pork stir fry with green onion

1 Pork chops tend to come in thicknesses either around 1/2 inch thick or an inch thick. If you are working with a thick boneless pork chop, start by slicing it into two thin layers, horizontally.  If starting with pork loin, cut slices 1/2 inch thick.  Put the slices under some plastic wrap or wax paper and pound them thin with a rubber mallet, meat mallet or even an empty wine bottle. This will help tenderize the meat. The slices should be about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the pork against the grain into thin strips, about 1 1/2 inches long.

2 Put the soy sauce, sugar, and corn starch into a large bowl and whisk to combine.  Add the pork strips to the bowl with the marinade and toss to coat completely. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.

3 Heat the peanut oil in a wok or large sauté pan on high heat. When the oil is hot (shimmering but not smoking) add the garlic slices and stir-fry until they begin to turn brown at the edges, about 30 seconds. Add the pork strips and stir-fry until the pork changes color, about 90 seconds, stirring constantly.

4 Add the sliced green onions and continue to stir-fry for another minute, or until the green onions wilt. Turn off the heat and stir in the sesame oil, if using.

Serve immediately. Serve alone, or with rice.

 

Lessons learned:

It takes me takes twice as long as normal the stated time on most recipes to cook

brown first before adding vegetables — makes food wet
making rice by weight — bad, wet rice
good base — needs more seasonings
trim off fat for stir fry
I personally don’t like huge chunks of green onion

when I was browning the meat, I put the vegetables in just before the meat was fully cooked — i.e. it was still a little raw, then added the green onion. I should have known, but any browning on the meat came to a stop as all the water and steam from the vegetables came out.

I tried to make rice following a 1:2 rice:water ratio by weight. 1 cup rice ~= 200 grams, 1 cup water ~= 200 grams. 400 gram rice + 800 grams water equals easy math, but wet rice. Need to add less water next time. Maybe make it a science…

The above recipe is a solid base pork stir fry, but it’s very plain vanilla. I would spice it up a bit more, and in the writer’s defense, it does disclaim that it’s a plain dish, and it provides ample suggestions on how more accent could be added to the dish.

I wanted to try the base elements of chinese cooking to see what the standard fare tastes like — it was good to learn and experience that.

Another mistake I made was not trimming off the fat off the pork — the meat was very fatty and chewy. Not good for stir fry — note to self, use lean meat for stir fry. Save the fat for stews and grilling.

Along the lines of trying the “baseline” dish, I learned that I don’t love chucks of green onion in a dish — it just lends to a slimy wad of onion that doesn’t tantalize my taste buds when I bite into it. It looks pretty, but that’s about it.

I did stir fry the green onions in the dish it longer than I was supposed to, 2-3 minutes longer to make sure the pork was cooked since I added the onions in a bit early, but they still are a bit slimy. Maybe I’ll try it fresher next time, I still think they serve a better garnish than main course.

-Isaac