Wok Wednesdays | Stir-Fried Hoisin Pork with Peppers

WW's  wokking through Stir-frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

Well, wouldn't you know it - a recipe that calls for red bell pepper (those of you that read my posts, know that I always sub out green for red), and my market was out of them! Go figure.

 Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Pork, scallions, hoisin sauce, garlic, rice wine, ginger, soy sauce, salt, pepper, sesame oil

Bowl 2: Bell pepper, carrot

Bowl 3: Salt

Bowl 4: Scallions

Bowl 5: Rice vinegar

The amazing scent of the meat marinating was enticing, to say the least.

This was yet another super easy, super fast recipe. Prep was minimal - just slicing up a carrot, a bell pepper, shredding and mincing some scallions, and slicing up the pork. 

The pork gets mixed with the minced scallions, hoisin sauce, garlic, rice wine, ginger, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and sesame oil. Which reminds me, I need to remember to post a question on the WW Facebook page asking Grace (yes, the stir-fry guru herself answers our many questions) why the oil for the marinade(s) is added after mixing all the other ingredients - why not add it at the same time?

The pork only marinates for a short time; just long enough to finish prepping the rest of the ingredients; of course mine marinated a little longer, I had to gather just the right stuff for the photo shoot and get pics of the mise en place - important things, ya know?

The pork is cooked undisturbed in the wok for about one minute to add a nice sear, then stir-fried to brown the other side. The meat is removed, and the salt and vegetables get a quick toss until softened, the pork is added back along with shredded scallions and vinegar for another couple of minutes. Total cooking time.. maybe four to five minutes.

Like I said, super easy, super fast. You can't even order and pickup take-out that quick; hell, sometimes you get put on hold for longer than that. Besides, making it yourself is so much fresher, healthier, and better tasting.

by purchasing Grace Young's book Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, along with a 14" flat-bottom wok. 

 You'll be happy ecstatic that you did!

Both of these items can be purchased from The Wok Shop* in San Francisco, CA, in person or on-line.

* I have no connection with the Wok Shop, other than being an extremely satisfied customer!  I have purchased a couple of woks from them; one for myself, and others for family.

We are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 94 of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed. 

Wok Wednesdays is an online cooking group. If you would like information about joining us, click here, or visit us on Facebook. Would love for you to wok along with us!

WW: Spicy Orange Chicken

Wok Wednesdays Wokking thru Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

Wow! This dish had me on cloud nine. Grace, you are amazing! Thank you time and time again for your wonderful recipes; any chance you will do a vegetarian stir-fry book in the future?

I made a couple of deviations. I used ground black pepper instead of white, and I used Hunan Chili Sauce in place of the chili bean sauce, for this is what I had on hand and my local chain grocery did not carry the chili bean sauce. The recipe calls for the zest of one orange; so I thought why not add sectioned orange slices - this was a good call on my part.

Not sure why my tomatoes disintegrated. I did not seed them like I did for the Stir-Fried Eggs with Tomatoes and the picture in the book shows them mostly intact. Maybe it was due to that I used an heirloom tomato? Also I had a lot of sauce (partially due to the disintegrated tomatoes?) which makes me wish I had made rice or served bread to soak up all that tasty goodness!

This stir-fry was fabulous!

Success meter (1-3): 3

Oh the aroma...

(and it's not even cooking yet!)

The recipe calls for shredded ginger.

First you slice paper-thin slices, then

cut the slices into 1/8-inch fine shreds.

I placed a dime to show scale - my pieces

were not quite paper-thin, but did the job.

Just look at those beautiful tomatoes!

So gratifying...

This weekend was our daughter's birthday. We celebrated with a trip to San Francisco to buy her a cast iron (her choice) wok from the fabulous Tane Chan of the Wok Shop. We spoke with Tane Chan and she is a treat to say the least! Not only does she praise Grace Young to the fullest, she also gives great pointers and wonderful lunch recommendations. Thank you Tane! 

When in San Francisco..

Yum!

Abutilon "Tiger Eye"

A comparison:

My four month old wok compared to the

wok I puchased for my nephew while

we were at the Wok Shop.

You will not find the recipe here on my blog or within the Wok Wednesdays community. We encourage readers to go and purchase this book at their local independent bookstore or on-line.

Make sure to visit my co-wokkers to see their results on this stir-fry.

Look for the LYL link on the Wok Wednesdays page.