Stir Fried Pork with Leeks
This is a very old recipe which we always cook when there are festivals, like Chinese New Year or Tang Chek, or winter solstice; and festivals like in the first or the fifteenth of the Chinese Lunar month.
This is an improved version of Fried Pork with Leeks. The leeks that we get in Malaysia is smaller i.e., thinner and the size is like twice the size of normal spring onions. The taste is stronger and the leaves are not as large or as tender and thick as the ones here. We can get leeks of this sort in Malaysia as well now.
I find leeks to be a great vegetable. I make soups out of it, I stir fry it and I use it for stews as well. I also fry it with firm bean curd. I used to get my leeks in an organic shop in Subang Jaya and I always buy leeks each time I am there. So much so that the lady in there asked me what do I do with it. So I had to explain to her.
So here is my recipe. This recipe has a lot of vegetables and I purposely created it this way so that it is a healthy dish. Mostly, I just cook this and have it with rice. It is a balanced meal. This way it saves me time and is relatively cheap to make.
(Note: the cooking time is approximate. The amount of water is also approximate as it depends on how hot your wok is. The hotter the wok, the faster the evaporation. It also depends on how much sauce you want in your dish. As this is a one-pot dish, I personally like to have it a bit saucier.
The correct consistency of the sauce is when the sauce starts to coat the vegetables. The purpose of adding corn flour is to make the sauce stick to the food. Try not to add in too much corn starch as it will make it gooey).)
Quick info:
Serves: 4
Level of difficulty: easy
Cost: £
Time: 20 mins
Ingredients:
300g Lean pork – loin or fillet –cut into 2-3mm thick strips
1 medium Carrot – cut into fancy shape and sliced as above
4 Button mushrooms –sliced as above
3 stalks Leeks – approx. 500g. – trimmed, sliced into half length-wise,washed and cut into 2 cm length
½ Red Pepper – thinly sliced
1 Pineapple shallot or 2 normal shallots –thinly sliced
3 cloves Fat garlic – finely chopped
Sauce:
2 Tbsp. Light soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Oyster sauce
2 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. Chinese cooking wine
White pepper powder
Salt
1 Tbsp. Corn flour mixed with some water
200-250ml Hot water
Method:
- Season the pork with ½ tsp salt and a few shakes of white pepper.
- Heat up a non-stick wok or pan and spray with some oil (or use 1 tsp oil. If you are not concerned about the intake of oil, you can use 1 tbsp.)
- When the wok is hot, add in the pork and distribute it so that it is a single layer. If your pan or wok is small, you might need to do it in batches.
- Let it sizzle and caramelize – about 5-7 minutes. When it is coloured (don’t let it burn), turn it over and let it colour.
- Dish out and set aside.
- Spray the wok again and add in the shallots. Stir fry it until it is lightly coloured and then add in the garlic. Stir it until it is lightly browned, then add in the carrots stirring it every now and then for about 2 minutes. Add in the leeks and all other vegetables and give it a good stir.
- Add in the sauce ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Add in about half the hot water – or a few splashes so that the vegetables have a bit of a sauce
- Leave it to simmer for about 4- 5 minutes. (Note: I prefer my leeks to be a bit soft. If you like it a bit crunchy, you can reduce the time,)
- Give it another stir and check that you are happy with the amount of sauce in it. Add a little bit more water if you like it to be saucy.
- Finally, add in the corn-starch mixture in 2 or 3 batches, stirring all the time until you get the consistency that you want.
- Season with salt and pepper if you need to . Dish out and serve.
