Lemongrass Thai Ground Pork Stir Fry

This veggie-heavy Thai ground pork stir fry is so simple to prepare and SO full of flavor! Just a few simple ingredients and it is on your table in no time.

It's no secret that we love stir fries around here. It's such an easy way to get a well-rounded meal with a ton of flavor! If you are looking for more stir fry ideas, check out these seven easy stir fry sauce recipes!

When we were in Thailand, we were served a ground pork stir fry and were blown away by the flavors! I decided to recreate it at home, with extra veggies and a super simple sauce.

The stir fry sauce is half fish sauce and half brown sugar...and you're going to think I'm playing a mean trick on you because it does smell very fishy when you throw it in the pan. But it bubbles with the aromatics for a few minutes, thickens ever so slightly and any trace of fishiness is replaced by a beautiful sweet and savory flavor. Combined with the lemongrass, this is such a fresh and unique stir fry!

Ingredients you'll need

• Ground pork- a frequently used ingredient in Thai cuisine, it has a rich flavor that goes well with the sauce. Swap for ground beef or ground turkey
• Vegetables- spiralized vegetables make this pretty; I've used spiralized zucchini and carrots as well as snap peas. Use what you have in the fridge!
• Ginger, garlic + shallot- adds aromatic flavor into our sauce
• Lemongrass- adds a delicious bright citrusy flavor to the sauce. If you've never used lemongrass before, be sure to read the tips below!
• Fish sauce- found in the Asian aisle of the grocery store, this adds a salty umami flavor to our stir fry. It smells unpleasant straight from the bottle but tastes amazing in this stir fry!
• Brown sugar- to balance the saltiness of the fish sauce, the citrus, and aromatic flavors, with a bit of sweetness.

Working with lemongrass

Lemongrass adds so much delicious citrus flavor to this stir fry, without the sourness that can sometimes come with lemon or lime juice.

When picking lemongrass, look for 'fresh' looking stalks; avoid anything that is dried out or turning brown. They should feel firm at the base of the stalk, and not mushy.

How to prep the lemongrass

1. Peel off outer leaves, revealing the bottom ⅓ of the lemongrass- the bulb.
2. Lay the lemongrass bulb on a cutting board and bruise it by hitting down the length of the lemongrass stalk with the dull side of your knife. This helps activate and release all the flavors!
3. Chop *very* finely, as you don't want to be chewing on large pieces of lemongrass.

Cooking the stir fry

Start by cooking the ground pork

Cook the ground pork in a large pan over medium heat, breaking it up with your spatula. Once the ground pork is cooked through and no longer pink, transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate. Ground pork can have a high-fat content, so you'll want to drain off any extra fat from the pan before proceeding.

Cooking the vegetables

Once the pork is cooked through, transfer the vegetables to the pan. If using spiralized vegetables, I recommend using tongs to turn and move them around the pan for 5-8 minutes, until softened. If vegetables are cut into matchsticks, you will need to add on extra cook time to soften (3 or so minutes).

Making the sauce

Once vegetables are cooked through, you can transfer to the plate with the ground pork and start on the sauce. This is a very thin sauce, not thickened with cornstarch like other stir fry sauce recipes on the site.

To start, saute the lemongrass, ginger, and shallots until softened, 3-4 minutes. Then add the fish sauce and brown sugar. Add back the ground pork and simmer for a minute, stirring until it is fully coated in the sauce.

Add the veggies, toss up the stir fry and serve over rice.

Storage + Meal Prep

Like many stir fry recipes, this recipe works well for meal prep:

• Fridge- portion out with rice and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Reheat- heat in the microwave until steaming hot.
• Freezer- based on my experience, I suspect this recipe will freeze well, however, I have not tested this. I'd advise freezing with rice for up to 3 months.
• Thaw- in the fridge overnight before reheating in the microwave.

More healthy and delicious stir fry recipes to try

• Peanut Ginger Tofu Stir Fry
• Honey Sriracha Chicken Stir Fry
• Lemon Sesame Chicken Stir Fry
• Easy Sweet Chili Shrimp Stir Fry
• Maple Ginger Cashew Chicken Stir Fry (30 Minutes)
• Vegan Ginger Teriyaki Stir Fry (Meal Prep)

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

Lemongrass Thai Ground Pork Stir Fry

5 from 3 votes

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 30 mins

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This veggie-heavy Thai ground pork stir fry is so simple to prepare and SO full of flavor! Just a few simple ingredients and it is on your table in no time.

4

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 lb lean ground pork 450 g; see note 1
• ▢ 6 cups veggies such as zucchini, carrots, green beans and peas, spiralized or cut into matchsticks
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 stalk lemongrass minced (¼ cup); see note 2
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ginger minced
• ▢ 2 shallots finely chopped
• ▢ ¼ cup fish sauce
• ▢ ¼ cup brown sugar

Garnish

• ▢ Cilantro

Instructions 

• In a large non-stick pan, cook the ground pork for 5-8 minutes, until cooked through and no pink remains. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and drain any excess liquid from the pan.
• Add the vegetables to the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes, until tender (if cut in matchsticks, cook these for 3 minutes longer than any spiralized veggies).
• Remove from pan and set aside.
• Add olive oil to the pan, and cook the lemongrass, garlic, ginger and shallots for 3-4 minutes, until softened. Stir together the fish sauce and brown sugar, then add to the pan.
• Return the gound pork to the pan and toss to coat in the sauce.
• Return the veggies to the pan and stir.
• Serve over rice.

Tips:

1- ground pork gives the best flavor, but can be swapped for ground beef or ground turkey

2- to prepare the lemongrass, peel the outer leaves to reveal the fleshy stalk. Use the back side of your knife to bruise along the stalk of the lemongrass, then finely mince. Discard the upper leaves and the very bottom part of the bulb.

3- This is not a spicy stir fry. If you'd like to add some spice, try adding half a Thai chile in with the aromatics.

Storage

Leftovers may be kept in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Reheat in the microwave until steaming hot, and do not microwave more than once.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/4 batch, Calories: 374kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 70mg, Sodium: 1613mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 21g

Author: Denise Bustard

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Thai

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