Taking on the Take Away! Stir fried Pork with Chilli, Honey and Ginger

 

I had forgotten how quick and easy stir fires can be, quite honestly, and I admonish myself for not doing more of them. We have take away Chinese from time to time when I really cannot be bothered with this cooking malarkey and Lola and Finn quite like what we have. I am quite surprised by Lola's penchant for chicken and sweetcorn soup (not my most favourite Chinese food it has to be said) and both children have a propensity to 'post' spring rolls and prawn toast like they are going out of fashion. And then there's vermicelli. Lola and Finn are fans of noodles. And why not? So am I.

 

So, I wanted to have an evening meal which was going to take minimum effort when I walked through the door, after running Lola and Finn around here, there and everywhere as part of their hectic social lives (I need to get myself one...) and whilst this meal only took as much effort as chopping a few spring onions, rooting out the vinegar and the soy sauce from the cupboard and opening a pack of noodles, and so fitted in to the 'minimum effort' meal that I wanted, I did need to spend 15 or so minutes earlier in the day massaging a marinade into some pork fillet. But that was okay, and quite therapeutic actually.

 

This recipe is from my long neglected (in terms of this blog at least) Kylie Kwong book 'Simple Chinese Cooking' which is a lovely, big, bold and colourful book, and it also contains some lovely recipes that now I have reacquainted myself with them, am longing to cook, not least because when I first bought this book, pre children, I enjoyed each recipe I made. It weirdly reminds me of when I was pregnant with Lola and this was one of the very few types of food I was able to eat. Being pregnant with Lola was the best diet I ever went on.

 

Anyway, try this. It's easy and tasty. My adaptions to the recipe were that I added a little chopped red chilli to the marinade because I wanted a semblance of heat. I added half a finely diced red chilli. I also tasted the marinade and even though there was a lot of soy in there, I didn't feel there was enough salt to bring out the flavour of a potentially bland pork fillet, so I added about 1/2 a teaspoon. Finally, I also upped the quantity of spring onions as in Phill I have someone for whom two spring onions is frankly not enough. Chopped coriander is my own addition, because I like it - big lumps of it.

 

Kylie Kwong recommends an overnight marinade for optimum flavour. I marinated for about 8 hours, turning the meat over periodically and the meat was tasty and tender.

 

 

 

 

Pork with Chilli, Honey and Ginger, adapted from 'Simple Chinese Cooking' by Kylie Kwong.

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad and probably one other (but we were hungry!)

Ingredients

600 g (1 lb. 4 oz.) pork fillets, cut into 5 mm (1/4 in) slices

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 spring onions (scallions), trimmed and cut into 10 cm (4 in) lengths

1 tablespoon malt vinegar

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 tablespoon water

2 limes, halved

 

Marinade

 

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons shao hsing wine or dry sherry

2 tablespoons finely diced ginger

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

2 teaspoons dark soy sauce

2 teaspoons five-spice powder

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Method

 

Combine pork with marinade ingredients in a large bowl, cover, and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or overnight.

 

 

 

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add half the marinated pork and stir-fry for 30 seconds.

 

Remove from wok with a slotted spoon and set aside. Heat remaining oil in the wok, add remaining pork and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.

 

 

 

Return reserved pork to the wok with spring onions, vinegar, soy sauce and water. Stir-fry for a further minute or until pork is just cooked through and lightly browned.

 

 

 

Arrange pork on a platter and serve with lime halves (or serve with some noodles and a scattering of coriander)