Quick and Easy Pork and Cabbage Stir Fry Bowls

If you're on the hunt for a quick and easy weeknight dinner that's flavorful and wholesome, look no further than this recipe for Pork and Cabbage Stir Fry. Asian-inspired quick and easy pork and cabbage stir fry bowls deliver a harmonious blend of salty, sweet, and spicy flavors that will please your taste buds and leave you craving seconds.  

You will love that these simple pork and cabbage stir fry bowls aren't too strongly flavored, making them suitable for the whole family. 

What is in pork and cabbage stir fry? 

Pork - The stars of this pork and cabbage stir-fry are lean boneless center cut pork chops. 

Cut from the pork loin, this economical cut of pork is well suited for this cabbage stir fry because it cooks up quickly. These pork chops are highly available in most markets. When shopping for boneless center cut pork chops, look for a marbling of light and dark meat. These are the most tender chops.  

It's no secret that I love cooking with pork. It's always full of flavor and remains an economical choice at the grocery store even as prices seem to rise on just about everything every day.  

Boneless pork chops are not only a value, but they are delicious. And, as you can see with this recipe, versatile. There's really nothing like a good pork chop! This stir fry pork and cabbage recipe just might me my new favorite way to enjoy pork chops! 

Cabbage - The other main character in this stir fry recipe is cabbage. 

As far as I'm concerned, cabbage one of the more underrated veggies in the produce section. You can eat it raw or cooked! If you cure it with salt, it becomes sauerkraut! It's sweet and crunchy. I just love the crunchy cabbage in this recipe. 

I like to keep things simple, so I use a bag of coleslaw mix (the kind with shredded green cabbage and carrots) in this recipe. As an added bonus it also has match-stick carrots in it already.  It eliminates the need to chop the cabbage and carrots for the stir fry. But you can use any kind of cabbage you like in this recipe. Chinese cabbage such as Bok Choy or napa cabbage work well too. And, you can even purchase precut matchstick carrots separately. 

Other flavorful ingredients - The supporting characters in this pork and cabbage stir fry recipe are mushrooms, ginger, garlic, green onions. sesame seeds, and a soy sauce based slightly sweet stir fry sauce. Jasmine rice, crunchy wonton strips, and spicy sriracha finish the dish. 

I also like to add a bit of smoky flavor to my stir fry with a few dashes of liquid smoke. Now this is optional, but I love that it gives that flavor you would get from a properly seasoned wok in your favorite Chinese Food restaurant. Precooked Jasmine rice makes a great base for these stir fry bowls, but feel free to substitute your favorite rice. Sometimes I like to use brown rice instead of Jasmine. You can also use leftover white rice from take-out if you have it. 

These pork and cabbage stir fry bowls aren't a traditional pork and cabbage stir fry recipe, but they are inspired by Asian flavors. They are a delight to make and require minimal prep and cook time, making them ideal for a delicious weeknight dinner. 

What is stir fry?

Simply put, stir frying is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The art of stir frying was brought to America by early Chinese immigrants and quickly became popular. Because the ingredients being cooked with this technique cook quickly, it's an easy way to get a wholesome meal on the table in a short amount of time. 

Stir frying has been recognized as a healthy method of preparing vegetables, meats, and fish, provided calories are kept at a moderate level.

How do you make Quick and Easy Pork and Cabbage Stir Fry Bowls?

Begin by gathering your ingredients. When using the stir fry method of cooking, it's essential to have all your ingredients prepped and ready at hand, because once the cooking process starts, there's little time to look for and prep ingredients. 

• boneless center cut pork chops
• button mushrooms
• green onions
• Coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
• ginger root
• garlic 
• low sodium soy sauce (recommended because regular is too salty)
• rice vinegar
• sesame oil
• white sugar
• cornstarch
• liquid smoke (optional)
• oil for stir frying
• ready to eat rice (such as Jasmine)
• crispy fried wonton strips 
• sriracha
• sesame seeds

I like to freeze the pork chops for about 15 to 20 minutes to make slicing them into thin strips easier. Once the pork chops are slightly frozen, slice them into thin strips with a sharp knife and put them in a bowl.

While the pork chops are in the freezer, you can make the sauce and set aside. 

The sauce ingredients include low sodium soy sauce, unseasoned rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar. Mix the sauce in a small bowl or glass measuring cup.

Pour about 1/4 of the prepared sauce onto the strips of raw pork. Add a pinch of salt and a few drops of liquid smoke, if using. Then massage the mixture into the strips and set aside. 

If you'd like a stronger flavor to the pork, you can let them marinade for up to 24 hours in a sealed container in the refrigerator. If you prefer a milder flavor, like I do, a quick marinade while you prepare the rest of the ingredients will do fine. After you use about a 1/4 of the sauce on the pork, add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce and set aside for later.

Heat wok or large skillet to medium-high heat. This stir fry pork with cabbage and carrots recipe can be made in a wok or a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat on your stove. This stir-fry recipe is not suitable for an air fryer, an instant pot, or a slow cooker. 

While pan is heating, remove pork strips from bowl and pat with paper towels to absorb the excess marinade.

Add vegetable oil to hot pan. If oil shimmers, add the ginger and garlic to the pan and stir. Cook for one minute until the ginger and garlic become aromatic. 

Add pork strips to the pan in as best of a single layer as you can. Allow them to cook, undisturbed until the edges start to look done. This will help them get a little brown on the bottom. When the edges start to look done move them around and cook for about 1-2 minutes.

