Serves 4

This is a good quick meal as you can pick up the ingredients on your way back from Christmas shopping and spend just a short time in the kitchen. Serve with boiled Thai rice, which is not as boring as it sounds. Thai rice is very quick to cook and has a heavenly natural fragrance. Simply boil one cup of Thai rice with 1?? cups water in a covered pan for 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, still covered, and let the rice stand for 5 minutes before spooning it out.

2 pork tenderloin fillets, 200-250g each
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small red pepper, cored and sliced thinly
3 salad onions, sliced on the diagonal
2 fat cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh root ginger
100g unsalted cashew nuts
Grated zest and juice 2 limes
5 tbsp naturally brewed soy sauce (eg, Kikkoman or Lee Kum Kee)
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
Freshly ground black pepper

1 Trim the tenderloins, then slice into thin rounds. Heat a large nonstick wok until you can feel a good steady heat rising, then add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Quickly stir-fry the pork pieces until nicely browned but not over-cooked, about 2-3 minutes.
2 Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and add the remaining oil. Stir-fry the peppers, onion, garlic and ginger for about 2 minutes.
3 Toss in the cashews and heat, then add the lime zest, juice, soy sauce and vinegar. Bring to simmering point, then return the meat and toss in the herbs as well. Reheat until nice and hot and serve straightaway.

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