bits of benjamin
02 · The kitchen

Fish-Fragrant Pork (魚香肉絲)

Cuisine
Sichuan, Chinese
Time
35 min
Serves
3–4

Fish-fragrant pork with wood ear, carrot and green bell pepper strips on a floral oval plate

Last cooked · 11/2/26

Ingredients

Pork

  • 1 lb pork tenderloin
  • 1 ½ tsp light soy sauce
  • 1 ½ tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • 1 ½ tsp cornstarch
  • 1 ½ tbsp water
  • Drizzle of neutral oil

Sauce

  • 2 ½ tbsp sugar
  • 2 ½ tbsp Chinkiang black vinegar
  • 1 ½ tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 ½ tsp cornstarch
  • 5 tbsp water

Stir-fry

  • ½ oz dried wood ear mushrooms
  • 1 medium carrot (or 2 small)
  • 1 cup canned bamboo shoots
  • 10 cloves garlic
  • 1 ½ tbsp minced ginger
  • 3 scallions
  • 2 tbsp minced Sichuan pickled chilies (泡椒), or chopped salted chilies (剁椒)
  • 1 ½ tbsp Taiwanese 豆瓣醬 (狀元 brand)
  • 4 tbsp neutral oil

Steps

Soak wood ear (15 minutes)

  1. Soak the ½ oz of wood ear in hot water for about 15 minutes.

Mise en place

  1. If the 1 lb of pork has thawed completely, put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes while you prep, so it’s firm enough to slice.
  2. Stir together the 2 ½ tbsp sugar, 2 ½ tbsp vinegar, 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce, 1 ½ tsp cornstarch and 5 tbsp water in a small bowl.
  3. Trim any hard bits off the wood ear and slice it into thin strips.
  4. Julienne the 1 medium carrot.
  5. Rinse the 1 cup of bamboo shoots, blanch them in boiling water for 1 minute to remove the canned taste, and julienne them.
  6. Mince the 10 cloves of garlic and 1 ½ tbsp of ginger.
  7. Taste a sliver of the pickled chilies, and scrape out some seeds if they’re very hot. Mince them almost to a paste until you have 2 tbsp.
  8. Chop the 3 scallions, keeping the whites and greens separate.
  9. Slice the pork into strips about ⅛” thick and 2” long. Toss with the 1 ½ tsp soy sauce, 1 ½ tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1 ½ tsp cornstarch, 1 ½ tbsp water and a drizzle of oil.

Sear pork

  1. Heat a 12-inch stainless skillet over medium-high for 2–3 minutes, until a drop of water skitters across the pan. Add 1 tbsp of the oil and let it shimmer.
  2. Add a third of the pork in a single layer and leave it alone for 20–30 seconds so it releases, then stir until it just turns white, about 1 minute more. Move it to a plate.
  3. Repeat twice more, with 1 tbsp of oil per batch.

Stir-fry (under 5 minutes)

  1. Lower the heat to medium and add the last 1 tbsp of oil. Fry the pickled chilies and 1 ½ tbsp 豆瓣醬 for 30–45 seconds, until the oil turns red. Add the garlic, ginger and scallion whites and stir until fragrant.
  2. Turn the heat back to medium-high and add the wood ear, bamboo shoots and carrot. Stir-fry for 1–2 minutes, until the carrot is tender-crisp.
  3. Return the pork, stir the sauce, and pour it in. Turn the heat down a notch and fold for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until glossy and thickened.
  4. Top with the scallion greens and serve with rice.

Next try · untested

Uses Pixian doubanjiang. If using the 狀元 jar instead, grind it fine and cut the sugar to 1 ¼ tbsp.

Ingredients

Pork

  • 10 oz pork loin or tenderloin
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • Pinch of white pepper
  • A few slices of ginger and 1 scallion, for ginger-scallion water
  • 1 tsp neutral oil

Sauce

  • 1 ¾ tbsp sugar
  • 1 ¾ tbsp Chinkiang black vinegar
  • 1 tbsp + ½ tsp light soy sauce
  • 1 ¼ tsp cornstarch
  • 3 ½ tbsp water

Stir-fry

  • ⅓ oz dried wood ear mushrooms
  • 1 small carrot
  • ¾ cup canned bamboo shoots
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp minced ginger
  • 2 scallions
  • 2 large Sichuan pickled chilies (泡椒), or chopped salted chilies (剁椒)
  • 1 tbsp Pixian doubanjiang (鵑城牌 or 丹丹)
  • 3 tbsp neutral oil

Steps

Pre-preparations

  1. If the 10 oz of pork is frozen, move it to the fridge the morning of, not the night before, so it’s still firm in the center when you slice it.

