Stir-fries aren't usually the well-edited dishes you think about and shop for in advance. They are frequently renegade, use-up-what's-in-the-fridge meals, which is part of their charm. But not so with this recipe. I chose these particular ingredients deliberately, picking up pork tenderloin for a mid-week treat and adding lots of fresh spring vegetables for crunch.
Pork tenderloin is a bit more expensive than chicken or tofu, but the small juicy slices that are cooked just through are so delicious that I couldn't resist.
I referred to a few recipes I've used and modified over the years, one of which calls for sherry to deepen the flavor of the sauce. Mixed with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and a touch of sesame oil, this makes an incredible sauce to coat the meat veggies.
The one problem with cooking batches of food over high heat is that I inevitably end up with a glaze of browned bits on the bottom of the pan, which often start to scorch partway through cooking. While not terribly authentic, my solution is to add a few tablespoons of water to the pan while the vegetables cook. It helps move cooking along with a little steam action, prevents the browned bits from burning, and adds deep roasted flavors that make the sauce even tastier.
Once you have everything chopped and ready to go, this dish comes together in about fifteen minutes. If you have leftovers, they make a really great lunch the next day.
Pork Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas
Serves 4
1 12-16 ounce pork tenderloin
1 cup rice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sherry
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon corn starch
2 shallots, sliced thin
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, tips trimmed
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
Place the pork in the freezer for 20 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients. This helps make it easier to slice. When ready, slice the pork into medallions about 1/2-inch thick. Then slice each medallion into 2 or 3 strips. Season the strips with salt and pepper.
Bring two cups of water to a boil. Add a half teaspoon of salt and the rice, and return to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook the rice for 20 minutes (or follow package instructions). When done, remove from heat, fluff with a spoon, and leave partially covered until ready to serve.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the stir-fry. Whisk together the soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and corn starch. Set near the stove.
Heat 1 teaspoon of the canola or other vegetable oil in a large (14-inch) sauté pan over high heat. Add the pork and cook, stirring and turning strips once or twice, until edges begin to brown and they are just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add the other teaspoon of oil to the pan, and cook the shallots until they have softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the asparagus, cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute, and then add the sugar snap peas. Pour half of the water into the pan, and scrape the bottom of the pan to pick up browned bits. You may need to add all of the water, depending on how high the heat and how brown your pan.
Sauté the vegetable mixture for another 4 to 6 minutes, until asparagus and peas are bright green but still crunchy. Add the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir in the sauce and the cooked pork. Continue stirring until the sauce has thickened and the meat and vegetables look glazed.
Serve immediately with rice. Leftovers will keep for a week.
Helpful links:
• How to Cook Rice on the Stove
• How to Trim Asparagus
• How to Peel Ginger
• How to Season a Wok
• Recipe: Spicy Broccoli Tofu Stir-Fry
Originally published April 8, 2008.
(Images: Emma Christensen)
How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars at Home
How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough in the Food Processor
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Floral Drink Dispen...
Small Cool Lessons: Discovering Small Space Design Ideas That Really Work
Beatriz's Fun & Functional Workspace
Why don't you marinate the meat for 15-20 before cooking it? Use half of the mixture to marinate the meat and the rest to cook for later, this way you wouldn't overcook the pork.
You should add some fish sauce.
This looks quite nice, but I thought that you weren't supposed to heat sesame oil over high heat. I have read that you should stir fry using vegetable oil, then add sesame oil at the end as flavoring. Anyone know if this is true?
adding a bit of water to the meat not just the veggies and covering for a minute speeds cooking and helps keep the meat from drying out (esp good for chicken or pork which get dry so easily).
This looks delish!
Ensuenos, you are correct. Better to cook in veggie oil, then add sesame in the sauce. it's okay if there's a bit of sesame oil in the marinade, though, if you're using one.
Ensuenos and Babygrace -- Yes! The cooking oil was actually something I updated in the recipe for this re-posting. Now you cook with canola or other neutral cooking oil and then season the sauce with sesame oil. Thanks for pointing it out to me!
"The one problem with cooking batches of food over high heat is that I inevitably end up with a glaze of browned bits on the bottom of the pan, which often start to scorch partway through cooking."
To avoid this, I stir fry the veg first until it is just cooked (still bright and crunchy). I marinate the meat in the sauce for a short while - the cornflour protects the meat from the intense heat, and the sugar helps to caramelise it. I also feel that the term stir fry is confusing because you actually want to move the meat as little as possible whilst it cooks. Let it crisp on one side in the hot pan, and then flip over to brown the other side. Moving the meat cools it down, and causes the meat to release water, which means that it boils, and becomes tough. Add the water once the meat is almost cooked, heat through for a minute or so, scraping any caramelised meaty bits from the pan, and stir in the veg right at the end so that it's coated in the sauce (which should be a light glaze, not thick and cornstarchy).
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a success and quite good. My glaze didn't turn out as dark but still very tasty. Instead of sugar snap peas I used snow peas. Next time I might make a slurry of corn starch, shaoshing cooking wine, soy sauce, and white pepper to marinate the pork after slicing. This makes the stir fried meats (from pork to chicken to beef and even shrimp) very tender and not dry.
While that's doing it's thing, I'd go prep the veggies. Also, after I added the water to the pan, I turned the heat to med-high and put a cover on it for a few minutes for the veggies to cook without burning.
I make stir-fries all the time with a mix of 2 T. tamari, 1 T each sesame and hot chili oils (and about 1/2 c broth made from chicken stock stuff and water, plus lots of garlic and some ginger). I've never had a problem with high heat and sesame oil.
i made this last night and it was delicious. the only thing i did different was omit the sherry since i didn't have any. still really delicious.
i had a similar concern about heating up sesame oil since it burns really easily, but it didn't burn at all. its added at the end and it doesn't take long at all for the sauce to thicken.
i love simple recipes, and its clear that this recipe is tried and true. good job and thank you for posting!
I made this the other night, and it turned out perfectly. The peas at the grocery store looked awful, so we only had asparagus. Otherwise, I followed the directions exactly. One of the best stir fries I've had or made. It's been added to the regular rotation.
More stir fry ideas. Love this, I am going to make this weekend.
For something more authentic, add a tablespoon of cornstarch to your meat and marinate it before you stir fry. This will make the meat silky and juicy, just like it is in good Chinese restaurants.
I drooled over this recipe and raced home to make it. It was absolutely delicious (though luckily I figured out the cooking oil on my own pre-update). Highly recommend. It turned out as beautiful as the pictures, and was very easy to make. YUM. Keeping this recipe in my weekday rotation!