Fresh vegetables, crunchy cashews, and marinated pork tenderloin. This pork stir fry is a delicious, vegetable-heavy dinner, on your table in under 30 minutes.
It’s obvious that I don’t mind time-consuming endeavors in the kitchen. (Hi, have we met? I like to make things like this spiral vegetable tart or this layer cake with homemade blueberry cardamom curd.) Pre-baby, my ideal weekend consisted of hosting a large, multi-course dinner party, spending all day in the kitchen in preparation. Time consuming and difficult? Lots of detailed steps? Bring it.
Except now I have a baby. I work full time in the lab and I go to the gym after work. I usually don’t get home until after 7, and my little guy is in bed by 9. That leaves me with 2 hours to cook dinner, eat dinner, get in my weekday playtime with Ryan, and go through our bedtime routine. Suddenly, quick and easy dinner options have become my jam.
I’m pretty sure it doesn’t get any quicker and easier than stir fry, aside from ordering in. Except unlike ordering in, this homemade pork stir fry is much healthier, packed full of vegetables. It’s also super adaptable – throw in whatever vegetables you have on hand.
This particular variation uses bok choy, asparagus, snow peas, and broccoli. Why that combination? Because we received bok choy, asparagus, and snow peas from our CSA, and had broccoli in the fridge. Use onions or peppers or green beans. Shiitake mushrooms or bean sprouts? Delicious. This is truly an empty-the-fridge kind of meal.
We’re going to pair all these delicious fresh vegetables with pork tenderloin and cashews for this pork stir fry. Pork tenderloin cooks quickly, which is exactly what we want for a stir fry — high heat, short amount of time. We’ll do a quick marinade (seriously quick – like 15 minutes quick) in some soy sauce and rice vinegar, with a little cornstarch to thicken up the sauce.
While the pork is marinating, prep your veggies, which is as simple as chopping them into similar sized pieces. Heat some oil in your wok until it’s very hot, drop in a little garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes, and then dump the meat and sauce right in. The pork will cook in under 5 minutes, and then it’s time to cook the veggies. Another 5 minutes, toss in some cashews (because that extra crunch is where it’s at!) and that’s it. Your pork stir fry is on the table.
New to stir frying or looking to perfect your stir fry game? Here’s a few tips to help make this quick and easy meal one of your weeknight staples:
This quick and easy pork stir fry with cashews is on the table in under 30 minutes and packed full of vegetables. I usually serve it over brown rice or cauliflower rice. It’s a weeknight favorite in our house — and I’m sure it will be in your house soon, too.
Fresh vegetables, crunchy cashews, and marinated pork tenderloin. This pork stir fry is a delicious, vegetable-heavy dinner, on your table in under 30 minutes.
Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking