Fish flavored shredded pork, 鱼香肉ä¸, is another classic Sichuan dish. Like its vegetarian cousin, Fish-fragrant Eggplant, there is no fish in the dish. Instead, both dishes get their names from the pungent vinegary sauce that coats it. This popular stir fry dish uses pork tenderloin, bamboo shoots, black “wood ear” fungus all cooked in a sauce that melds sweet, sour and spicy.
Ingredients
main ingredients
- 250 g pork tenderloin
- 5 g dried black "wood ear" fungus
- 100 g bamboo shoots
- 1 medium sized carrot
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 scallions
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking sherry/wine
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt
sauce
- 1/2 - 1 tbsp spicy bean paste (郫县豆瓣酱/Pixian Dou Ban Jiang)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp cold water
Directions
- Soak the black fungus in a large bowl of warm water for 1 hour to rehydrate. Remove the hard stems, rince well, and drain. Cut into thin slices, set aside.
- Cut pork into 3 cm long, thin slices. Combine pork slices, Chinese cooking wine, salt and 1 tbsp cornstarch in a medium-sized bowl, mix well. Add 1 tbsp oil, toss well, set aside.
- Cut carrot and bamboo shoots into thin, almost shredded, slices about 3 cm long. Set aside. Mince garlic and ginger, set aside separate from vegetables.
- Mix sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok on medium to high heat. Add marinaded pork mixture into the wok, frying 30 seconds, and then gently separate the pork slices with a spatula. Stir fry for about 1 minute more. Remove from wok.
- Add 1 tbsp oil into the same wok. When oil is hot, stir fry minced garlic and ginger for 10 seconds until fragrant. Add carrot and bamboo shoots, stir and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add pork and black fungus to the wok, mix well, then add sauce mixture, frying for 1 minute. Make sure all the ingredients are evenly coated with sauce.
- Place on a serving plate, and garnish with finely-chopped scallions. Serve immediately.
Tips
- After marinading the meat with cornstarch, adding a little bit oil and tossing will help prevent the meat from sticking together when you frying it.
- If you are unable to obtain Chinese black vinegar, you can substitute it with balsamic vinegar.
Photo Credit: Alpha