Add in the white portions of the green onions and stir. (Reserve the green portions for garnish)

Add in the mushroom and stir. Cook for 1-2 minutes to soften them.

Add in the bagged coleslaw mix. Stir and cook for 3 - 4 minutes or until cabbage softens but is still has a little crunch. 

Push all the mixture to one side of the wok or large skillet and add in the reserved soy/cornstarch mixture. Let it come to a boil then stir into pork and cabbage mixture.

Take off heat and garnish with sesame seeds and reserved green onions. 

Heat ready-to-eat rice according to package directions, Divide rice between 4 bowls. Add pork and cabbage stir fry to bowls. Garnish with wonton strips and sriracha. Enjoy! 

Variations and Substitutions

Bagged Coleslaw Mix - Substitute with about 5 cups of finely chopped fresh cabbage (can use green cabbage, red cabbage, napa cabbage or savoy cabbage) and matchstick or shredded carrots.

White Sugar - Substitute brown sugar or honey. You can also omit it from the sauce if you don't like a sweet flavor profile to your stir fry. 

Pork Chops - Substitute ground pork for the thinly sliced pork chops. (Be sure to cook sliced pork chops to 145 degrees F and ground pork to 160 degrees F for food safety.) 

Spice it up! - Add a little red pepper flakes or sriracha to the sauce when you mix it. 

Veg it up! - Add snow peas, frozen peas, red peppers, and/or water chestnuts to the stir fry.

Make it low carb - Substitute rice for riced cauliflower or simply leave the rice out entirely.

Leftovers and Storage

Put all leftovers in an airtight sealed container and refrigerate immediately after eating. Eat within 3 days. I do not recommend freezing this dish. 

My family loved this recipe and it's going to be the perfect addition to our weekly menu going forward! I hope you love it as much as we did! It's a great way to get a nutritious and delicious dinner on the table. 

More easy recipes using boneless pork chops

Air-Fryer Boneless Pork Chops

Juicy Grilled Boneless Pork Chops

Easy Teriyaki Pork Chops

I've partnered with my friends at OhioPork.org to create this delicious recipe and blog post for you. All opinions are my own. Did you know that more than 3500 family farms in Ohio raise enough pork to feed about 25 million people? So when you buy pork at the grocery store or the farmer's market, you are supporting Ohio farm families that produce pork! 

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main course

Asian-Inspired

Yield: 4

Author: Renee Paj

Quick and Easy Pork and Cabbage Stir Fry Bowl

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Seasoned thinly sliced boneless pork chop strips are combined with button mushrooms, green onions, and bagged coleslaw mix then bathed in an Asian-inspired soy based sauce served over jasmine rice then topped with sesame seeds, crunch wonton strips, and sriracha for the ultimate quick and easy way to get dinner on the table fast!

Ingredients

• 1 pound medium thickness, boneless center cut, pork chops (about 3-4 chops)
• 2 teaspoons of oil (such as corn or vegetable)
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1-2 Tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1-2 Tablespoons white sugar
• a few dashes of liquid smoke (optional)
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with enough water to make a slurry
• 2-3 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger
• 3 cloved fresh garlic, minced
• 10 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 5 green onions, sliced (separate white portions from green)
• 16 ounces of bagged coleslaw mix (cabbage and carrots)
• 1-2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 - 8.5 ounce packages of ready-to-eat Jasmine rice, heated according to package directions.
• 1 cup wonton strips (optional)
• Sriracha to taste, if desired

Instructions

1. Freeze pork chops for 15 - 20 minutes to make easier to slice.
2. While chops are in freezer, combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar in small bowl. Set aside.
3. Remove chops from freezer and cut against grain into thin 1/4" slices. Place into small bowl and pour about a fourth of the soy sauce mixture onto pork. Add a few drops of liquid smoke, if desired. Add a pinch of kosher salt. Massage into pork and set aside.
4. Add cornstarch and water mixture to the remaining soy mixture and set aside.
5. Heat wok or large skillet to medium-high heat. While pan is heating, remove pork strips from bowl and pat with paper towels to absorb the excess marinade.
6. Add oil to hot pan. If oil shimmers, add the ginger and garlic to the pan and stir. Cook for one minute until the ginger and garlic become aromatic.
7. Add in pork strips in as best of a single layer as you can. Allow them to cook, undisturbed until the edges start to look done. This will help them get brown on the bottom. Move them around and cook for about 1 or two minutes.
8. Add in the white portions of the green onions and stir. (Reserve the green portions for garnish)
9. Add in the mushroom and stir. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes to soften them.
10. Add in the bagged coleslaw mix. Stir and cook for 3 - 4 minutes or until cabbage softens but is still has a little crunch.
11. Push all the mixture to one side of the wok or pan and add in the reserved soy/cornstrach mixture. Let it come to a boil then stir into pork and cabbage mixture.
12. Take off heat and garnish with sesame seeds and reserved green onions.
13. Heat ready-to-eat rice according to package directions
14. Divide rice between 4 bowls. Add pork and cabbage stir fry to bowls. Garnish with wonton strips and sriracha.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

620.66

Fat (grams)

14.96 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

3.74 g

Carbs (grams)

81.94 g

Fiber (grams)

6.03 g

Net carbs

75.91 g

Sugar (grams)

10.04 g

Protein (grams)

38.93 g

Sodium (milligrams)

997.49 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

81.3 mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate it is provided as a courtesy.

https://www.reneeskitchenadventures.com/2023/11/pork-and-cabbage-stir-fry.html

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