. That direct heat also helps a lot with getting the edges of that slightly sweet marinade and sauce nice and caramelized on the exterior of the pork.

I prefer to grill my vegetables separately on their own skewers so that as the pork kabobs are finished and resting for a few minutes, the vegetables can finish cooking through. There is nothing worse than perfect meat and overly crunchy vegetables, or overdone meat and tender vegetables. Simply cook them separately and problem solved!

More BBQ Kabob Recipes

When you see how awesome it feels watching the people you love smiling as they enjoy the pork kabobs you made, you’ll be hooked. The fun doesn’t stop with pork, though, because you can skewer and grill pretty much any protein you love. Here are a few Hey Grill Hey favorites to check out next:

Remember, you can find these along with all your favorite BBQ recipes right in the Hey Grill Hey App. With the app, you can also make meal plans and grocery lists right from your phone!

Simple Asian BBQ Pork Kabob Recipe

Feel like a Backyard BBQ Hero by following the recipe card below so you can feed these Asian BBQ Pork Kabobs to the people you love! Make sure to come back after you’re done enjoying them to drop a comment along with a 5-star rating.

For even more amazing BBQ recipes, tips, tricks, and behind-the-scenes fun, make sure you’re following Hey Grill Hey on Facebook and Instagram, and that you’re subscribed to the official YouTube channel!

Make the marinade. In a gallon size zip top bag, combine all of the ingredients for the marinade.

½ cup ketchup, ½ cup vegetable oil, ½ cup soy sauce, ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup sweet Thai red chili sauce, 2 cloves garlic, 1 bunch (about 8) scallions, 2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
Prepare the pork. Trim any excess silver skin or fat from the outside of the pork tenderloin. Cut the tenderloin into 1.5 inch cubes. Try to make them as equal in size as possible.

1 pork tenderloin
Marinate the pork. Place the cubed pork into the marinade, seal the bag tightly, and toss to coat each piece of the meat with the marinade. Set the bag on a plate and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
Thread the skewers. Remove the pork pieces from the bag, shaking off any large pieces of onion and excess marinade. Slide the pieces of marinated pork onto 4 skewers.
Make the basting sauce. Pour the remaining marinade into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook at a rolling boil for 5-10 minutes while you assemble your skewers. Remove from the heat and divide into two bowls. One for basting your pork as it grills and one for serving with your pork when it is finished cooking.
Preheat the grill. Set your grill to 400 degrees F. You will be grilling over direct heat, which means right over the flame on your grill.
Grill the kabobs. Place the kabobs onto the grill and cook for 10-12 minutes, basting with your reduced marinade sauce and turning every 3-4 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meat reads 145 degrees F and the exterior edges of the pork are crispy and caramelized.
Serve and enjoy. Remove the kabobs to rest for about 5 minutes so you don’t burn your mouth. Serve with the remaining sauce and enjoy!

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

**I originally published this post in April 2018, but recently updated it with new photos, more information, and helpful tips. However, the recipe remains the same.