Tender strips of pork leg, soy sauce, fresh vegetables, mushrooms, and a lightly thickened sauce create a hearty stir-fry that pairs perfectly with crispy oven-baked fries. You can keep the flavor mild or spice it up with chili paste or dark garlic sauce to your liking.
The actual preparation takes about 30 minutes, but you need to marinate the meat overnight. Thanks to the egg yolk and potato starch, even lean pork leg stays soft and juicy after a quick sear. If you don’t want fries, this meat base can also be served with rice or noodles.
What You’ll Need
For the Marinated Meat:
- 500 g pork leg, ideally the tender part,
- 3–4 tablespoons soy sauce,
- 1 egg yolk,
- 1 teaspoon potato starch,
- salt to taste,
- Chinese-style seasoning to taste.
For the Vegetable Base:
- 1 onion,
- 2 cloves garlic,
- 1–2 bell peppers,
- 1 leek,
- 100 g early cabbage,
- 100 g mushrooms,
- oil for frying,
- water for adding moisture.
For Finishing and Serving:
- 1 teaspoon potato starch,
- water for mixing the starch,
- optional chili paste,
- optional dark garlic sauce,
- oven-baked fries.
The original recipe does not specify exact amounts of oil, water, salt, seasoning, optional sauces, or fries, so adjust these according to your preferred consistency and number of servings.
Step-by-Step Preparation:
1. Slicing the Meat: Clean the pork leg and cut it into evenly sized strips. Uniform pieces will cook through at the same time during the quick stir-fry.
2. Marinating: Place the meat in a bowl, season with salt, add the Chinese-style seasoning, soy sauce, egg yolk, and one teaspoon of potato starch. Mix everything thoroughly, cover, and let marinate overnight in the fridge so the meat absorbs the marinade’s flavor.
3. Preparing the Vegetables: Slice the onion into rings and the garlic into thin slices. Cut the bell peppers, leek, and early cabbage into small pieces or strips, and slice the cleaned mushrooms.
4. Searing the Base: Heat oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic. Sauté just until they turn golden, then add the marinated meat and sear quickly until it gets a nice golden color.
5. Adding the Vegetables: Add the bell peppers, mushrooms, leek, and early cabbage to the seared meat. Continue stir-frying and, as needed, add a splash of water so the vegetables can gently steam and don’t stick to the pan.
6. Simmering the Mixture: Once the vegetables soften, pour in a bit more water and let everything cook through. At this stage, you can mix in chili paste for a spicier result or dark garlic sauce to taste.
7. Thickening the Sauce: Separately, mix one teaspoon of potato starch with a little water until smooth. Pour this mixture into the pan while stirring and briefly cook together until the juices combine into a lightly thickened sauce.
8. Serving: Serve the finished pork stir-fry immediately with crispy oven-baked fries. If you want to change up the side, you can use rice or noodles instead of fries.
Why Marinate the Meat Overnight
Marinating needs to be planned ahead, but the actual cooking is easy and takes about 30 minutes. During the overnight rest, the meat absorbs the flavor of the soy sauce and spices, while the egg yolk and potato starch help keep it tender during the quick sear.
How to Make Crispier Oven Fries
Salt the fries just before serving. Salt draws moisture out of potatoes, and if you add it too early, the fries can become soft during baking.
