Pork and cabbage stir-fry recipe

Our pork and cabbage stir-fry takes 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook. It's bursting with flavour and makes a nice change from your usual stir-fry.

This recipe is inspired by Thai Prik nam pla sauce which is the perfect balance of zesty, spicy, savoury and salty. At first glance, you might think pork, apple, and cabbage is an unusual combination but if you love roast pork, you’ve probably eaten the ingredients together before.

Ingredients

• 20g pumpkin seeds
• 2tbsp sesame oil
• 450g pork tenderloin, cut into chunks, at room temperature
• 1 savoy cabbage, shredded
• 100g mushrooms, wiped clean
• 4 spring onions, sliced
• 100g radish, sliced
• 20g coriander, roughly chopped
• Wholegrain rice, to serve

For the sauce:

• 2tbsp fish sauce
• Juice and zest 1 lime
• 3tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1⁄2 red chilli, finely chopped
• 1tbsp soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 apple, peeled and finely grated

Method

1. Dry-fry the pumpkin seeds until toasted and set aside. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add half the pork, mixing to brown on all sides, until cooked through. Remove from the wok and repeat with the remainder of it.
2. Return the wok to the heat, adding more oil if needed. Stir-fry the cabbage and mushrooms for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mix the sauce ingredients. Return the meat to the pan with the sauce and the other ingredients. Toss to warm through and top with the toasted pumpkin seeds before serving with rice.

Top tips for making this pork and cabbage stir-fry 

This is an excellent recipe for using up odds and ends of veg you have in the fridge. Just make sure everything is cut to a uniform size so that it cooks quickly and evenly. 

Jessica Ransom

“I think this recipe would be delicious with beef, chicken or prawns instead of pork. If you want to make it veggie, try frying some chunks of tofu instead. It will absorb the sauce and has a nice hearty texture.” 

If you want to get wafer thin slices of cabbage, cut it into quarters, remove the core and then use a Y peeler on the cut sides to create even ribbons.

Joseph Joseph Y Shaped Stainless Steel Peeler - View at Amazon

A sharp Y shaped peeler is your best friend when it comes to vegetable prep. This one from Joseph Joseph is comfortable and lightweight to hold and can be put in the dishwasher or is easily rinsed and washed in warm soapy water.

For more speedy dinner inspiration try this lemon chicken stir fry or our beef and vegetable stir fry is another tasty option. We have loads of leftover pork recipes too if you’re keen to avoid food waste.