Leftover Roast Pork in Garlic Sauce

Roast pork in garlic sauce cooked with broccoli and brussels sprouts in a delicious sauce.  Make it with leftover roast pork and have it ready in half an hour. There are also instructions for making with fresh pork which only takes 15 minutes longer. What are you waiting for?

When you are only cooking for 2 people there always seems to be a lot left over when you make a roast.   I find pork especially tends to dry out when left over so I devised this recipe for roast pork in garlic sauce using loads of spicy sauce and garlic.

It is absolutely delicious – juicy (not dried out) pork chunks swimming in a tasty garlic sauce, with lots of green veggies added for extra flavour. And because the veggies are cooked in the sauce they are chockful of flavour too.

The leftover pork is marinated with a mixture of cornflour, soy sauce and tomato paste and then added to a garlicy sauce along with some broccoli, brussels sprouts and mushrooms.    Cooking the veggies in the sauce gives them a deliciously different taste, and the pork absorbs the sauce and comes out tender and juicy.  The whole dish is ready in just over half-an-hour, and because it uses leftover pork it is super economical.

You can also make this dish using fresh cubed pork leg (or shoulder). Because the pork is cut into small dice it only takes and extra 15 minutes to make. The steps to make with fresh pork are identical, only the cooking time increases.

Ingredients for Roast Pork in Garlic Sauce

Whenever I read a recipe I like to have a look at the ingredients to see whether I have everything I need. To make it easy for you – I’ve listed the ingredients below. You can get the full list of ingredients and quantities in the printable recipe card further down in the post.

I have deliberately not included salt in this recipe as the dish is made with leftover pork which will already have been salted. If you are using fresh raw pork to make this dish, please add salt to your own taste.

Main Ingredients

• Leftover Roast Pork cut into cubes (depends on how much pork you have leftover). Once we have finished with our pork roast I cut the leftover meat into blocks and store in a ziploc bag in the freezer.
• If you want to use fresh pork you will need the same amount of freshly cubed pork meat, preferably from the leg.
• Broccoli broken into florets
• Brussels Sprouts cut in half
• Baby Mushrooms you can cut these in half or leave them whole if they are very small.
• Beansprouts – these get added at the end of the cooking process and give a lovely crunch to the dish.

Note – you can substitute these veggies with your favourite vegetable of choice. I find that finely shredded cabbage give extra texture.

For the marinade

This is used to marinate either the leftover pork, or the fresh pork if you are using fresh.

• Olive Oil
• Dark Soy Sauce
• Cornflour
• Tomato Puree

For the Garlic Sauce

• Chicken Stock – if you don’t have fresh, you can make some up using a stock cub
• Dark Soy Sauce
• Oyster Sauce
• Garlic (finely chopped) or use the equivalent amount of garlic paste
• Rice Wine Vinegar
• Brown Sugar
• Chilli Flakes more or less to taste – this is optional – you can leave it out if you like.
• Sesame Oil – sesame oil is not used for frying, it is used for flavouring.
• Ginger (finely grated) or use 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
• Cornflour mixed with a little water used to thicken the sauce after adding the meat (only if necessary). There is cornflour in the marinade which may be sufficient to thicken the sauce.

How to make roast pork in garlic sauce

Marinate the pork

• Place all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl large enough to take the pork and mix well.
• Cut the pork (either leftover or fresh) into cubes and then add to the marinade ingredients. Stir well to ensure the pork is well-coated. Let it stand for about 15 minutes.
• If you have pre-frozen the pork, just let it defrost in the fridge before you add it to the marinade.

Prepare the vegetables

• Place all the ingredients for the sauce (except the cornflour and water) in a saucepan and bring to the boil. 
• Turn the heat down to a simmer and add the broccoli, brussels sprouts and mushrooms. 
• Leave to simmer for about 10 minutes until the veggies are almost cooked.
• Add the beansprouts and simmer for 2 minutes longer.

If using leftover pork

If you are using leftover pork there is no need to cook the pork. It just needs to be heated in the sauce.

• Add the pork and the marinade and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes until well-heated through and the sauce has thickened.
• If the sauce looks too thin you can thicken it with a little cornflour mixed with water.

If using fresh pork

If you are using fresh pork, you will have to cook the pork first, before adding it to the vegetables.

• Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan and add the pork and the marinade.
• Stir-fry over a medium heat until the pork is cooked through. This will take between 10 and 15 minutes.
• To test whether the pork is cooked, cut a piece in half. There should not be any pink showing.
• Once the pork is cooked add it to the vegetables and continue with the instructions for leftover pork above.

