Garlic Chives with Pork (Cang Ying Tou - 苍蝇头)
Garlic Chive Stir Fry with Pork or Cang Ying Tou (苍蝇头) literally translates to “Flies’ Heads” in Chinese. Have this garlic chive stir fry over rice!
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 5 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 3 tablespoons oil ((divided))
- 10 ounces ground pork ((285 g; can also use ground chicken, turkey, or beef))
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce ((divided))
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ½ tablespoon ginger ((finely chopped))
- 1 tablespoon garlic ((finely chopped))
- ¼ cup fermented black beans ((35 grams, rinsed and drained))
- ½ cup red long hot peppers ((or red bell peppers, finely diced))
- 12 ounces garlic chives ((cut into ⅓-inch pieces))
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your wok over high heat until it starts to smoke slightly. Turn down the heat, and let the wok cool down a bit before adding 1 tablespoon of the oil. (This step of superheating the wok before adding oil prevents the meat from sticking to the wok. This method works well for pan-frying anything--fish included.)
- 2
Once the oil is heated, turn the heat down to medium, and add the ground pork. Cook it until the meat is lightly browned. Add in the Shaoxing wine, ½ tablespoon light soy sauce, and the sugar. Mix well, turn off the heat, and transfer the cooked meat to a bowl.
- 3
Now turn the heat down to low, and add the last 2 tablespoons of oil and the ginger. Cook it for a minute, then add the garlic and fermented black beans. Cook everything for a minute or two, taking care to avoid burning.
- 4
Next, add peppers, and turn the heat up to high. Stir fry everything together, and let it cook for a minute uncovered. Then, add in the cooked pork and garlic chives (if you use scapes, you will need to extend the cooking time at the end for 1-2 minutes with the wok lid on) and stir-fry.
- 5
Now it’s time to add in the remaining light soy sauce (1½ tablespoons) and the sesame oil. Stir-fry to combine. At this point, you can salt to taste, but the fermented black beans are quite salty--I found that I didn’t need to add any salt. But be fast about it, because the garlic chives cook quickly.
- 6
Transfer to a dish and serve with steamed rice.