Pork and Pepper Stir-Fry
Qing jiao rou si (青椒肉丝). A simple pork stir-fry with green pepper that hides a Chinese restaurant's secret to why the meat is so tender and succulent.
⏱️ Prep: 15 min🍳 Cook: 10 min
Ingredients
| 227 g | Pork |
| 1.4 g | Salt (for marinade) |
| 0.6 g | Ground white pepper, or to taste |
| 5.5 g | Dark soy sauce (for marinade) |
| 14 g | Chinese cooking wine (for marinade) |
| 1 | Egg white |
| 7.5 g | Cornstarch (for marinade) |
| 13.6 g | Cooking oil (for marinade) |
| 16.6 g | Soy sauce (for sauce) |
| 9 g | Oyster sauce |
| 2.1 g | Sugar |
| 1 g | Five-spice powder (see page 19) |
| 2.5 g | Cornstarch (for sauce) |
| 60 g | Water |
| 27 g | Pork lard or vegetable oil, to stir-fry |
| 8 g | Sweet flour sauce (see page 16) |
| 170 g | Green chili pepper, julienned |
| 9 g | Garlic, sliced thinly (about 3 cloves) |
Instructions
- Slice the pork into 1/8-inch thick slabs, then julienne the slabs into 1/8-inch thick strips.
- Add the pork, salt, white pepper, dark soy sauce and Chinese cooking wine to a nonreactive bowl and mix continuously for a few minutes until the meat becomes sticky.
- Add the egg white and cornstarch and continue mixing until well combined. (Chef's Secret: cornstarch and egg white marinade is a Chinese technique called velveting. It creates a starchy layer that preserves the meat's moisture while cooking, leading to juicy, tender meat.)
- Drizzle in the oil and mix to keep the meat strips from tangling, making them easier to stir-fry later. Set aside.
- In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, five-spice powder, cornstarch and water and mix well. Set aside.
- Turn the heat to high and heat the wok until smoking hot. Add the pork lard and stir the pork over high heat for a couple of minutes until the meat changes color. (If you don't like pork lard, use vegetable oil.)
- Add the sweet flour sauce and mix well.
- Switch the heat to medium and add the sliced garlic and julienned green pepper. Keep cooking until the pepper is slightly wilted. (Souped Up Swap: if you don't like spicy food, use bell pepper instead.)
- Pour in the sauce and stir well. Serve with white rice.