Pork and Sour Vegetable Stir-Fry (酸菜肉末)

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• About the dish
• Ingredients
• Cooking steps
• How to serve
• Other quick stir-fries
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About the dish

Fermented vegetables play an integral role in both traditional and modern Chinese cuisine. They can be used in modest quantities to flavor a dish (think Yá Cài/芽菜 in Dry Fried Green Beans), or as a star element to pair with other key ingredients, like in today’s recipe for Pork and Sour Vegetable Stir-Fry (Suān Cài Ròu Mò/酸菜肉末).

As its name suggests, it’s a stir-fried dish featuring ground pork and “sour vegetable” (Suān Cài/酸菜) — the umbrella term for any type of pickled vegetables that have a distinctively tangy taste (read the “INGREDIENTS” section below on the choice of “sour vegetables”).

Here are the reasons why I like it and encourage you to give it a try:

 

• It’s quick and easy to make.
• It’s packed with flavors: sour, spicy, garlicky, nutty, and savory with a hint of sweetness.
• There are multiple ways to serve it.

Ingredients

Here is the list of ingredients you need for this dish:

• Ground pork. It can be replaced by beef or chicken, preferably with a high fat content
• Pickled mustard greens (More on this ingredient and substitutes in the section below)
• Aromatics: scallions, ginger, and garlic
• Chilies. They can be dried or fresh ones
• Seasonings: soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine (or dry sherry), sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper

About pickled mustard greens

I chose to use pickled mustard greens as the “sour vegetable” for this recipe. It’s the same ingredient that stars in the classic Sichuan Fish with Sour Vegetable.

To substitute, you may use other types of Chinese “sour vegetables”, such as pickled cabbage, pickled napa cabbage, pickled radish/daikon, or pickled asparagus beans/long beans.

🌟 NOTE: Since the sourness and saltiness of each “sour vegetable” varies, you may need to adjust its quantity or the volume of the salty seasonings used in the recipe.

Cooking steps

Step 1: Prepare the vegetable

Pickled mustard greens have a rather sharp sour and salty taste. It’s best to reduce its intensity before cooking.

First, rinse them with running water. Then soak them in water. Depending on their original taste and your preferences, the required soaking time can vary. Two hours may be sufficient, or an overnight soak may be necessary.

After soaking, squeeze the mustard greens to remove any excess water. Lay them on a chopping board and finely cut them into small pieces.

Step 2: Fry the meat

Heat an empty wok, or a large skillet, until lightly smoking. Add a little oil and swirl around to coat a larger area, then put in the ground pork. Note that if using cookware with non-stick coating you should add oil first then heat up.

Stir fry the pork over high heat. Loosen any large lumps with a spatula. As soon as the meat loses its pink color and turns pale, add soy sauce and Shaoxing rice wine. Mix well then transfer the meat to a plate for later use.

Step 3: Combine the dish

Add a little oil to the same wok or skillet. Put in the chilies, ginger, garlic, and most of the scallions (reserve some for garnishing). Sizzle until fragrant, but be careful not to burn them.

Tip in the finely chopped pickled mustard greens. Toss constantly over high heat.

Once the vegetable is evenly heated and looks quite dry, put in the fried pork.

Stir fry briefly then add sesame oil, sugar, white pepper, and the remaining scallions. Give everything a final toss, then dish it out to serve immediately.

How to serve

Not sure how to serve pork and sour vegetable stir-fry? Here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy it:

• Serve it on top of freshly steamed rice. Mix well and tuck it.
• Use it as a topping for noodles, like how you enjoy Beijing Fried Sauce Noodles.
• Scoop it into folded bao buns.
• Wrap it with crunch leaves, like how Sichuan Style Lettuce Wraps work.
• Use it to accompany plain congee, and freeze the leftovers, divided into small portions, for later consumption.

Other quick stir-fries

Looking for more easy and tasty stir-fried dishes? Try these popular recipes:

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