Pork and Pepper Stir Fry

There’s something beautifully comforting about the way Chinese home kitchens transform simple ingredients into deeply satisfying meals. Pork and pepper stir fry is one of those everyday dishes that shows up on my family’s dinner tables far more often than in restaurants. I like to make the dish using tender slices of pork, crisp bell peppers, onion, aromatics, and a glossy savory sauce. It’s a simple dish – nothing fancy, nothing difficult, just honest ingredients prepared with good technique.

This is the kind of stir fry I make when I want something fast, nourishing, and flavorful. It’s balanced, lightly sweet, full of wok aroma, and made for spooning over hot steamed rice. Having grown up in China, this dish feels like weeknight comfort for me. Try it once and you’ll be surprised at how such simple ingredients can produce so much flavor.

Ingredients 

Pork and marinade

My favorite cut of pork for stir frying is tenderloin, which is quite lean yet super tender. Since I’m using a wok in this recipe, I prefer to slice the pork into 1/8” (4-mm) pieces. It’s a slightly thicker slice for pork in stir frying, which keeps the meat more intact when using a carbon steel or cast iron wok.

I marinate the pork in Shaoxing wine, salt and cornstarch. It’s the simplest combo that seasons the meat, adds a nice aroma, eliminates gamey taste from the pork, and keeps the pork tender despite the high heat cooking.

Sauce

I used a simple brown sauce that’s slightly peppery, to bring the pork and vegetables together. The soy sauce adds umami. Dark soy sauce adds a beautiful dark brown color. A small amount of sugar brings out the flavor of the ingredients and counterbalances the saltiness of the soy sauce.  

I also used a touch of toasted sesame oil at the end of the cooking, to add nuttiness and aroma. It’s not mixed into the sauce because sesame oil loses its fragrance during high heat cooking. So I add it after turning off the heat. 

Aromatics

I used garlic to infuse the oil, to add richness and aroma to the dish. It’s quite common to use the combo of scallion, garlic and ginger for Chinese stir fried dishes. But for this one, I only used one aromatic to minimize the chopping and still get a very good result.

Vegetables

I used onion and bell pepper in my stir fry. Both add a crisp texture, and onion adds a natural sweetness as well. Alternatively, scallion and red pepper make a great combo.

Feel free to toss in other vegetables, such as a handful of sliced carrot, bean sprouts, celery, or mushrooms.

How to make

I used a cast iron wok to make the pork and pepper stir fry. But you can easily use a large skillet (at least 12”) and the result will be great as well. 

1. Sear the pork. Heat up the wok nice and hot, until smoking, then sear the pork briefly until the surface is lightly charred and the inside just cooked through. The key of this step is to spread the pork into a single layer and do not stir it frequently. Let the pork cook until the bottom is caramelized, so you can easily flip it without it sticking to the pan. You’ll probably need to cook it in two batches if using a wok, to get the best results.

2. Cook the garlic to infuse the oil. The wok is still very hot, so only stir it briefly before adding other ingredients, so the garlic does not burn.

3. Cook the vegetables and add the sauce. I prefer to keep my onion and pepper quite crisp, so I cook them very briefly. But feel free to cook them longer so the texture turns a little tender. The sauce thickens quickly. Get ready to add back the pork as soon as you pour in the sauce.

4. Add back the pork. Quickly stir everything together to coat with the sauce. Then turn off the heat, drizzle in the sesame oil, and stir again. Sesame oil loses its fragrance over high heat, so add it at the end to maximize the flavor. 

Serving Suggestions

I always love to serve pork and pepper stir fry with freshly steamed rice. To make a weeknight dinner spread, consider adding a soup and / or cold appetizer. A simple egg drop soup and spinach salad work well. For a larger meal, you can also serve another main dish that is braised, such as lion’s head meatballs, braised chicken with mushrooms, or Instant Pot braised beef. These are dishes that I usually make on the weekend, portion into smaller serving sizes and freeze beforehand. So I only need to thaw and reheat them during the week. 

Frequently asked questions

Pork and Pepper Stir Fry

By Maggie Zhu

4.78 from 9 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

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Tender slices of pork are seared until lightly caramelized, tossed with crisp peppers and onions in a glossy savory sauce that clings to every bite. My pork and pepper stir fry delivers that irresistible aroma that makes you rush to the table and heap spoonfuls over steaming hot rice. It’s quick and comforting, the kind of dish you’ll crave again the very next day.

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 lb pork tenderloin , sliced against the grain into 1/8” pieces

Marinade

• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Sauce

• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Stir fry

• 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
• 3 cloves garlic , minced
• 1/2 yellow onion , sliced
• 1 bell pepper , sliced
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

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Instructions

• Combine the pork with all the marinade ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well. Marinate for 15 minutes while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
• Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large non-stick skillet over high heat until smoking. Spread the pork with minimal overlap, cooking in two batches if needed. Let cook for 1 minute without moving, until the bottom turns golden. Flip to cook the other side for 30 seconds, until just cooked through. Transfer the pork to a large plate.
• Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil 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 of seconds. Turn off the heat and drizzle in the sesame oil. Toss again to mix. Transfer everything to a large plate. Serve hot as a main dish.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

1. To make the dish gluten-free: Use tamari to replace soy sauce and dark soy sauce. And use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 227kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 23.1g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 2.3g, Cholesterol: 61mg, Sodium: 840mg, Potassium: 460mg, Fiber: 0.9g, Sugar: 5.4g, Calcium: 19mg, Iron: 1mg

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