Cuisine Ici: Sesame Chili Pork Stir Fry

Friday, May 23, 2014

Sesame Chili Pork Stir Fry

I love Chinese Twice Cooked Pork, and love cabbage in stir fry's. Stir fries are not Americanized Chinese food, you can find them all over China. But the pork they use in Twice Cooked Pork tends to be on the more marbled side than you'll find in most American Chinese restaurants - almost like a German pork belly roast.

My Chinese colleagues introduced me to a relatively authentic Chinese restaurant locally, that they rather prefer. Once I ordered the Twice Cooked Pork, and the waiter politely ask me if I was sure I would like it. He said the meat will be... "different". And it was. And delicious, though quite marbled, almost to the point of uncured bacon. But oh boy, was that good! I'd have to say it was authentic compared to the Twice Cooked Pork I recently had in Beijing (see below) - with the same outstanding pork fat back.

You can use many cuts of pork you prefer, from lean to marbled. Here, I used boneless pork country ribs, which has light and dark meat, and is medium in the lean-marble scale. Probably more attuned to the typical American taste. But if you can find the Chinese cut, by all means use it for this dish.

1 lb pork, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cloves garlic
1-inch fresh ginger, minced
1 large carrot, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
2 cups coarsely cut cabbage
Toasted sesame seeds

Sauce:
2 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
2 Tbs Gochujan Korean chili and bean paste
1/2 cup pale dry sherry
2 tsp sesame oil

Whisk together the sauce ingredients.

Heat a slug of canola oil in a really hot wok or large deep skillet. Toss in the pork and stir fry for 3-5 minutes, browning the meat well. Set the pork aside. Add the remaining veggies and stir fry, adding a bit more oil if necessary. Stir very often, just allowing the veggies to brown on the edges. When the veggies have just begun to soften, and are crisp tender, return the pork to the wok. Heat through and then add the sauce. Bring to a boil. Serve with rice and top with sesame seeds.

Serves 4-6.

Cook's note: There are lots of ways to flavor this dish, and you can use your favorite veggies to pair with the pork. Here I use hoisin sauce with Korean spicy bean paste. Recently I had this dish at a restaurant on Wolfe Road, in Cupertino nestled in a group of authentic Chinese restaurants right across the street from Apple's new HQ construction site. These restaurants are famous in the area, and are going to do well with their prime location!

I knew this restaurant was authentic when I read that the menu and it had both beef and chicken entrail dishes!

I had the Twice Cooked Pork which had celery as the main veggie, and they also used that fantastic marbled pork fat back. Very delicious, with a black bean sauce base.

But cabbage and green peppers seem to be the more typical veggies for Twice Cooked Pork in the US. In Beijing, I had it with red and green peppers and choy sum at the famous Peking Duck House, near the Olympic Village.