Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Sour Napa Cabbage with Bamboo Shoots and Pork (酸筍炒肉絲)

This is one of the dishes I learned to make early on.  It has since become my personal favorite dish.  But for some reason I never got around to writing it up.  It is indexed as a Northern China Dish, mainly because of the ingredient, Sour Napa Cabbage, a product tracing its origin to Northern China reflecting the need to preserve vegetable over a long winter.
  1. Cut ~1/4 lb of  lean pork into chopstick size by 1  -1.5" long (not too thin).  Marinate with 1 Tbsp of rice cooking wine, 1 Tbsp of soy sauce, and 2 tsp of corn starch, for 30 minutes.  Note- matchstick size would be too thin a cut for this dish.  
  2. Get a bag of Sour Napa Cabbage (see product package to the right).  Cut it in half along its length (separating it into two halves, each about 2-3" wide x 8-10" long), then slice it across its width (as if you are slicing an onion into half moon shape).  Note- Taste a small piece of the cabbage to see if it is too salty.  If it is, soak it in water for 1-2 hours and taste again.  The brand shown in the product package is pretty safe.
  3. Slice 3-4 halves of frozen bamboo shoots into about the same size as the pork.  Set it aside.  Chop 4-6 dry chili pepper into small chunks (optional).
  4. (High Heat) Heat 2-4 Tbsp of veggie oil into a flat bottom cooking pan.  Add pork in, stir-fry till the pork is half-cooked (most, but not all, pork slices turn white, 1-2 minutes).  Take out and set aside.
  5. (High Heat) Heat 4-6 Tbsp of veggie oil in the same flat bottom cooking pan.  Add 1/4 tsp of salt, and the chopped dry chili pepper chunks (optional).  Let the dry pepper sizzle in the heat for a minute.  Add bamboo shoots, and Napa Cabbage.  Add 2 Tbsp of soy sauce, and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes.  
  6. Add the half-cooked pork, mix all the ingredients evenly, season with 2-3 Tbsp of Oyster Sauce (蠔油).  Let cook for 2-3 minutes and serve.  Here is a picture of the finished product.

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