Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Pork Belly and Asparagus Wok-fry


This is our homy interpretation of Chinese, so I tagged it as "Japanese". I like to make it a little "brothy", so that it goes really well with the plain rice.

Pork Belly and Asparagus Wok-fry

Ingredients
1/2 lb. thinly sliced pork belly, cut into bite-size length.
1 tbsp. Chinese rice wine or sake
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 small bunch asparagus, cut into 2" length
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/2 tablespoon thinly sliced dried red chili pepper (use less if you want to make it less hot)
2/3 cup Chinese chicken stock (or water and 1 teaspoon Chinese chicken stock powder)
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon each katakuriko (potato starch) and water
chopped chives for garnish

Procedure
In a bowl, combine the pork belly and 1 tbsp. of Chinese rice wine and mix well. Let the meat marinade for 15 minutes.

Heat the sesame oil in a wok over medium-high heat and stir-fry the aspargus for about 1 minute. Transfer the asparagus into a bowl and set aside.

Add the marinated pork belly to the wok and stir-fry over medium-high heat until the meat is almost cooked through. Add the garlic, ginger and sliced dried chili pepper and cook for another minute.

In a small cup, combine the Chinese rice wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and black pepper. Add the mixture to the wok and simmer for 3 minutes over medium-heat.

In a small cup, mix the katakuriko (potato starch) and water, and drizzle the mixture into the wok. Stir well. Add the par-cooked asparagus back to the wok and stir for another minute.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with the chopped chives