This pork stir fry recipe is made with pork tenderloin, cabbage, carrots and features a homemade stir fry sauce. Stir fry is a favorite at our house and I’m happy with that because it’s a quick, easy and we get some vegetables in.
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Homemade stir fry sauce
This pork and vegetable stir fry is made with an easy homemade stir fry sauce. It’s a simple combination of soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar, garlic and spices. The sauce is also great with beef, shrimp, chicken or just plain vegetables. Use it to make beef and vegetable stir fry or combine it with large shrimp and mixed vegetables for more quick and easy weeknight meals.
What cut of pork is best for this stir fry?
This stir fry is made with pork tenderloin so we get super tender pork slices without long cooking or marinating times. Pork tenderloins are smaller than pork loin and other cuts like shoulder, making it convenient too.
What vegetables to use for stir fry?
For this pork stir fry we use green cabbage, red cabbage and carrots but you can substitute your favorite vegetables. Good choices include: broccoli, snow peas, bell peppers, mushrooms, baby corn, green beans, sugar snap peas, onion and asparagus.
Tips to make great stir fry
- Things move quickly with a stir fry, have all of the components prepped and ready to go before you start cooking.
- Cut all of the ingredients roughly the same size so that they cook at the same rate. Keep them bite sized but don’t make them too small.
- Don’t stir fry with super cold ingredients. Let the meat, vegetables and sauce sit at room temperature for a little while to get the chill out (provided that it’s cool in your kitchen).
- Stir fry cooks quickly; have any side dishes (rice, noodles, grains, etc.) ready, or on the way to ready, before you start cooking.
- Use oil with a high smoke point, some choices include: canola, corn, palm, vegetable, peanut, grapeseed, sunflower and sesame.
- Make sure the pan and cooking oil are very hot before adding the meat.
- With the exception of browning the meat, stir the ingredients often. We’re cooking on pretty high heat so we need to move those ingredients around for even cooking and to prevent burning.
Prep work
This stir fry meal takes about 10 minutes to cook. There’s no time in between for prep work, so it’s best to have everything ready to before you start. The prep work is fairly straight forward but chopping the cabbage does take a little bit of time.
If you’re in a rush take some help from the supermarket and purchase a prepackaged Asian-style vegetables. Some include green and red cabbage, carrots, snow peas, broccoli, etc.
Cut the green cabbage: First, remove the outside leaves. They’re usually damaged and wilted. Cut the cabbage in half. We only need one half of the cabbage if it’s small (a quarter if it’s a large cabbage). Wrap and store the unused piece in the refrigerator for another use, like making this cabbage sausage soup.
- Rinse the cabbage well with cold running water. Give it a few shakes and pat dry.
- Place it on a cutting board and remove the tough white stem by making a V shape cut. It should pop right out. Discard the stem.
- Next, place the cabbage cut side down and cut horizontal strips about an inch wide.
- Now, cut the cabbage across the horizontal strips, again making them about an inch wide.
- You will end up with square bite sized pieces.
Cut the red cabbage: Follow the same steps outlined above to wash, rinse and dry the red cabbage. Cut it in half or quarters and remove the tough stem. Place a piece flat side down on a cutting board and slice it into roughly ¼ inch strips. Then cut across the strips to make them just 1 – 2 inches long.
Cut the carrot on the bias to make thin, diagonal pieces. We want the carrot slices nice and thin (about ⅛ – ¼ inch) so that they cook quicker.
Slice the pork tenderloin: Cut the pork tenderloin into thin slices. Make them about ⅛ – ¼ inch thick. Pat the pork dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt.
Make the stir fry sauce
- The garlic is the only ingredient for the sauce that needs to be prepped. The rest is just measuring. I like to use a microplane grater to break down the garlic right into the jar. If you don’t have a small grater then finely mince the garlic.
- Add the water and cornstarch to a jar or a medium bowl. Use a fork or a small whisk to stir the mixture until the cornstarch dissolves.
- Next, add the reduced sodium soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper (if using). Stir the stir fry sauce vigorously until combined.
- If you are not using the stir fry sauce right away make sure to give it a good stir right before cooking. The corn starch will settle at the bottom so get in there and stir well until it is incorporated again.
How to make pork and cabbage stir fry
- Heat the oil in a large, deep, non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the pork slices, arrange them in a single layer and cook 2 minutes.
- Turn each piece and cook another 2-3 minutes until the liquid rendered by the pork cooks out and most, or all, the pink is gone.
- Cook the pork tenderloin slices while stirring for 1-2 minutes or until the pork is cooked through and golden in color.
- Add the vegetables to the skillet and stir well.
- Next, add the prepared sauce and stir well to coat the ingredients.
- Lower the heat, cover and cook until the vegetables reach the desired tenderness.
Serve the pork stir fry with white rice or noodles, garnish with green onions if desired, and enjoy!
You may also like these Asian-inspired recipes:
- Asian Marinated Pork Tenderloin
- Shrimp Lo Mein
- Chicken Satay
- Pork Egg Rolls
- Pork Potstickers
- Pork Lettuce Wraps
Pork Stir Fry
Ingredients
Stir fry ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Oil use a flavorless oil with a high smoke point (we use canola oil)
- 1 pound Pork Tenderloin sliced very thin (about ⅛ – ¼ inch) and pat dry
- 1 teaspoon Salt plus extra if needed at the end (we use kosher salt)
- 10 -12 ounces Green cabbage chopped into roughly 1 inch pieces (about 4-5 cups when cut)
- 3-4 ounces Red Cabbage shredded and cut into 1-2 inch strips (about 1½ cups when shredded)
- 3-4 ounces Carrots sliced thin on the bias/diagonal (about ¾ cup when sliced)
- 1-2 tablespoons Sliced Green Onions for garnish – optional
Stir fry sauce ingredients
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Corn Starch
- ¼ cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 2 Large Garlic Cloves grated or finely minced
- 1 teaspoon Ginger Powder
- Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper or to taste – leave it out if you don’t like spicy
Instructions
Make the stir fry sauce
- Add the water and cornstarch to a jar or a medium bowl. Use a fork or a small whisk to stir the mixture until the cornstarch dissolves.
- Add the reduced sodium soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper (if using). Stir the sauce vigorously until combined and set aside.
Make the pork stir fry
- Sprinkle the pork slices with one teaspoon salt.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, deep, non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the pork slices, arrange them in a single layer and cook 2 minutes.
- Turn each piece and cook another 2-3 minutes until the liquid rendered by the pork cooks out.
- Cook the pork tenderloin slices while stirring for 1-2 minutes or until the pork is cooked through, no pink should be visible and the outside should have a light golden color.
- Add the vegetables to the skillet and stir well.
- Next, add the sauce and stir well to coat the ingredients with the sauce.
- Lower the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until the vegetables reach the desired tenderness (the less time the crispier the vegetables will be, cook longer if you like them tender). Stir frequently.
- Garnish with sliced green onions, if desired and serve over rice or noodles.
Notes
- If you are serving the pork stir fry with rice or noodles start them first so everything is done at the same time.
- Remove the meat, vegetables and sauce from the refrigerator about ½ hour before cooking to let the chill out (provided that it is cool in your kitchen).
- If you are not using the stir fry sauce right away make sure to give it a good stir right before cooking. The corn starch will settle at the bottom.
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