Pork Stir-Fry

This wonderfully flavorful pork stir-fry is made with pork tenderloin strips and lots of vegetables.

The sauce, based on soy sauce and sriracha, is amazing! And it's ready in about 30 minutes, making it an ideal choice for a weeknight dinner.

Pork stir-fry served in a cast-iron skillet.

Stir-frys are great. Once you're done prepping the ingredients (which you can often do in advance), they are usually ready in about ten minutes. This makes them ideal for weeknight dinners.

This particular stir-fry is one of my favorites. It's made with pork tenderloin (more on why this particular cut of meat later on), and I add lots of vegetables. I flavor this dish with garlic, ginger, and a very flavorful sauce made with soy sauce and sriracha.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Expert tip
Frequently asked questions
Variations
Serving suggestions
Storing leftovers
Related recipes
Recipe card

Ingredients

Here's an overview of what you'll need to make this tasty pork stir-fry. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below:

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 to this dish. But if you like your food very spicy, you could add even more.
Cornstarch: Helps thicken the sauce. You can experiment with low-carb alternatives if you wish.

For the stir-fry:

Pork tenderloin: I use one medium tenderloin weighing around 1 pound.
Avocado oil: This neutral-tasting oil has a high smoke point, making it ideal for high-heat cooking.
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 is done to flavor the cooked dish and garnish it.

The ingredients needed to make a pork stir-fry.

Instructions

Like all stir-fry recipes, this pork stir-fry comes together astonishingly quickly once you start cooking.

Most of the work is in prepping the meat, veggies, and sauce. But even the prep work is quite easy and quick. Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:

Your first step is to whisk together the sauce ingredients and set the sauce aside.
Now, slice the pork tenderloin. To do that, first, cut it into rounds, then cut each round into slices, as shown in the video below.
Your next step is to cook the meat in avocado oil. Cook until the meat is no longer raw. This should take about 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
Now, using a slotted spoon, remove the meat onto a plate, add more oil to the pan, and add the vegetables. Cook them briefly, then add garlic and ginger.
Add the meat back 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 stir-fry with toasted sesame oil (so tasty!) and sprinkle it with sesame seeds before serving.

A six-photo collage showing the steps for making a pork stir-fry.

Expert tip

While you don't want the pork undercooked, you definitely don't want it overcooked. So during the first stage of cooking the meat, 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.

Frequently asked questions

What cut of pork is good in a stir-fry?

It's best to use pork tenderloin in this recipe because it's lean and tender. If you use pork shoulder, it would be too fatty. I use pork tenderloin in other recipes too - check out this pork medallions recipe. It's wonderful.

So it's best to use pork shoulder for pork steaks, pork roast, pork carnitas, or pulled pork. It's just like beef stir fry. Sirloin and tenderloin are good, while fattier or tougher cuts are better for slow cooking.

Can I use frozen stir-fry vegetables?

Yes, you can. They're not as ideal as fresh ones because they release water into the dish and they don't come out as crispy and vibrantly colorful as fresh veggies. But they're very convenient, so it's an option.

Should I marinate the meat before cooking?

If you use pork tenderloin, which is quite tender, there's no need to marinate it first.

Variations

I love this recipe as is and almost always make it as written. But in case you'd like to vary the basic recipe, here are a few ideas for you:

You can use refined coconut oil or ghee instead of olive oil for frying.
While optional, I find that adding a tablespoon of honey (real or sugar-free) nicely balances out the saltiness and tanginess of the soy sauce.
If you don't have sriracha, you can use red pepper flakes instead (½ to 1 teaspoon), adding one more tablespoon of soy sauce.

Serving suggestions

This dish is quite saucy and the sauce is exquisite, so you'll definitely want to serve it on something that would soak up the sauce. Rice is the traditional choice, but cauliflower rice works just as well.

And happily, these days, you can get bags of frozen pre-riced cauliflower that are microwaveable and ready in just 5 minutes.

Having said that, when I don't have cauliflower on hand, I simply serve it on plates with some chopsticks:

Pork stir-fry served on a white plate with chopsticks.

Storing leftovers

You can keep leftovers in the fridge, in a sealed container, for 3-4 days. Make sure you reheat them very gently so that you don't dry out the pork. It's best to reheat them in the microwave, covered, at 50% power.