Pork stir-fry with ginger and garlic
Stir-fry, just like curries, are so versatile and you can use any vegetables you have in the house to bulk them out. But I’ve always struggled to get the meat right when it came to a stir-fry. It would usually end up tough, until I learned about velveting.
Velveting is essentially a Chinese marinating method that results in flavoursome meat that’s silky and tender, too. It does this by keeping the moisture inside the meat instead of having it all escape into the hot pan and evaporate. Sounds simple right? If you have the time to do it, then please do, as it will make the world of difference to your stir-fry!
I use the velveting technique in this pork stiry-fry to ensure the meat is gorgeous and tender, cooked evenly and super juicy. With this current heatwave in the UK, I’ve found this is the perfect light meal.
Pork Stir-Fry
This pork stir-fry serves three people and is really quick and easy to make. You can choose whether you have it with rice or noodles (either works for me).
Ingredients
- 1 level tbsp cornflour or cornstarch
- 2 tbsps rice wine vinegar
- 7 tbsps light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 500g pork loin steaks, cut into slices
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 red pepper
- 2 heads of pak choi
- 1 broccoli
- 1 tin of beansprouts
- 1 tsp ground ginger
Method
Step 1: Velvet the meat
It’s really quick and easy to velvet the meat, and can be done 30 minutes before you’re ready to start cooking.
Slice your pork into thin strips and put the cornflour, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and minced garlic into a large bowl. Add the pork, stirring well. Place in the fridge for around 30 minutes.
Step 2: Prep the veg
While your meat is in the fridge, you can begin to chop your pak choi, pepper and broccoli.
Step 3: Cook the pork
Put the sesame oil into a pan (ideally a wok) and put on a medium heat. Once the pan has heated up, add your pork by removing from the liquid and placing into the wok. Save the liquid for later.
Step 4: Add the veg and put your rice on
Once the pork has been cooked on both sides, add the pepper, broccoli and the thick ends of the pak choi (don’t put the leaves in yet as they take less time to cook). Allow to cook for a few minutes. Now is a good time to cook your rice or noodles.
Step 5: Add the remaining veg
Add your beansprouts and the leaves of the pak choi. Also add the remaining soy sauce mixture that your pork marinated in and the teaspoon of ginger. Cook for a couple of minutes until the pak choi leaves have wilted.
Step 6: Serve and eat
Serve the pork stir-fry with either your rice or noodles and enjoy!
