Monday, March 04, 2013

Pork with Broccoli and Oyster Sauce


Tuesday 26 February
The Chinese norm is beef with broccoli, but Rose Cheng's Chinese Cookery has a version with ground pork.  We had a head of broccoli, and also some scrappy pork from the last tenderloin we portioned, so we adapted.
Make a marinade of a Tablespoon of soy sauce, a teaspoon of Shao Xing wine, a teaspoon of sesame oil, a grind of white pepper, and a teaspoon of minced garlic.  Put the cubed pork in, toss, and let sit while you chop up the other ingredients: a teaspoon of fresh ginger root, a whole broccoli (cut the florets small, pare the stems, and cut the stems into thin strips; keep the two separate).
In a medium-hot wok, add a glugg of oil and stir-fry the broccoli, florets first, then stems, with a pinch or two of salt.  When it's dark green but still crisp, add a Tablespoon or two of chicken broth, cover, lower heat, and simmer till tender.  Set aside and keep warm.
Heat the wok to high, add more oil, and stir-fry pork until it turns brown and no pink is showing.  Return broccoli to wok to reheat. 
Taste, and you'll find it lacks zip.  So add oyster sauce, spoonful by cautious spoonful, at the bottom of the wok, stirring to heat and incorporate.  When it has enough zip for you, anoint with a drizzle of sesame oil, and serve.
It'd be good with some onions stir fried right before the broccoli, too.

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