Can I freeze roast pork in garlic sauce?

If you are super-organised you could mix the cubed leftover pork with the marinade and store it in your freezer until you are ready to use it. Otherwise, just do as I do and chop the pork into cubes and freeze without the marinade.

You can freeze leftover roast pork for up to 3 months.  Then, all you have to do is defrost the meat, whip up the sauce, add the defrosted pork, and simmer until it is well-heated.

If you are using fresh pork, you can freeze this either cubed or in the marinade. It will last in the freezer for up to 3 months. To use, allow it to defrost in the fridge then just follow the recipe instructions.

I wouldn’t freeze the assembled dish of roast pork in garlic sauce itself, as the vegetables would go soggy once defrosted.

What to serve with Roast Pork in Garlic Sauce

You could serve roast pork with garlic sauce in many ways

I like to serve this dish on a bed of fluffy white rice. See this post on how to cook rice in the microwave. It only takes 8 minutes.

Or why not try it with this delicious spicy mushroom rice.

You could also serve it over pasta, or on a pile of mashed potatoes.

Or why not try something different and spoon the pork into a warm pita bread, or roll it in a fajita wrap.

Do I have to use pork?

No – not at all. The garlic sauce goes particularly well with chicken. In fact I based my recipe for garlic chicken stirfry on the ingredients in the garlic sauce.

You could also substitute finely sliced beef for the pork in this recipe.

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Recipe – Roast Pork in Garlic Sauce

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Pork in Garlic Sauce

Left over roast pork, stir-fried with mushrooms and broccoli in a delicious garlic sauce

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian Inspired

Calories: 380kcal

Author: VJ

Equipment

• Saucepan
• Mixing bowl
• Sharp Knife
• Chopping Board

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 cups Leftover Roast Pork cut into cubes (depends on how much pork you have left over
• 2 cups Broccoli Florets
• 1 cup Brussels Sprouts halved
• 1 cup Baby Mushrooms
• 1 handful Beansprouts

For the marinade

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 4 Tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Cornflour
• 3 Tablespoons Tomato Puree

For the Garlic Sauce

• 2 cups Chicken Stock if you don't have fresh, you can make some up using a stock cube
• 4 Tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
• 4 cloves Garlic (finely chopped) or use the equivalent amount of garlic paste
• 2 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Chilli Flakes more or less to taste
• 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
• 1 inch piece Ginger (finely grated) or use 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1 Tablespoon Cornflour mixed with a little water used to thicken the sauce after adding the meat (only if necessary)

Instructions

Marinade the pork

• Mix all ingredients for the marinade together in a mixing bowl
• Add the pork and allow to marinate for 30 minutes

For the garlic sauce

• While the meat is marinating, mix together the sauce ingredients in a saucepan (with the exception of the Cornflour and water)
• Bring to the boil, mix well and turn the heat down to simmer
• Add the Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms and allow to simmer gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are almost cooked.
• Add the pork (and marinade) and allow to simmer gently for a further 5 minutes
• If the sauce is too thin add as much of the cornflour/water mix as necessary to thicken. The consistency should be like a thick gravy
• Serve over a bed of cooked white rice

Notes

There is no salt included in this dish because it is made from cooked pork which will already have been salted, and also the soy and oyster sauce provide a salty taste.  Feel free to add salt to your own taste.

Save time by freezing leftover pork from a roast.  Just chop it into 1″ cubes and mix with the marinade.  Pop it in the freezer until you are ready to use it.  Defrost in the fridge, or on the defrost setting in your microwave.

Don’t allow the vegetables to overcook in the sauce.  Remember, they will continue to cook as you are heating the meat.

The sauce will thicken once you add the meat, because the marinade contains cornflour.  If it doesn’t thicken sufficiently use a drizzle of the cornflour and water mixture to thicken it further.

The nutrition is based on this recipe feeding 4 people and is based on using leftover pork.  The actual number it will feed depends entirely on how much leftover roast pork you have.  3 cups roast pork will be sufficient for 4  people.

You can also make this dish from fresh uncooked cubed pork.  Follow the instructions in the recipe, but before you add the pork to the vegetables, stirfry the cubed pork in a little olive oil in a frying pan over a medium until cooked (about 10 – 15 minutes).  Check the pork is cooked by cutting a piece in half – there should be no pink showing.

 

I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only.  If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

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