Strips of pork, salty preserved vegetables, and crisp fresh bamboo is a light and quick dish that I’ve often used when I have to make a fast dinner. Aside from the slicing, the dish stir-fries up quickly, so make sure everything is ready before you heat the wok. You can buy pork already cut into strips at Chinese supermarkets or you can cut your own from pork loin (if you want it to be very lean) or pork shoulder (if you want it to be fattier). Both will work in this dish. I usually cut my own and freeze in 8oz portions because that’s how much my recipes usually call for.
This recipe is friendly and flexible. You can use more or less of the preserved vegetable. They come in spicy and non-spicy versions (pictures below). The spicy is not very spicy though. This recipe also works whether you use a small bamboo shoot or a large one. You’ll just need to adjust with more or less salt or soy sauce.
Preserved Vegetable with Pork Strips and Winter Bamboo
- 2 to 3 packs preserved vegetable (70g to 100g size)
- 1 winter bamboo shoot
- 8 oz pork, cut in strips
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce + extra to taste
- 1.5 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoons grapeseed oil or other vegetable oil
- 2 pinches of sugar
1. Soak preserved vegetables in water for 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. While vegetable is soaking, peel and thinly slice the bamboo. Set aside.
3. Stir together pork and soy sauce. Sprinkle cornstarch on top and stir. Set aside.
4. Heat oil in the wok and swirl around. Once you see a little smoke, add the pork and stir fry. When the color of the pork starts to change, add the bamboo. Stir fry for another 2 minutes. Add the drained preserved vegetables and stir fry another 2 minutes. Add the sugar, give it a good toss, and serve immediately. (You might need more salt or soy sauce if you use a very large bamboo)
This dish can be eaten in two ways:
1. Serve with rice as a nice, light lunch or as part of a family style meal where all the dishes are eaten with rice.
2. Serve with noodles (I usually use Chinese wheat noodles) and chicken stock or pork stock (seasoned with salt or soy sauce) and it becomes a comforting bowl of noodle soup.
I often first make this dish as part of a meal with multiple dishes to be eaten with rice. Then, I use the left-overs to make a noodle soup for lunch on a following day. It’s sometimes challenging to get left-overs though.
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