Chinese Cabbage Stir Fry with Pork is a stir fry dish but it’s not very oily. The simple soy-based flavour is quite addictive, and you can eat a lot without realising it. This is a versatile, simple stir fry and you can add different vegetables without failing.
Prep Time does not include the time to rehydrate dried shiitake mushrooms.
- 500g/1.1lb Chinese cabbage
- 150g/5.3oz pork , sliced to thin bite size pieces (note 1)
- 5 dried medium size shiitake mushrooms , rehydrated overnight (note 2)
- 2 shallots/scallions , finely chopped
- 1½ tbsp oil
- ½ tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sake
- 1 tsp vinegar
- Salt to taste
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Remove the soft green/yellowish part of the cabbage leaves so that the white stem becomes a spear head shape. Cut the soft leaves to 4-5cm/1½-2” long.
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Cut each white stem in half vertically, then slice each piece diagonally, perpendicular to the vertical cut, into large bite size pieces (see photo in the post, note 3).
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Cut each shiitake mushroom into quarters or into three pieces (note 4).
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Heat oil and sesame oil in a frying pan or a wok over high heat.
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When it just starts smoking, add shallots and pork pieces. Stir fry until the pork is cooked through (about 1-1.5 minutes depending on the thickness of the pork).
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Add soy sauce and sake to the pan/wok and stir vigorously (note 5), then add Chinese cabbage and shiitake mushrooms. Add a pinch of salt.
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Stir to coat the sauce over the cabbage until the cabbage pieces become wilted.
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Turn the heat off, add vinegar and quickly stir. Serve immediately.
1. Any cut of meat other than stewing meat should be OK, e.g. tenderloin, belly, loin. Slice very thinly so that the pork cooks fast and does not become chewy.
2. Adjust the number of mushrooms depending on the size. See my recipe Simmered Shiitake Mushrooms for the correct way to rehydrate dried mushrooms.
If you don’t have time, add boiling water to a bowl with dried mushrooms to rehydrate quickly.
3. When slicing the stems diagonally, place a knife on a flat angle so that the surface of the cut area becomes large. This will allow the flavours to absorb into the cabbage pieces more effectively.
4. If your mushrooms are large, you may want to cut each mushroom into 5-6 pieces. If very small, you may not even cut the mushrooms. The size of the mushrooms needs to be well balanced against the size of Chinese cabbage pieces (see the photos in the post to get an idea).
5. Unlike Chinese stir fry, it’s OK to overcook a bit.
6. In this recipe, the liquid from the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms is not used. But you can keep it and use it as dashi stock for a vegetarian dish if you wish.
7. Nutrition per serving as a side.
serving: 210g calories: 181kcal fat: 13g (2-%) saturated fat: 2.6g (13%) trans fat: 0g polyunsaturated fat: 2.3g monounsaturated fat: 7g cholesterol: 25mg (8%) sodium: 577mg (24%) potassium: 549mg (16%) carbohydrates: 5.1g (2%) dietary fibre: 1.9g (8%) sugar: 2.1g protein: 10g vitamin a: 112% vitamin c: 94% calcium: 11% iron: 8.6%