Soak wood ear (15 minutes)

  1. Soak the ⅓ oz of wood ear in hot water for about 15 minutes.

Mise en place

  1. If the 10 oz of pork has thawed completely, put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes while you prep.
  2. Make the ginger-scallion water (蔥薑水): squeeze the few ginger slices and 1 scallion in a few tbsp of water.
  3. Stir together the 1 ¾ tbsp sugar, 1 ¾ tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp + ½ tsp soy sauce, 1 ¼ tsp cornstarch and 3 ½ tbsp water in a small bowl.
  4. Trim any hard bits off the wood ear and slice it into thin strips.
  5. Julienne the 1 carrot.
  6. Rinse the ¾ cup of bamboo shoots, blanch them in boiling water for 1 minute to remove the canned taste, and julienne them.
  7. Mince the 6 cloves of garlic and 1 tbsp of ginger.
  8. Taste a sliver of the pickled chilies, and scrape out some seeds if they’re very hot. Mince the 2 chilies almost to a paste. Chop the 1 tbsp doubanjiang fine.
  9. Chop the 2 scallions, keeping the whites and greens separate.
  10. Slice the pork while it’s still firm into strips about ⅛” thick and 2” long. Pat them dry and drain off any liquid. Toss with the 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 tbsp ginger-scallion water and pinch of white pepper.

Sear pork

  1. Heat a 12-inch stainless skillet over medium-high for 2–3 minutes, until a drop of water skitters across the pan. Add 1 tbsp of the oil and let it shimmer.
  2. Stir the 1 tsp of oil into the pork. Add half of it in a single layer and leave it alone for 20–30 seconds so it releases, then stir until it just turns white, about 1 minute more. Move it to a plate.
  3. Repeat with another 1 tbsp of oil and the rest of the pork.

Stir-fry (under 5 minutes)

  1. Lower the heat to medium and add the last 1 tbsp of oil. Fry the pickled chilies and 1 tbsp doubanjiang for 30–45 seconds, stirring constantly, until the oil turns red. The chopped paste burns faster than whole beans, so don’t walk away. Add the garlic, ginger and scallion whites and stir until fragrant.
  2. Turn the heat back to medium-high and add the wood ear, bamboo shoots and carrot. Stir-fry for 1–2 minutes, until the carrot is tender-crisp.
  3. Return the pork, stir the sauce, and pour it in. Fold for 30–45 seconds, until glossy and thickened. If the pan feels crowded, turn the heat down slightly while stirring.
  4. Top with the scallion greens and serve with rice.

Notes

The 10/18/26 batch was cooked in the 12-inch stainless alongside the hot and sour potatoes, with green bell pepper instead of bamboo shoots and no pickled chilies. The photo is from this batch. It was pretty good, but it was missing the pickled chili flavor. The vinegar was 工研烏醋 (Taiwanese black vinegar), which is milder, sweeter and fruitier than Chinkiang.

The 11/2/26 batch followed the Last cooked version. The sauce was better and more restaurant-like. The pork had thawed completely in the fridge overnight and needed about 15 minutes back in the freezer before slicing. It tasted meatier and a bit raw, left reddish liquid in the marinade, and stuck to the stainless, leaving a crust that got deglazed with the sauce. Even in 3 batches, a full pound made the skillet busy, and there could have been a little more sauce.

The next try goes back to 10 oz so the pan is less crowded, with about 20% more sauce than a straight scale-down. It also changes the pork prep to avoid the thawing problems: thaw it the morning of, pat the strips dry, use ginger-scallion water and white pepper in the marinade, and stir in the oil just before searing. If making 1 lb again, use the last-cooked amounts but with 3 tbsp sugar, 3 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp + 2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp cornstarch and 6 tbsp water in the sauce.

Both batches used 狀元 (Master) Taiwanese 豆瓣醬, a mild, slightly sweet soybean paste with no chili, not Pixian doubanjiang. On the 11/2 batch the pickled chilies supplied most of the heat. The next try switches to Pixian, chopped fine so there are no whole beans.