Shaoxing Pork with Cherries and Peaches

My wife loves sweet and sour pork, but I just cannot have it anymore. This dish is the answer, using ingredients that are fresh, and in season. What is Shaoxing wine? It is a Chinese rice wine available in your Chinatown. If you don’t have access to any, use a dry sherry instead.

If you are going to do an intense cardio workout like Plyometrics, this dish will carry you through to the end. That it tastes good is just a bonus.

Here’s what you will do:

Start out by cutting your pork into bite-sized pieces. The idea is that they will be small enough to cook quickly, but not too small, lest they fall apart when they are sauteing. I find that 1 inch x 1/2 inch pieces are the best. Pour a splash of Shaoxing wine and mix up the pork pieces. (If you are wondering WTF is Shaoxing wine, you could just substitute a dry sherry instead. If that is not your cup of tea, leave it out.)

Let that sit for at least 15 minutes, or even overnight.

My wife hates this stuff, but I find it give that great added dimension to the dish.

Open up your super secret stash of 5 spice powder

Sprinkle in the 5 spiced love

Sprinkle a bit of 5 spice powder into the mix. I like to add a touch of cornstarch. I find it gives the pork a nice sheen when we stir-fry it.

Simple ingredients, all in season.

Now, this part is a little bit annoying. See, cherries are no fun when you get the pit you missed. You will need this tool here:

2$ to save your teeth? A great bargain in my books!

I read somewhere that one should avoid single use gadgets. I am happy to report that this pitter ALSO serves as an olive pitter. A good investment.

All of your cherries ought to look like they have a hole blown through them. Check them out, lest your loved ones curse your name!

Remember you are always the one who will end up with that cherry whose pit you missed...

Okay, we are ready for some action. Grab some peanut oil (or canola oil,) and heat over medium high heat. In the next steps I am going to demonstrate to you the proper stir-fry technique. Let’s talk a minute on some mistakes that people make:

• The pan is cold when they add the items to be sauteed. If you do not hear a sizzle right away, you are doing it wrong. Saute means to cook in a little amount of hot fat, literally “jumping”.
• They add to much to the pan. If you just dump all of the pork into the pan, it might sizzle at first, but then the pan will cool down, and you will end up with the proteins and juices escaping the meat. The result is that the meat will boil in its own juices and become tough.
• The ingredients are not uniformly cut. When you cook the items, they do not cook all the way through before the other pieces are cooked. Some pieces are mushy, and others are half cooked. I am all for texture contrasts, but not by accident. Make sure your pieces are all uniformly cut.
• They add the ingredients in the wrong order. Think from the ground up. Roots go first, then stalks, then flowers (or fruit.) Again, if you add peppers first (the flowers), then add in carrots (roots), the end result is the carrots are crunchy when the peppers are cooked through. Worse, when the carrots are cooked through, the peppers are broken up pieces of mush. The only way around this is to cut the root pieces smaller and thinner than your flower pieces.
• The sauce or condiment is added too soon. In a stir fry dish, the sauce is always added last minute. You don’t want to stew your ingredients in it, just a quick thickening. This is the reason why a lot of stir fry dishes have cornstarch in them. (It thickens within a minute.)

Okay, enough theory, let’s make it happen!

A small amount only, it should sizzle when you add it to the pan!

When your oil is just shimmering, add in a small amount of pork. It should sizzle and spit! If it does not, take the pork out of the pan and wait for the oil to heat up.

You can't even see the wooden spoon! Look at it go!

Move the pork pieces around, “jumping” them in the pan.

Put the pork aside when it is nicely browned

Now you see why I like a bit of cornstarch. It helps to add a bit of sheen, and browns up nicely. Don’t worry if the pork is not totally cooked through, you will be reheating it later. Your pork is also resting, (or relaxing if you prefer,) which is crucial for the final tenderness.

Action shot: Same rules apply for sauteing fruits and vegetables.

Once your pork is done, add in your ginger and your onions. Saute them briefly, and then add in your peaches. The peaches I used were a little bit hard, so they rank lower than the peppers. If your peaches are softer, then they would be above the peppers. Subjective yes, but with experience you will be able to tell which to put first. Feel your ingredients, and they will give you a clue as to which is harder.

Add in the peppers last, and make 'em jump!

Add in the peppers and saute them. After a minute or so, the peppers will be soft, and it is time for the final round.

Drat! I forgot to take the picture with the cherries and pork! Add them in, add the wine and saute briskly.

Add in the cherries, and drop a big splash of Shaoxing wine into the pan. Add in your pork and scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan. All the components will come together now, and the Shaoxing will reduce quickly into a sauce. Correct the seasoning.

Make sure to pour it over rice, add some almond slivers and rush to the window to take a photo! (While your other half is waiting for their bowl!)

Serve it up over a portion of rice, and top it with toasted slivered almonds. (If you are serving it to your other half, and they complain that it looks “dry”, add some premade sweet and sour sauce that they insist on having. Sometimes it is the small battles you need to lose to win the war…)

Stir-fried Pork with Cherries and Peaches

Serves: 4

2 fruit, 1 carb, 1 veggie, 1 protein

Calories: 460 Net Carbs: 21g (Without the optional jar of sweet and sour sauce)

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces pork loin, cut into 1 x 1/2 inch strips
• 2 ounces (divided) Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• pinch of 5 spice powder
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)
• 1/4 cup peanut oil, divided (you will be using about 1 tablespoon at a time.)
• 1 small red onion
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 2 peaches, pits removed, cut into wedges
• 2 cups cherries, pitted
• 1 large green pepper, seeded, cut into strips
• to taste kosher salt
• to taste freshly ground black pepper
• 2 ounces almond slivers, toasted
• 1 jar premade sweet and sour sauce (optional, just to appease those who like their “Chinese” food.)

Method:

1. Marinate pork in 1/2 ounce of Shaoxing wine for at least 15 minutes or overnight. Sprinkle 5 spice powder over pork, mix in cornstarch.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Add a small amount of pork to the pan so that it sizzles and jumps. (If it does not do this, remove the pork and wait for the oil to heat up before adding the pork back in.) Using a wooden spoon, (or deftly flipping the pan like we do at the restaurant!) saute the pork until it caramelizes. Set that pork aside, and repeat this step until all the pork is seared. (Do not do this all in one shot, or your pork will cook in its own juices, and become tough. Be patient, this way is actually faster.)
3. Once the pork is finished, add the final oil to the pan and heat once again until shimmering. Add in the ginger and onions. Saute until they are fragrant, about 1 minute. Working quickly, add in the peaches, saute swiftly for a minute. Then add in the peppers, continue to saute. Add the cherries and saute the whole works for another minute.
4. Splash the remaining Shaoxing wine into the pan. Add the pork back in, and saute the works until the wine thickens into a light sauce.
5. Serve over cooked rice, with toasted almonds sprinkled on top. (If your other half nags at you, you can add sweet and sour sauce over top, because otherwise it’s not “Chinese” food.)

Tagged as: cherries, peaches, pork, recipe, stir-fry