Stir-Fried Pork Slivers With Pickled Mustard (Zhacai Rousi, 榨菜肉丝)
The Mala MarketIngredients
For the Pork
- ⅔ pound (300g) lean pork, such as pork loin
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
For the Sauce
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon white sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For the Stir-Fry
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ cup red bell pepper sliced into 2-inch strips
- 160 grams ready-to-eat, sliced zhacai (two packages if using The Mala Market version) if using a salty version that’s not meant to be ready-to-eat, rinse and drain the pickles
- 2 scallions sliced into thin, 2-inch strips
Instructions
Prepare the Pork
- Cut the pork into thin slices and then into thin strips about 2–3 inches long and less than ⅛ inch wide. The pieces should be very thin slivers. Transfer them to a medium bowl. Add the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and salt to the pork, mixing until the pork absorbs the moisture.
- In a small bowl, mix the starch and water until well combined. Add the starch slurry to the pork mixture, mixing until the pork is evenly coated. Lastly, add the vegetable oil and mix to coat the pork. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Make the Sauce
- In a small bowl, combine the light soy sauce, starch, water, sugar and salt and mix until uniform.
Stir-Fry the Pork and Vegetables
- Heat the wok over medium-high heat. Once it is hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl it around the wok. Immediately add the pork and spread out into a single layer. Let it fry undisturbed for about 30 seconds.
- Stir-fry the pork, breaking up chunks of meat as you go, so the slivers are separated, until it turns pale, about 1 minute. Remove the meat from the wok and set it aside in a bowl; wipe out the wok.
- Turn the heat down to medium and heat the wok again.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. Add the minced ginger and garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds, until they are fragrant. Add the bell pepper and zhacai and stir-fry another 1–2 minutes, until the bell pepper is slightly wilted.
- Add the pork back into the vegetable mixture, quickly mix everything together, then pour in the sauce and stir-fry everything together, mixing well, for 1 minute.
- Add most of the scallion slices to the wok (reserving just a few for garnish) and stir-fry everything for a few seconds. Remove everything from the wok and serve it hot, garnished with remaining scallion.