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Sometimes simplicity is the best in life. Such as this home cooked ginger pork stir fry dish that not only goes well with steamed white rice, you don’t really need any other dish to complement it, it can be the standalone main dish for a comforting meal for the family.
Very similar to the Japanese version called ‘Shogayaki’ which uses pork loin and a savoury sweet gingery sauce, except the kind of meat used in this dish is a simple pork lean meat sliced thinly. I used mirin in this recipe as it’s readily available in my fridge but honestly the Chinese Huadiao or Shaoxing wine is much more fragrant for this dish. I have seen different versions of this dish cooked by my aunties, sometimes yellow onion is added, sometimes leek or scallions. But the dish tastes great, with or without these additions.
Which pork is good for stir fry
Stir frying pork is a short cooking process using high heat to cook the meat while stirring briskly. The kind of pork should be slightly marbled, so it does not require long cooking process to tenderise it. Pork shoulder or pork collar, pork butt, pork loin or tenderloin, or even pork belly (五花瘦肉) are all good choices. Slicing the meat thinly does help in the process of cooking as it cooks quickly and makes it less tough and chewy. If in doubt, always ask the butcher uncle.
Ingredients for ginger pork stir fry
You can easily find these basic ingredients from the supermarkets or grocers. In fact the seasonings are a regular in my kitchen pantry, I mean, kitchens in Chinese families will always have sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and a Chinese wine (though in this case I used mirin in replacement of Chinese wine).
- Meat – I used lean pork loin in this recipe, and sometimes I will also use pork collar which has some fats. Be sure to slice it thinly so it makes cooking easier. It’s also not too tough and chewy when eating.
- Aromatics – Garlic is for the aroma while ginger is the real star here. Use an ‘old’ ginger, if you like the ‘heat’ from the ginger.
- Simple seasonings are used, that includes soy sauce and sesame oil
- Cooking oil, but of course, we need this for cooking the aromatics and the meat.
- Chinese wine such as Huadiao or Shaoxing wine, or mirin or sake can be used. I used these interchangeably, depending on what is available in my kitchen.
Quick dishes that go well with ginger pork
If you are hosting a lunch or dinner party and would like to cook up more dishes but don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen, check out these simple and quick-to-make dishes:
- Tomato Egg 15-Minute Stir-Fry Recipe (番茄炒蛋)
- 10-minute Egg Drop Soup 蛋花汤
- Steamed Cod Fish with Essence of Chicken in 15 Minutes (15分钟鸡精蒸鳕鱼)
- 15-minute Crab Fried Rice | 15分钟蟹肉炒饭
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Ginger Pork Stir Fry 姜丝炒肉
Detailed Step-by-Step Video
Ingredients
- 500 g lean pork, or pork collar, pork loin, pork butt, pork tenderloin, pork belly
- 3-4 tbsp cooking oil
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 inch old ginger, young ginger is also ok
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 3-4 tbsp mirin, or sake or Huadiao or Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Scrap the skin of 1 inch old ginger off using a spoon or the back of a knife.
- Julienne the ginger. Smash 5 cloves garlic and mince finely.
- Slice 500 g lean pork as thin as possible. Marinate the meat with 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 3-4 tbsp mirin, 1/4 tsp black pepper for 30 minutes.
- Use a wok or wide pan over medium heat. Add 3-4 tbsp cooking oil. Once the oil is warmed up, add the ginger and sauté until it turns to brown slightly.
- Push the ginger aside and add the garlic and sauté until slightly brown. Note: Garlic cooks faster than ginger, thus add the garlic after the ginger starts to brown slightly.
- Push the ginger and garlic aside and add the pork.
- Stir fry briefly until it's 80% cooked.
- Mix the garlic and ginger together with the pork. Add more mirin if the mixture is a little dry. Do a taste test and add more seasonings according to your taste.
- Serve warm. Best served with steamed rice. Optional to garnish with some chopped spring onions.
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