Pork Stir Fry with Pickled Mustard Greens 🇨🇳

Pickled mustard greens is one of the many types of Chinese preserved vegetables used widely in traditional cuisine.  Tangy and savoury at the same time, they add crunch and that umami flavour to stir fry dishes, stews, soups and congee.  You can find pickled mustard greens in convenient vacuum-sealed packages from Asian grocers as well as some supermarkets.  This classic recipe uses them with tender slivers of pork, stir-fried in the hot wok with the 'usual suspects' of Asian aromatics being ginger, garlic and spring onions.  Serve over steamed rice for a satisfying meal.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 150g / 5¼oz Chinese pickled mustard greens
• 300g / 10½oz pork loin steak
• 1 tablespoon Chinese Shaoxin wine
• 2 teaspoons cornflour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 slices of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 1-2 spring onions, sliced into 4cm /1½" sections, keep white and green parts separate
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar

METHOD

1. Soak the pickled mustard greens in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes, then rinse in a colander to remove some of their saltiness and sourness.  Squeeze out any excess liquid with your hands, then cut the greens into small pieces.
2. Remove excess fat, if any, from the pork.  Slice pork with your knife slanting at a 45-degree angle against the grain into thin pieces.  Place in a bowl and mix with wine and cornflour.  
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the wok over medium-high heat.  Add the pickled mustard greens and stir fry for a few minutes until they are slightly dry.  Remove and set aside
4. Heat the remaining tablespoon oil in the same wok over high heat.  Add ginger, garlic and white parts of spring onions and blitz for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
5. Add the pork.  Spread them out in a thin layer and let them fry for about 30-40 seconds until slightly golden on one side.  Stir in soy sauce and sugar.  Cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until the pork is cooked through.
6. Transfer the mustard greens back to the wok together with the green parts of the spring onions.  Toss everything together for a minute or so to combine.  Serve immediately.