Spicy Pork and Asparagus Stir-Fry is a one-pan, Whole30- and keto-friendly weeknight supper that’s simple, delicious, and inexpensive. So yeah, all of your excuses for why you can’t cook dinner tonight have been busted.
No more excuses!
Oh, you have more excuses? Someone in your family doesn’t like spicy food? Leave out the peppers! You hate pork? Sub in another ground protein that you love! You’re doing a Whole30 or keto challenge? Great! This recipe is totally compliant. Asparagus makes your pee smell funny? That happens to me, too—deal with it. Your family will love this cheap, fast, and easy dinner!
Clean out the fridge!
Similar to my Garbage Stir-Fry recipe, this weeknight quickie supper is the perfect way to clear out your vegetable crisper. You can substitute another chopped seasonal vegetable for the asparagus and you’ll be a-OK (e.g. broccolini, Chinese broccoli, collard greens, etc.). By adding a variety of colorful vegetables, you’ll be increasing the nutrients in the stir-fry without even trying!
Prep for success!
Although it’ll take a few extra minutes to chop all the vegetables and measure out the seasonings before you start cooking, the actual stir-frying part will be stress-free and fast. Once the pan is hot, you can quickly throw in the ingredients sequentially and dinner will be on the table in a blink of an eye. Also, if you already have a jar of my All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce in the fridge, you can use it as the seasoning in this recipe! I’m all about the shortcuts to deliciousness, remember?
Leftover makeover ideas!
The leftover spicy pork and asparagus stir-fry can be store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to four days and in the freezer for up to four months.
If you want to change things up, you can use the leftover stir-fry in these tasty recipes:
- Egg Foo Young
- Easy Paleo Frittata
- Paleo Curried Meat Pies (use in place of the Deconstructed Samosa)
Time to cook Spicy Pork and Asparagus Stir-Fry!
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 pound asparagus
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil, ghee, or cooking fat of choice
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped
- Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound ground pork, ground turkey (not the super lean stuff), or your favorite ground protein
- 2 red jalapenos, 2 Fresno peppers, or 2 Thai chilies, seeded and diced, OR 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos*
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar* (you can sub balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce*
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil*
- 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
*Got a jar of All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce in the fridge? Use ¼ cup of it in place of the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, fish sauce, and toasted sesame oil!
Equipment:
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
Method:
Grab your asparagus and get chopping! Start by trimming the tough ends off. I keep the thick rubber bands on the asparagus, spy where the ends morph from green to whitish (the tough part), and slice through the whole bundle at that point. (The method where you snap each piece of asparagus to find the “breaking point” is both tedious and unnecessary.)
Next, discard the tough ends in the compost bin and slice the asparagus crosswise into ½-inch thick coins, down to the tips.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, swirl in the cooking fat so you have a thin layer of fat coating the bottom.
As soon as the fat is shimmering, toss in the shallots and a sprinkle of salt.
Cook, stirring, for a couple minutes or until the shallots are softened.
Toss in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the ground pork and break it up with spatula.
Sprinkle on some salt and increase the heat to medium-high.
Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes or until no longer pink.
Toss in the asparagus coins…
…and minced chilies…
…and cook until the asparagus are tender-crisp, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, fish sauce, and sesame oil. (Got a jar of All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce in the fridge? Use ¼ cup of it in place of the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, fish sauce, and toasted sesame oil!)
Turn off the heat and taste a bite. If necessary, adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Toss in the scallions and holler at your family to get to the table!
Craving more veggies? Serve this stir-fry with a side of cauliflower rice!
[Originally posted on March 15, 2017. Updated on April 6, 2020.]
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Spicy Pork and Asparagus Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 1 pound asparagus
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil ghee, or cooking fat of choice
- 1 large shallot finely chopped
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 pound ground pork ground turkey (not the super lean stuff), or your favorite ground protein
- 2 red jalapenos 2 Fresno peppers, or 2 Thai chilies, seeded and diced, OR 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos*
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar* you can sub balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce*
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil*
- 2 scallions trimmed and thinly sliced
- *Got a jar of All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce in the fridge? Use ¼ cup of it in place of the coconut aminos rice vinegar, fish sauce, and toasted sesame oil!
Instructions
- Grab your asparagus and get chopping! Start by trimming the tough ends off. I keep the thick rubber bands on the asparagus, spy where the ends morph from green to whitish (the tough part), and slice through the whole bundle at that point. (The method where you snap each piece of asparagus to find the “breaking point” is both tedious and unnecessary.)
- Next, discard the tough ends in the compost bin and slice the asparagus crosswise into ½-inch thick coins, down to the tips.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, swirl in the cooking fat so you have a thin layer of fat coating the bottom.
- As soon as the fat is shimmering, toss in the shallots and a sprinkle of salt.
- Cook, stirring, for a couple minutes or until the shallots are softened.
- Toss in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the ground pork and break it up with spatula.
- Sprinkle on some salt and increase the heat to medium-high.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes or until no longer pink.
