Sichuan Yu Xiang Rou Si

Yu Xiang Rou Si is one of the pillars of Sichuan home cooking — thin strips of pork stir-fried in a pungent, sweet-sour-spicy sauce that, despite its name, contains no fish. The "fish-fragrant" (鱼香) flavour profile originates from the pickled chillis and aromatics once used to braise fish in Sichuan, and it is now applied to pork, aubergine, and tofu across the region.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 300g (10 oz) pork loin, cut into fine matchsticks (5 cm × 3 mm)
• 1 tsp (5 ml) light soy sauce (for marinade)
• 1 tsp (5 ml) Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp (5 ml) cornflour (cornstarch)
• 50g (1.75 oz) wood-ear mushrooms, reconstituted and shredded
• 60g (2 oz) bamboo shoots (canned), shredded and rinsed
• 2 spring onions, shredded into 5 cm lengths

Sauce:

• 2 tbsp (30 ml) Pixian doubanjiang, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cm ginger, minced
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) Chinkiang black vinegar
• 2 tsp (10 ml) sugar
• 1 tsp (5 ml) cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) neutral oil

Instructions

1. Combine pork strips with soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and cornflour; mix well and marinate 15 minutes.
2. Mix all sauce ingredients except the cornflour slurry in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok over high heat until shimmering. Add pork strips in a single layer; stir-fry without touching 30 seconds, then toss for a further 1–2 minutes until just cooked and lightly caramelised. Remove.
4. In the same wok over medium-high heat, fry doubanjiang and ginger-garlic paste 1 minute until oil turns red.
5. Add bamboo shoots and wood-ear mushrooms; stir-fry 2 minutes. Return pork to the wok.
6. Pour sauce mixture over; toss everything together 30 seconds. Add cornflour slurry and toss until sauce thickens and glazes every strip, about 30 seconds.
7. Scatter spring onion shreds, toss once more, and serve over steamed rice.

Cook's Notes: Chilling the pork in the freezer for 20 minutes before slicing makes cutting fine strips much easier. For a vegetarian version, substitute pork with extra-firm tofu cut in matchsticks and pressed dry.