Pickled Small Gai Choy and Ground Pork Stir Fry - 雪裡紅炒豬肉

Pickled small gai choy or pickled cabbage is a simple preserved food using salt. The process of making it is fairly easy with little time involved. Basically clean the leafy greens and dry well. Rub with salt and squeeze out the liquid, let the veggie sits overnight and there you have it.

Gently rinse the pickled veggie, soak for few minutes, pat dry, and give it a fine chop before cooking. I also added some tofu skin for extra nutrients in this stir fry recipe.

Pickled small gai choy and ground pork stir fry -

Ingredients?

• 1 lb of ground pork
• 1 cup/250 grams of pickled small gai choy
• 1 big piece of fried tofu skin (the thick kind)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 red chilies
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of oyster sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon of chili sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt

How?

Use just a tiny bit of olive oil to "massage" the ground pork if using lean meat, this will help the pork stays tender during the cooking process.

Remove the pickled small gai choy from the packet -

Rinse gently, soak for few minutes to remove excess salt, pat dry, and chop into smaller pieces.

Peel and finely chop the garlic. Discard the chili stems and finely chop the remaining. Chop the tofu skin into tiny pieces -

Drizzle some olive oil to evenly coat the bottom of the pan and turn to medium heat. Add in the garlic, chilies, and some salt. Cook till the garlicky aroma comes out but not burning them.

Switch to medium high heat and add in the ground pork, give it a quick stir. Pour in some oyster sauce for a touch of sweetness flavor, this can also be substitute with small amount of brown sugar. Add in some chili sauce if desired. 

Wait till the pork is about 80% cooked through then add in chopped pickled small gai choy and tofu skin. Mix well and cook till all the liquid has been reduced, about 2 more minutes.

Some people use sugar to balance off pickled veggies' acidity. However, I think the extra flavors from the semi-sweet oyster sauce can give more depth to this recipe. You be the judge.

Other Asian stir fry recipes:

• Cauliflower and broccoli stir fry
• PB salmon and veggies stir fry
• Spicy stir fry with thick cut Matsuzaka pork and salted black beans
• Simple Chinese stir fry using bamboo shoots and asparagus
• Stir fry bamboo shoot cubes with marinated pork belly
• Lamb stir fry with jalapeño, bean sprouts, and leek
• Spicy chicken stir fry with salted black beans