Name: Pork Tenderloin Stir Fry with Peanuts
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp groundnut oil (or other light oil); 2 cloves garlic (crushed); 3 spring onions (sliced); 2.5 cm fresh ginger (grated); 1 red pepper (cored and sliced); 2 nests egg noodles (cook as per instruction on pack for stir-frying); 1 large handful beansprouts; 1 tbsp roasted peanuts (dry roast in a frying pan for 5 minutes); 1 tsp sesame oil; 1 tbsp Chinese hot chilli sauce (or sub with Sriracha); 1 tbsp light soy sauce; 180 g pork fillet (sliced into bite-sized pieces); 1 tsp Chinese 5-spice; 1 tbsp cornflour; 1 tsp dark soy sauce; 1 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tsp sesame oil; 1/2 tsp chilli flakes

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Pork tenderloin stir fry with crunchy peanuts and crispy vegetables – a perfect mid week dinner loved by all the family.

Pork tenderloin stir fry is a regular on my weekly dinner menu. I have made this pork stir-fry, or a version of it, for years now. It’s one of those dishes that I cook often, a mid week staple.

This Chinese pork stir fry recipe is based on dishes that I ate and enjoyed while working in China. I ate out most nights and was never without my notebook.

I would pick apart those dishes I loved, looking for the flavours within the dish, so that I could recreate them when I returned home.

This pork tenderloin stir fry does change depending on what I have in the fridge, but this is the best version of it! The closest to the Chinese pork stir fry recipe I enjoyed when I lived there.

Pork tenderloin stir fry – recipe steps:

Pork & Peanut Stir-fry - marinating pork — Start by slicing the pork tenderloin into small bite-sized pieces.
Place all the marinade ingredients into a large dish and stir well to combine. Now add in the sliced pork tenderloin and give it a good mix to ensure the pork is completely coated in the marinade. Cover the dish and set aside for 30 minutes or longer if time permits.

Pork & Peanut Stir-fry - ingredients — When ready to cook the stir fry, gather together all your ingredients.
At this stage cook your noodles as per the instructions on the packaging (reducing cooking time by one minute as you will be cooking them for a final minute in with the pork).
Once cooked drain the noodles in cold water to stop them from cooking, pour over a little sesame oil and get on with cooking the stir fry.

Pork & Peanut Stir-fry - stir-frying pork — Heat the wok to smoking hot and add 1 tbsp of sunflower oil. Add the marinated pork and stir-fry it for 5 minutes. Keep the pork moving in the wok to stop it sticking.
Remove the pork from the wok and set aside in a bowl.
Add 1 tbsp of sunflower oil to the pan and add the vegetables, stir fry quickly for 1 minute then add 3 tbsp of water and cover the wok with a lid. Cook for 3 minutes with the lid on.

Pork & Peanut Stir-fry - tossing noodles — Return the pork to the pan, along with the cooked noodles, peanuts and beansprouts, keep stirring to combine.
Now add the final flavourings of sesame oil, chilli sauce and light soy sauce and serve immediately.

Pork stir fry marinade:

The pork stir fry marinade is really important as I makes all the difference to the finished dish. This recipe states that you need to marinade the pork for at least 30 minutes. If you don’t have time to do this then don’t need to, just be aware that the dish won’t have the same intensity of flavour.

However, as with all meat, if you can marinade it for a few hours you will have a tastier plate of food. It’s not essential but you will impart more flavour into the pork if you can leave it for a few hours.

When I have time I prepare the pork stir fry marinade in the morning and pop it into the fridge. I then take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before I’m ready to cook to allow the meat to return the room temperature.

Pork tenderloin stir fry ingredients & substitutions:

This is a dish where you can make simple substitutions, depending on what you have in your fridge and store cupboard.

Pork and peanut stir fry:

Pork tenderloin or fillet is used as this is a lean cut of meat, with little fat. This means it lends itself to stir frying where it is cooked for minutes to keep it tender. You could substitute the pork fillet for chicken breast if you would prefer.
Spring onions add a lovely base flavour to this stir fry along with the garlic, ginger and chilli. However, you can easily substitute with either shallots or a red of yellow onion, finely sliced. You can also omit the chilli if you prefer not to have too much heat in the dish.
Red peppers and beansprouts are the vegetables I like to add to the stir fry. However, this is a versatile dish so add the vegetables you like to eat. Mange tout; baby sweetcorn; water chestnuts; pak choy and green beans would all work in this dish.
Peanuts add a lovely crunch to the dish. Use unsalted, raw peanuts and roast them in a dry frying pan first. You can use salted peanuts but just watch the balance of salt in the dish, so you will have to adapt the amount of soy sauce you use. You can also substitute the peanuts with another nut, like cashew nuts.
Chinese chilli sauce is added to add a savory, chilli heat. However, if you can’t find this, substitute with Sriracha Chilli Sauce, which has the right balance of garlic and chilli. I would not recommend using Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce as I find this too sweet.

Pork stir fry marinade:

Chinese 5-spice is a spice blend containing cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, and Szechuan peppercorns. It’s readily available in most supermarkets.
Light and dark soy sauce is used in the marinade. The dark soy is colour and flavour, whereas the light soy adds saltiness.
Sesame oil add a lovely nuttiness to the stir fry. Please note, this is not an oil to fry with as it has a really low burn temperature. Instead it is added to flavour a dish.

What to serve with pork and peanut stir fry?

This Chinese pork stir fry recipe is packed full of flavour, so I like to keep any side dishes simple. Most often I serve our Simple Stir-fried Pak Choi or our Stir-fried Broccoli with Garlic, both perfect accompaniments to the pork.

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Looking for inspiration for feeding the family mid week, then take a look at our Ultimate Guide to Family Dinners. Full of useful hints, tips and recipes.

pork tenderloin stir fry with peanuts