- Toss in the asparagus coins and minced chilies, and cook until the asparagus are tender-crisp, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, fish sauce, and sesame oil. (Got a jar of All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce in the fridge? Use ¼ cup of it in place of the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, fish sauce, and toasted sesame oil!)
- Turn off the heat and taste a bite. If necessary, adjust the seasoning to your liking.
- Toss in the scallions and holler at your family to get to the table!
Kristin says
To me, pork is a breakfast food but subbing in asparagus does sound like a yummy way to change up my usual morning hash!
Carol Caddoo says
I make something very similar with green beans rather than asparagus… but love the asparagus idea! we also top the whole thing off with a fried egg! YUM!
nomnompaleo says
I was inspired by a dish my mom makes with Chinese long beans! Green beans are a great alternative!
D. Sylvester says
Fried egg….great idea!
Wendy Cone says
What can I use instead of the coconut amigos? I’m not paleo and don’t really want to buy something I don’t see using much. Thanks so much!
nomnompaleo says
Tamari or soy sauce. Just cut down on the amount a little because it’s saltier than coconut aminos.
Wendy Cone says
Thank you!
FromPA says
You want naturally brewed, without wheat. It’s about 3x saltier. In fact, I wish coconut aminos were saltier, as they taste remarkably like soy sauce, but don’t have the salt content.
FromPA says
We made this and thought it was great. I doubled the recipe, as I can eat 8 ounces of meat myself. It turns out that we didn’t have coconut aminos for some reason, so I used naturally brewed soy sauce (no wheat). I added three tablespoons instead of 4, for fear of making this too salty. I added some marmite to replace the 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and mainly because I just received it in the mail and wanted to use it. I plan on using it as an umami addition to meals. I used one bunch asparagus and one bunch green beans.
We may try the egg addition, and also peanuts (none of us have peanut allergies).
Since I doubled the recipe, I had to increase the cooking time because it’s more of a braise and not a stir fry in my pot.
I also bought more hot peppers than we needed and I cut them up and put them on my bowl. I like it hot!
Lara Lovett says
Just made this with ground beef and the red pepper flakes – it is DELICIOUS!!! I’m doing a Whole30 so I’m super happy to have such an easy and flavorful meal – thanks Michelle!!
nomnompaleo says
Yay!
Michele says
This was delicious, and the substitutions you listed were very helpful. I’m one of those “need to have every single ingredient on hand and will go to the grocery to buy the one thing I’m missing and follow the recipe to a T” kind of people, so listing out the alternatives was great. Thanks!
susan says
This was a good dish. I made it milder for my kids and kicked it up with some extra peppers for myself. We ate it at breakfast too with an egg on top. We also used turkey with a bit of fat in it.
nomnompaleo says
Yay!
Betsy Tucker says
This is delicious! The only thing I changed was to sub green jalapenos for the red because I knew my family wouldn’t deal well with the heat of red jalapenos. I’ll try this with an egg on top tomorrow for breakfast. Thank you!
Jonathan Starr says
I made this last night and it’s an awesome dish! Well done. How do you determine serving sizes? Is this the serving size you’d make for your family (where the 4 includes 2 kids) or a suggested serving size based on something else? I made this with cauliflower rice yesterday and could see this be more of a 3 person serving for adults. Also cognizant of serving sizes so I don’t eat too much!
Jennifer Manley says
This was so tasty! A huge hit with my husband and 9 year old son. I also subbed in a green jalapeno and it was so good! This will be a staple. Especially with riced cauliflower!
Allison Korenek says
We save our asparagus ends and make asparagus soup. Great way to use woody ends, but I wouldn’t recommend unless you have a high powered blender.
Romas David says
Great recipe. I actually really appreciate this amazing recipe. I will make it for my family. Thanks!
Vietqt says
The ingredients list kosher salt but not quantity. Please advise.
nomnompaleo says
There is no exact amount because you sprinkle it on and adjust according to your taste.
Sandy says
I’ve made this four times and it is always easy and delicious. I was rushing tonight so I added a bag of Trader Joe’s Riced Cauliflower at the same time as the asparagus, instead of cooking it separately, and it turned out great!
Todd Siemers says
Love this recipe! I was curious if anyone has added/subbed leeks? I have an extra leek sitting around so I’m going to give it a go. I’ll post back with my results
Todd Siemers says
In the words of Larry David, it was pretaaaaaay pretaaaaay pretty good!
Mamaloobongo says
🤣🤣🤣it WAS pretttay prettttay goood! I had to use what I had on hand, green beans subbed in. And the coup d’etat – Little dollops of Garlic Chili Sauce! Love a good stir fry! Thank you Michelle! Maybe I’ll graduate and make your XO sauce and make the XO Pork recipe!!
Caria says
Made this with venison sausage. Came out great. Next time I’ll add more asparagus.
Kristen says
We made this last night and it was delicious! So easy too since I had a bottle of the all-purpose stir-fry sauce on hand. Used an extra few splashes and extra asparagus since we had a big bag from Costco. Didn’t even use any peppers or chili flakes! This is one we will definitely make again and again!
Louise Samson says
As always, dear Michelle, you save my weary life with deliciousness.
Thanks again!