Sichuan Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce (鱼香肉丝)

Sichuan Shredded Pork with garlic sauce over rice in a bowl.

4.92 from 50 votes

Sichuan Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce (鱼香肉丝)

A signature Sichuan dish, shredded pork with garlic sauce features tender meat, crisp vegetables, and a boldly flavored sauce that's hard to resist.

Prep Time20

Cook Time5

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: servings

Calories: 344kcal

Author: Wei Guo

Ingredients

For the meat

10 oz pork tenderloin aka pork fillet
2 teaspoon light soy sauce
2 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon neutral cooking oil

For the sauce

2 tablespoon black rice vinegar
1½ tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoon sugar
1½ tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoon water

You also need

3 tablespoon neutral cooking oil divided
2 tablespoon pickled chili finely chopped (see note 1)
2 teaspoon garlic minced
1 teaspoon ginger minced
½ cup carrot julienned
½ cup wood ear mushrooms rehydrated and julienned (see note 2)
½ cup bamboo shoots julienned
1 stalk scallions finely chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Marinate the pork

Cut pork tenderloin into narrow strips (see note 3). Then, mix them with light soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, cornstarch, salt, and water. Once no more liquid can be seen, rub in oil to coat the meat evenly.

Mix the sauce

In a small bowl, mix black rice vinegar, Shaoxing rice wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, and water. Set aside.

Sear the pork

Heat a wok over high heat until very hot, then pour in 2 tablespoons of oil (if using non-stick cookware, be sure to add oil first then heat it). Add the marinated pork. Toss to sear it quickly. Once the meat turns pale, transfer out to a plate for later use.

Stir-fry the vegetables

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the empty wok. Sizzle pickled chili, garlic, and ginger until fragrant. Then, put in wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots and carrots. Stir-fry until they just begin to wilt.

Combine the dish

Return the pork to the wok. Stir fry for 30 seconds or so. Turn the heat down to low then pour in the sauce (stir well beforehand to avoid starch sitting at the bottom).
As soon as the sauce starts to thicken, turn off the heat and stir in scallions. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Notes

1. The original version calls for Sichuan style pickled chili. You may also use these to substitute: Pickled Chilli Garlic Sauce, other types of pickled chili (e.g. Spanish or Italian ones), or fresh chillies. Adjust the quantity as needed, as they vary in heat levels.

2. Read my post on Wood Ear Mushrooms & How to Rehydrate to learn more. You'll need around 8 gram of dried ones to get the suggested amount.

3. To make cutting the pork more efficient, briefly freeze the meat until semi solid, or wet your knife with water when slicing to avoid sticking.

Nutrition