You’ve heard of cashew chicken, right? Well, let me introduce you to the new kid on the block. A tastier newer version, my Cashew Pork. In all honesty, this came out of true serendipity.
I had already picked up all of the other ingredients to make cashew chicken and I always grab my cold items last. When I went to pick out my chicken, they didn’t have any!
I know — how could they be out of chicken? We are having some supply issues in our neck of the woods right now and it took me a second to regain my composure after feeling a little down about the chicken situation.
I walked around the store for a minute thinking about what to do. I really wanted to make cashew chicken, but without chicken, it’s just cashew…
Then, I walked back by the meat and saw pork tenderloin – yes! This was my answer. I would make it with pork and guess what? I like it even better than chicken. You can’t go wrong when “tender” is in the name of the meat.
I wouldn’t say this is traditional by any means, but I love it and my husband loves it, so I’m throwing tradition to the wayside.
I like big bites of green bell pepper and white onion in mine and leaving the cashews whole. And you can take some time saving steps to this one if you have to get dinner on the table quick.
This only takes 20 minutes total, with prep and cooking…if you’re not making the brown rice. If you are, it takes 45 minutes for brown rice to cook, so plan accordingly.
There are a lot of great pre-cooked rice blends that are ready in 60 to 90 seconds in the microwave and you could have this on the table faster than you could go through the drive thru.
If you like Asian inspired dishes, try these favorites:
Sesame Chicken with Brown Rice
Grilled Asian Chicken Bowls with Slaw and Mango
For more recipes by me – check out my newest cookbook, Live to Eat Well, available on Amazon!
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Cashew Pork
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
1 cup brown rice + 2 cups of water OR precooked brown rice
1/2 cup whole cashews
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into bite sized pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into bite sized chunks
1 small white onion, cut into bite sized chunks
Sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons rice wine (or white wine) vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Instructions
Cook rice according to package directions
In a large skillet over medium heat, add cashews to dry skillet and toast for 1-2 minutes, stirring to ensure they don’t burn. Remove from heat and set aside.
In the same skillet over medium heat, add canola oil, pork, green peppers, and onions. The pork should get a nice sizzle when it hits the hot skillet.
Saute the pork and veggies until the pork is no longer pink and cooked through – this only takes about 5-7 minutes, stirring to ensure even cooking (pork is done when a thermometer inserted into a thicker piece measures 145° on a digital thermometer.
While the pork and veggies are cooking, add all of the sauce ingredients to a bowl and whisk together.
When the pork is cooked, move the pork and veggies to the outer edges of the skillet. Pour the sauce into the center and turn the heat to low.
The sauce will start to thicken up in about 2 minutes – stir to coat the pork and veggies and add the cashews back in.
Divide into 4 portions and serve with rice.
Notes
Total time is only 20 minutes if you use pre-cooked rice.
Total time is 45 minutes if making brown rice from scratch.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes