Pork Tenderloin Stir-Fry with Ginger and Soy

Allow 20 minutes for measuring, slicing, mixing the sauce and safe clean-up. Prepare the bell pepper, mangetout, spring onions, ginger and garlic first as described in the ingredient notes. Whisk the cornflour with all 100ml cold water until smooth, then whisk in all the light soy sauce, rice vinegar and caster sugar. Divide the 25ml rapeseed oil into 7ml, 7ml, 6ml and 5ml portions. On a separate raw-meat board, trim the pork and cut across the grain into slices no thicker than 5mm, then into strips roughly 1cm wide and up to 4cm long. Divide the prepared meat into three approximately equal batches. Do not wash raw pork. Wash hands and clean the raw-meat board, knife and surfaces thoroughly. Have a plate ready for partly cooked meat, a separate clean bowl for cooked vegetables and clean utensils for serving. Accompaniments are cooked separately, outside this recipe's timing.

Heat the empty 30cm heavy-based pan over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes; follow its manufacturer's guidance and do not overheat a non-stick pan. Add the first 7ml oil and swirl, then immediately add the first third of the pork in a loose single layer with gaps between the strips. Allow about 2 minutes, turning and stirring, until the strips have some golden patches. They need not be cooked through yet. Transfer to the plate reserved for partly cooked meat; do not taste them or use this plate for serving. If using a smaller flat cooking surface, split each measured batch and its allocated oil into smaller portions before cooking; allow extra time for each additional batch rather than crowding the pan.

Add the second 7ml oil and the second third of the pork. Cook over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, turning until lightly coloured, then transfer to the same meat plate. Repeat with the third 6ml oil portion and the final third of the pork for about 2 minutes, transferring it to the meat plate too. Keep each batch in a loose layer. If liquid pools, let the pan regain its heat before the next batch and use smaller portions; any extra batches or reheating extend the timing. Continue the recipe immediately: partly cooking the pork is not a make-ahead option.

Add the final 5ml oil and all the bell pepper to the same pan over medium-high heat. Stir-fry for about 3 minutes until hot and beginning to soften at the edges. Add all the mangetout and stir-fry for about 2 minutes more, until vivid green and still crisp. Transfer both vegetables to the separate clean bowl, including any vegetable juices; the brief transfer is included in this stage. Keep this bowl separate from the partly cooked pork plate. Leave the vegetables off the heat while finishing the pork so they do not simmer through the safety checks. The pork stays on its plate beside the hob; do not start another task or leave it for later.

Reduce to medium heat. Add all the grated ginger, chopped garlic and the white and pale-green spring onion lengths to the pan. Stir for about 1 minute until fragrant, keeping the garlic pale. Re-whisk the cornflour sauce so no starch remains settled on the bottom of the bowl.

Pour all the sauce into the pan and stir over medium-high heat for about 1 minute until bubbling and beginning to turn translucent. Return all the pork and every drop of meat-plate juice, separating the strips so they heat evenly. Reduce to medium heat for gentle bubbling. If the sauce becomes too thick, add water in measured 15ml additions and stir to incorporate; the same correction can be made at the finish.

Budget about 3 minutes for the combined final heating, temperature checks, sequential holds and probe cleaning, extending this allowance whenever necessary. Begin checking as soon as the returned pork is hot; do not wait for a fixed cooking period before checking, and do not keep cooking for the full allowance if the endpoint is already satisfied. Keep the sauce gently bubbling, turning the strips. With a clean thin-tip probe suitable for small pieces, check at least three of the thickest strips from different parts of the pan, inserting lengthways into each centre without touching the pan or measuring only sauce. Each checked centre must reach at least 75°C and stay at or above 75°C for 30 seconds. Check one strip at a time, starting each hold only once its reading has stabilised; the three sequential 30-second holds and probe cleaning are included in the allowance, not extra timed stages. If a reading falls below 75°C, continue heating and restart that hold when the temperature recovers. Clean the probe after each use, especially after undercooked meat. All the pork must be cooked through, steaming hot inside with no pink, fleshy centre. If the probe cannot be positioned accurately in these thin pieces, cut several thick pieces open with a clean knife and use the FSA visual checks together: steaming hot throughout, no pink, fleshy meat and clear juices. Brown surfaces or bubbling sauce alone are insufficient. Continue heating and rechecking until safe, adding measured 15ml water portions if needed to keep the sauce loose. Follow any more stringent pack instructions. Once the endpoint and any pack instructions are satisfied, move straight to returning the vegetables; there is no obligatory additional cooking or checking period.

Return all the bell pepper, mangetout and their juices from the clean bowl. Toss over medium heat just until everything is hot, allowing about 1 minute rather than a prolonged simmer. The sauce should lightly coat the pork and vegetables, not sit in a thick paste. If needed, add water 15ml at a time, stirring to incorporate and heat through, even if the pork has already passed its safety checks. Turn off the heat as soon as everything is hot and the coating is loose; extend the timing only if needed to heat through.

Allow 1 minute off the heat to fold in all the dark-green spring onion tops, divide between three bowls and spoon over the sauce. Serve immediately with separately prepared rice or noodles; there is no required resting, cooling or marination stage. Use clean serving utensils, not the unwashed plate or utensils that held partly cooked pork.