京酱肉丝
My dad would always say, everything from Beijing tastes the same. While that's obviously not the case, there's certainly some element of truth to it -- so many dishes have that strong, characteristic flavor of 甜面酱. Like roast duck, 炸酱面, and of course this dish. Compared to other stir-fried meat dishes, this one has a lovely silky smooth consistency that separates it from other dishes. It's delicious eaten straight with rice, or enjoyed in a similar fashion to roast duck -- with wrappers (traditionally pork skin) and miscellaneous raw vegetable slivers.
Active Time: 35 min
Total Time: 35 min
Ingredients
> pork (300g)
> salt, cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, neutral oil
> egg white (1), potato starch (8g)
> garlic (3 cloves)
> sugar (10g)
> 甜面酱 (10g)
> (optional) tofu skins, large green onions, cucumbers
Instructions
Preparations:
1. Slice the pork into thin slivers.
2. Marinade the pork using salt (1g), dark soy sauce (3g), and cooking wine (10g). Vigorously stir until well-combined and sticky.
3. Add egg white and stir thoroughly until well-combined
4. Add potato starch and stir thoroughly until well combined.
5. Add some neutral oil and stir until lightly combined.
6. (optional) Blanch the tofu skins for a couple of seconds in boiling water. Cut into rectangular pieces and set aside.
7. (optional) Slice green onions, cucumbers, and miscellaneous other vegetables into thin slivers.
Cooking process
1. Heat plenty of oil over high heat in a large wok. Once the oil is very hot and almost smoking, add the pork to the wok and begin stir-frying. Stir vigorously to make sure that the slivers properly separate.
2. Once the pork is almost cooked through, add the garlic and continue to stir-fry for a minute or so.
3. Add the sauces / flavorings. Start with light soy sauce (3g) and cooking wine (5g), and stir for a few seconds until combined. Add 甜面酱 and stir for a few seconds until combined. Immediately add sugar and water (15g), and stir-fry for around 10 seconds until everything is well-combined.
4. Serve into a bowl. Enjoy either straight (with rice) or as a tofu skin wrapper with vegetables.
Notes/Tips:
> Be very generous with the amount of egg white and potato starch that you use. What separates this dish from other stir-fried meat dishes is the smooth, luxurious consistency, which is achieved by using large amounts of egg, potato starch, and sauce/liquid in the dish.
> Only partially thaw the pork or pop the pork in the freezer for a bit before cutting. It'll make it much easier to achieve good slivers that don't fall apart.
> I pulled these ingredient amounts from a random Youtube video; feel free to adjust according to your taste. Experiment and see what works best for you!