A quick and easy dish bursting with flavors, Chinese pork and sour vegetable stir-fry is versatile and pairs well with many staples.
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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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Love this recipe? Please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating and a comment. Thank you!
Pork and Sour Vegetable Stir-Fry (酸菜肉末)
Video
Ingredients
- 9 oz pickled mustard greens, see note 1
- 2 tablespoon neutral cooking oil, divided
- 1 lb ground pork, see note 2
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 2 stalk scallions, finely chopped
- 3 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- Chilies, dried or fresh ones, to taste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
Instructions
Prepare the vegetable
- Rinse pickled mustard greens under running water. Then soak them in plenty of water for 2 hours or overnight (see note 3).
- Drain and squeeze out any excess water. Cut them into tiny pieces.
Fry the pork
- Heat 1½ tablespoons of oil in a wok or a large skillet over high heat. Stir in the ground pork.
- Use a spatula to break and loosen any large lumps, and toss to fry until the meat loses its pink color.
- Add Shaoxing rice wine, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Stir fry for 10 more seconds then dish out and set aside.
Combine the dish
- Pour the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil into the wok/skillet. Add most of the scallions (keep some for garnishing), garlic, ginger, and chilies. Sizzle until fragrant.
- Put in the chopped pickled mustard greens. Toss for one and a half minutes or so. Then put the pork back into the wok. Mix and fry for a further 30 seconds.
- Add sesame oil, sugar, white pepper, and the remaining scallions. Give everything a thorough stir before dishing out to serve.
Notes
Your Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Simple to prepare with mostly pantry ingredients. Appreciate the instruction to soak the pickled mustard green. Seems very elder-friendly, and I plan to make it for my folks. Very tasty with rice. Thanks so much for developing and sharing this recipe.
Thank you! So happy to hear you found it simple and tasty. Appreciate your kind words and happy cooking!
So glad to have the tip about soaking the mustard greens!
Yes, by soaking them you can adjust its sourness and saltiness to your own taste.