Pork, Mushroom, & Cabbage Stir Fry

For some reason, I've never had a lot of luck with stir frys.  They seem to turn out average at best.  There are actually only two stir fry recipes that we enjoyed enough for me to want to make them again!  This is one of them.  It's so good that I'd actually be happy to be served it at a restaurant!  It has nice flavor (not sweet at all like many), is spicy from the pepper flakes, and is just all around really enjoyable.  Be warned that it just makes enough sauce to coat the stir fry without much left over for rice.  We didn't eat ours with rice so that was no problem, but I supposed you could double the sauce ingredients (except maybe the pepper flakes) if you want more sauce for rice.

I found the original recipe at A Sweet Life and have altered it a little bit.  The main change is I increased the amount of pork and eliminated the scrambled eggs.  When I made it, I did use the eggs, but for some reason they ended up seeming like an odd addition and we'd prefer it without.

As for the cooking temperature, it depends on the stove since some are hotter than others.  For the cabbage and mushrooms, you'll want to cook it at a high enough temperature so the veggies get browned in places without going limp, but of course you don't want them to burn!

Also, sorry, no photo- it turned out hideous looking, but you can check out the photo at the link above!

Pork, Mushroom, & Cabbage Stir Fry

2 Tbsp sesame seeds

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin, cut into bite sized pieces

1 small cabbage, cored and chopped into 2 inch pieces

2 portobello mushrooms, cut into quarters and sliced (this was 1/2 lb)

salt to taste

for the sauce:

1/3 C water

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium and add sesame seeds.  Cook and stir frequently until seeds are lightly toasted, about 3 minutes.  Remove seeds to a small bowl.  Add a tablespoon of the vegetable oil to the skillet, raise heat to medium-high, and add pork.  Salt to taste.  Stir fry until pork is browned and cooked through, then place it in a large bowl.  Add another half tablespoon of oil to the skillet and add cabbage, plus salt to taste.  Stir fry until tender.  Add to bowl with the pork.  Add remaining half tablespoon of oil to the skillet as well as the mushrooms and salt to taste.  Stir fry until soft.

Add the cabbage and pork back to the skillet and cook until heated through.  While everything's heating up, stir up the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.  Pour into skillet and stir fry until sauce has thickened and turned clear, about two minutes.  Serve over rice if you'd like and top with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.  Fresh fruit goes great on the side!

Yield: 6 to 8 servings