Tender juicy pork, stir fried with crispy peppers and onions in a garlicky savory sauce. Not only is it so easy and fast to make, but it also makes a great weekday main dish with affordable ingredients and is loaded with nutrition. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
This Asian-style pork stir fry was one of the earliest recipes that I posted on this blog, like, in the first month of blogging. Compared to many Asian takeout dishes, such as Beef Chow Fun or Kung Pao Chicken, this dish is more homestyle. It represents what we cook and eat at home most often. Of course, we all love a great Sweet and Sour Chicken or Orange Beef once in a while. But in an Asian household, we prefer to cook less sugary dishes on the average weekday, to keep our meals healthy.
Cooking notes
This simple pork stir fry is a perfect example of what we eat on a daily basis.
1. Cheap to make
The dish uses very plain ingredients – pork loin, onion, and peppers. These are widely available and economical. The recipe also uses some Asian ingredients such as soy sauce and Shaoxing wine, but you would already have them in your pantry if you cook Asian food at home.
2. Aromatics
The fresh garlic and ginger are the key ingredients that make the dish extra fragrant. If you do not have ginger root, use 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger instead. But I would not skip the fresh garlic since it gives the sauce extra flavor.
3. Marinade
You’d be surprised at what a difference 10 minutes of marinating can make. Say goodbye to plain and tough meat. Instead, your pork will turn out flavorful, juicy, and tender. The trick is to use the Shaoxing wine to boost the flavor. The cornstarch will tenderize the meat, and protect the meat from over-cooking during the stir-fry.
- Stir fry process
It might look like a lot of trouble to transfer the cooked pork to a plate then add it back. But trust me, it’s the secret to not overcooking anything, and to getting perfect tender pork and crispy peppers.
If you’re not familiar with Asian stir fry, just remember that things happen very quickly and you should have all the ingredients ready to go.
Once you cook the pork stir fry, simply serve it over steamed rice and you’ll have a one-bowl dinner ready. It tastes so good!
More Asian stir fry recipes
- Stir Fried Ground Pork with Green Beans
- Eggplant in Garlic Sauce
- Moo Shu Pork
- Beef and Broccoli
- General Tso Tofu
- Hunan Chicken
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
Asian Pork Stir Fry with Peppers
To make the dish gluten free, use dry sherry to replace Shaoxing wine. Use tamari or coconut amino to replace light soy sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 lbs (450g) pork loin , cut into 1/4-inch (5-mm) slices
Marinade
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Sauce
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (Optional) (*Footnote 1)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Stir Fry
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 teaspoon ginger , minced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/4 onion , sliced
- 1 bell pepper , chopped
Instructions
- Combine all the Marinade ingredients under in a medium-sized bowl. Add the pork and mix well. Marinate for 10 to 15 minutes. Prepare the other ingredients while the pork marinates.
- Mix all the Sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat until hot. Spread the pork with minimal overlapping. Cook for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until the bottom turns golden. Flip to cook the other side for 30 seconds. Transfer the pork to a large plate.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, ginger, and garlic. Stir fry until fragrant, 20 seconds or so. Add the onion and the bell pepper. Cook and stir until starting to turn tender, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Mix the sauce again to fully dissolve the cornstarch. Pour into the pan and add back the pork. Immediately stir to mix well. The sauce will thicken very quickly, in a couple seconds. Transfer everything to a large plate.
- Serve hot over steamed rice as a main dish.
Notes
- The dark soy sauce adds a beautiful brown color to the dish. You can skip it if you don’t have it and it will not affect the taste of the dish.
I love the simplicity of this dish. There’s a reason it’s what people eat every day – it’s simple, healthier and tasty! Stir fry is really one of my favorite things to make. You can get a dish on the table in just a matter of minutes!
As Maggie’s official taste-tester and primary beneficiary of such simple and tasty dishes, I couldn’t agree more. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Where is the onion? And is the amount of the marinade right? Greetings from Germany
Hi Ette, sorry about the mistake. I just added the onion to the recipe. Yes, the amount of the marinade is correct.
Hello,
This was my first Chinese recipe that I tried!
I really want to try out more! This is a great site and sadly I do not have paypal else I’d instant buy the book.
Thanks a lot for sharing these recipes in a easy way. I will try to cook one of your recipes once or twice a week and learn the ones I like!
Power to the wok! My ony worry was that I would be left with a lot of oil from stir frying but this is not the case at all. Great recipe tastes good and I love it thank you so much,
xiexie.
It is really easy and delicious my family love it
Pork stir fry
Just a thumbs up for the marinating and velveting technique for the pork, which resulted in a most authentic Chinese texture and flavour. Will use this a lot in future. I did not make the garlic sauce but used an excellent peanut/cocunut bottled sauce. Many thanks for this recipe.
Delicious! I used beef (sirloin) instead of pork and beef stock instead of chicken. So good. I did have a challenge though. My normally non-stick skillet was no match for the cornstarch marinated beef. It stuck like crazy!!! I had to clean the pan before cooking the vegetables. It was really, really difficult to clean. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks. Deborah
On yes — I also added three dried red peppers torn in half for a bit of a kick. Perfect!
very good recipe. simple and tastes soooo good.
Just made this for lunch today. Very good! Simple recipe and ingredients. We tend toward spicier dishes but like some variety and this tastes great just as it. My wife commented on how good it tasted and she’s can be picky. I like to cook with lean pork loins so this recipe it perfect for that. It’s a keeper that will be added to my kitchen cook book.
Replaced salt in the marinade with the black bean sauce. Love it!
This recipe is simple but amazing! The entire family loves it. Thanks for sharing!
Another nice recipe Maggie. It’s a 5 Star Chinese comfort food recipe just as it is. The family loved it. I will double the onions next time. I also added just a pinch of red pepper flakes to my portions and that worked well for me. Try some if you like it hot. Thanks again Maggie.
Very savory, tasty recipe. Only tweak I made was to add about a cup of julienned carrots. Served the dish with jasmine rice. Liked it!
Have made this several times and it is a winner!
Pork comes out just right, and I love the bed of onions, peppers, plus I added julienned carrots.
Sauce is very balanced and nice. I grow ginger in pots, so that adds a nice dimension.
Served it over brown basmati rice.
Shiitake mushrooms would work well here, as would a sprinkling of cilantro at the end.
Thank you Maggie!