This flavorful pork stir fry is made with pork tenderloin strips and lots of vegetables. The sauce is savory and delicious. This recipe is ready in about 30 minutes, making it ideal for a weeknight dinner.
This pork stir fry is one of my favorite stir-fry recipes. It's made with pork tenderloin, which is a perfect cut for quick cooking, and features lots of tender-crisp vegetables, including broccoli, peppers, and snow peas. I flavor it with garlic, ginger, and a delicious sauce made with soy sauce and sriracha.
Ingredient Notes
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
For the Sauce
- Soy sauce: I typically use reduced-sodium soy sauce. If needed, you can use a gluten-free alternative.
- Sriracha: A tablespoon adds the perfect amount of heat, but you could add even more if you like spicy food. If you don't have sriracha, use red pepper flakes (½ to 1 teaspoon) and add an extra tablespoon of soy sauce.
- Cornstarch: Helps thicken the sauce.
For the Stir Fry
- Pork tenderloin: I use a medium tenderloin weighing around 1 pound.
- Avocado oil: You can replace it with refined coconut oil or ghee (clarified butter) instead of avocado oil.
- Vegetables: I use about three cups of veggies, including broccoli, bell peppers, snap peas, and red onions.
- Aromatics: Minced fresh garlic and grated ginger root.
- Sesame oil and sesame seeds: Used after cooking to flavor the stir fry and garnish it.
Variations
- Sweetener: While optional, adding a tablespoon of honey (real or sugar-free) nicely balances out the saltiness and tanginess of the soy sauce.
- Vegetables: Use what you have! The combination suggested here is great, but if you don't have some of these veggies, you can use other sturdy vegetables or simply use more of those you have. See the photo below - on the day I took it, I used broccoli, red peppers, and green onions because that's what I had. I skipped the snap peas and red onions. The stir-fry turned out delicious!
You can also use frozen vegetables if you wish. They're not as good as fresh ones because they release water into the dish and don't come out as crispy and vibrant as fresh veggies, but they're convenient.
Instructions
Like all stir-fry recipes, this one comes together quickly once you start cooking. Most of the work involves prepping the meat, veggies, and sauce. But even the prep work is relatively easy. The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
Whisk together the sauce ingredients and set the sauce aside. Slice the pork tenderloin and cook it until it's no longer raw, about 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
Remove the pork to a plate. Add more oil to the pan, and then add the vegetables. Cook them briefly, then add garlic and ginger.
Return the pork to the skillet and stir in the sauce. Keep cooking for a couple more minutes - the sauce should thicken considerably. As soon as it does, take the pan off the heat. Drizzle the dish with toasted sesame oil and sprinkle it with sesame seeds, then serve.
Delicious! Also, easy to make, and the whole family (including some picky eaters) loved it. Nice bit of heat from the siracha, but not too spicy for the kids. My 12-year-old daughter asked me to keep this recipe and cook it again soon 🙂
Georgie
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Recipe Tips
- While you don't want the pork undercooked, you definitely don't want it overcooked. So, during the first stage, cook just until the meat is no longer raw. It will continue to cook during the next steps. The same goes for the veggies - you want them to retain their crispness and bright color, so don't overcook them.
- I don't recommend using pork shoulder in this recipe. I use pork tenderloin because it's lean and tender. Pork shoulder is very fatty and is not suitable for a stir-fry. It's suitable for slow-cooked recipes like pork roast, pork carnitas, or pulled pork. It's just like steak stir fry. Sirloin and tenderloin are good, while fattier or tougher cuts are more suitable for slow cooking.
- Storage: You can keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently to prevent the pork from drying out. It's best to reheat them in the microwave, covered, at 50% power. I don't recommend freezing the leftovers.
Serving Suggestions
This dish is quite saucy, and the sauce is exquisite, so you'll want to serve it on top of something that soaks up the sauce. Rice is the traditional choice, but cauliflower rice works just as well.
You can also spoon this stir-fry on mashed cauliflower, zucchini noodles, or spaghetti squash noodles. Or simply serve it on plates with chopsticks, as shown in the image below.
Recipe Card
Quick 30-Minute Pork Stir Fry
Video
Ingredients
Sauce:
- ⅓ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey - optional
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Stir-fry:
- 1 pound pork tenderloin
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil - divided
- 1 cup broccoli florets - use small florets
- 1 cup bell peppers - red and green, sliced
- ½ cup snap peas
- ½ cup red onions - sliced
- 1 tablespoon garlic - minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger root - grated
To finish:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, water, sriracha, honey, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Cut the pork tenderloin into ½-inch rounds and then cut each round into 3-4 strips.
- In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 tablespoon of avocado oil over medium-high heat. Add the pork slices and cook until no longer raw, for about 5 minutes. Remove the pork to a plate and set aside.
- Add the remaining oil to the skillet, then add the broccoli, peppers, red onions, and snap peas. Cook the veggies until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the pork back to the skillet. Give the sauce a quick stir, then add it to the skillet. Continue to cook, stirring, until the sauce has thickened and the pork and vegetables are coated, about 2 more minutes.
- Off heat, drizzle the dish with sesame oil and sprinkle it with sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Notes
- If the skillet becomes too dry at any point during cooking, add a splash of water.
- While you don't want the pork undercooked, you definitely don't want it overcooked. So, during the first stage, cook just until the meat is no longer raw. It will continue to cook during the next steps.
- The same goes for the veggies - you want them to retain their crispness and bright color, so take care not to overcook them.
- You can keep leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently to avoid drying out the pork. It's best to reheat them in the microwave, covered, at 50% power. I don't recommend freezing the leftovers.
Nutrition per Serving
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Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Karen Hastings Daniels says
Excellent! I added carrots too and it was delicious. Just the right amount of heat.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Wonderful! I'm so glad you enjoyed this stir-fry, Karen. Thank you very much for the review.