This ginger and carrot stir-fry is a weeknight meal made with matchsticks of (you guessed it!) ginger and carrot along with pork, ginger, chiles, and soy sauce. A Chinese inspired tangle of ingredients that's easy, healthy, and on the table in half an hour.
Prep Time25 minutesmins
Total Time25 minutesmins
Course: Mains
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 4servings
Calories: 181
Ingredients
About 1/3poundginger, (pretty much an entire hand or branch or whatever you call those things)
About 2/3poundcarrots
2tablespoonspeanut oil or lard
1tablespoonminced garlic
1/3poundboneless pork butt, shoulder, or loin, thinly sliced and cut into 1/2-by-1 1/2 -inch strips
2wholegreen cayenne chili peppers, or 3 dried red chili peppers
1/4teaspoonsalt, or to taste (optional)
1cupcold water
10 to 12Szechuan peppercorns, (may substitute jalapeno for milder heat or Serrano for slightly more heat) or 3 dried red chilis
Peel the ginger and cut it lengthwise in half before cutting the pieces lengthwise into narrower strips the size of matchsticks. (You should have about 1 cup of ginger sticks.) Do the same with the carrots. (You should have about 1 3/4 cups carrot sticks.)
Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the oil or lard and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Toss in the garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds or so, then toss in the pork and chilis. Stir-fry the ingredients, separating the pork so each slice gets exposed to the hot pan, until they’ve started to change color all over. This should take less than 2 minutes.
Toss in the carrots and ginger and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add the salt, if desired, and stir-fry for another minute.
Add the water, cover, and boil vigorously for about 3 minutes, then remove the lid and let the liquid boil down for a minute or two.
Add the Sichuan peppercorns and soy sauce. Stir-fry just until the carrots and ginger are tender but still a touch firm, about a minute. Turn the stir-fry onto a platter or into a shallow bowl and serve hot or warm with rice.