Tender strips of pork are stir-fried with crisp, fresh garlic scapes for a savory and satisfying dish.
AB-type dishes, like the classic tomato and egg combo, are usually both delicious and easy to make, but this one is an exception. Have you noticed that garlic scapes easily turn limp and mushy when stir-fried, or else they end up tasting spicy and raw? That's because compared to shredded pork, garlic scapes take longer to cook through. If you stir-fry them together, the pork becomes tough and overcooked while the scapes are still underdone. As for how to solve this—clever reader, have you figured it out?
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
200 g (about 7 oz) garlic scapes
100 g (about 3.5 oz) pork
This dish doesn't require a specific cut of meat, though a bit of fat makes it more flavorful; here, hind leg meat is used.
When buying garlic scapes, pinch them with your fingers to check how tender and crisp they are.
Marinade
5 g (about 1 teaspoon) Shaoxing wine
5 g (about 1 teaspoon) soy sauce
cornstarch, a small amount
Seasonings for the sauce
10 g (about 2 teaspoons) Shaoxing wine
10 g soy sauce
1 g salt
Sesame oil, a small amount
a little water and cornstarch, each to taste
Other Seasonings
1 dried chili pepper
10 g (about 2 teaspoons) sweet bean paste
Scallion and ginger, a small amount of each
Instructions
Instructions
Preparation
Step 1: Trim the ends off the garlic scapes and cut them into segments (Image 2); mince the scallion and ginger; cut the pork into thin strips and toss with the meat marinade until well coated (Image 3).
*The shredded meat plays a supporting role here, so there's no need to fuss over it—just a quick marinade will do.
② Place all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combined; set aside.
*When preparing the sauce, use less water and more cornstarch so the stir-fry won't be watery.
Stir-fried garlic scapes with pork
Pour a small amount of oil into a wok and heat to medium-high (about 60% hot). Add the garlic scapes and stir-fry over high heat for about 2 minutes, then remove and set aside.
*Since garlic scapes take longer to cook through, stir-fry them separately first, then combine with the shredded meat to ensure everything is done at the same time.
*The reason for stir-frying in oil rather than blanching in water is that blanched garlic scapes retain too much moisture and lack sufficient aroma. However, since they don't need to be fully cooked at this stage, you don't need much oil.
Stir-fry everything together.
④ Pour a little more oil into the wok and heat until just smoking. First add dried chili peppers and fry over high heat until they turn reddish-brown, then quickly add the shredded pork, sweet bean sauce, and a little minced scallion and ginger, stir-frying to break up the meat (Image 4).
*The overall pace needs to be quick, as dried chilies burn easily and the sweet bean paste must be stir-fried rapidly to prevent clumping.
⑤ After stir-frying until the shredded pork has completely changed color on the surface, add the previously stir-fried garlic scapes and continue cooking over high heat for 2 minutes (Image 5). Finally, pour in the prepared sauce mixture, stir-fry until well combined and the sauce thickens slightly, then remove from heat and serve (Image 6).
*Garlic scapes are difficult to coat with sauce, so just make sure the shredded meat is well-coated, but be careful that no sauce leaks out after plating—this tests your ability to prepare the sauce and thicken it with cornstarch slurry.
