Stir-fried Pork with Ginger and Scallion

by wiffy on March 12, 2010

in Asian,Chinese,Meat,Mum's Recipes,Pork,Recipes,Stir Frying

Fave childhood dish – Stir-fried pork in ginger & scallions 姜葱猪肉

This is one of my favourite childhood home-cooked food by mum, alongside other favourites such as fried bee hoon, cabbage rice and szechuan vegetables with pork. This dish was where I got my (in)formal training/headstart in eating chilli, for my mum would add an insane number of chilli padi into it and it was so choking hot for a child (I think most adults couldn’t handle it either), and so satisfying. So I owe this dish & my mum for introducing me to the wonderful world of spicy foods.

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I suddenly missed eating this dish and I asked my mum if she could come over my place to teach me how to cook it. She told me that she just have to tell me the instructions verbally because this dish is so simple that she could “cook it with her eyes closed” (show off, mummy hehe). But true enough, her verbal instructions (even though somewhat vague and without measurements) were enough because this stir fry is truly easy. I got it right the first time which means it tasted like my mum’s version. So if you are looking for a yummy, fast and easy stir fry, this recipe is for you. If you like this dish, check out the chicken version of this recipe.

Pork tenderloin

A secret to this dish is to get the tenderloin cut for the pork. The tenderloin part is more premium (it is usually at least double the price of normal cut if not more) and from the photo above, it is recognisable by its longish cut (because it is located at the spine area). No matter how you cook it, the pork remains tender. My mum told me that women on confinement cook a version of this dish (with more ginger, more sesame oil and hard liquor) with the tenderloin cut not because the cut is more nourishing, but because they want to pamper themselves as they are recuperating from childbirth. Luckily, I don’t have to wait till I have kids to enjoy this dish because since young, my mum has always used the premium cut for the family.

Ingredients
(serves 2-3)
- 200g pork (tenderloin cut preferred), sliced thinly and diagonally (against the grain)
- 4 slices of ginger, sliced thinly
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 stalks spring onions (scallions), cut to 5cm/2-inch lengths
- 1-2 chilli padi, sliced (omit or adjust to your liking)
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Hua Diao or Shaoxing) (optional)
- 40ml water (optional)

Marinade (A)
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil

Directions
1. Marinate the pork slices in the marinade ingredients (A) for at least 5 minutes.
2. Heat oil, fry ginger for 20 seconds. Then add garlic, chiilli & spring onions (the white bottom thick portion) to the wok and stir fry till fragrant.
2. Add pork slices, stir fry till cooked (I wait till all the slices are no longer pink, and 30 seconds more). Add the rest of the spring onions.
4. If you like some gravy to go with your rice (highly recommended), add water. Drizzle some Chinese cooking wine along the side of the wok and you’ll smell the aroma of the wine in a few seconds. Off the flame. This dish is best served with steamed rice.

Ingredients (Left to right; clockwise) – red chilli padi, scallion (leafy part), minced garlic, ginger strips, ginger slices & scallion (thick stalks)