Spicy Pork with Okra (Cau1 Kwai4 Caau2 Zyu1 Juk6, 秋葵炒豬肉)

There are two ingredients that I’ve tried for the first time. The first is the pork and the second is the okra. Now I’ve used ground pork before in other recipes before, but this is the first time I used a large grind pork rather than the smaller grind that you normally find at the Asian market. Using a larger pork grind means the pork chunks are bigger, while this doesn’t change the taste any, visually you see the pork. Okra is something that I’ve never really used before.  I left them whole, rather than cutting them up and this works if you have younger okra. I got some older ones and you could tell that they were older because they’re stingy. Unfortunately you don’t find this out until you bite into the okra.

Enjoy!

Ground Pork Marinade Ingredients

½ -¾ lbs. Ground Pork (zyu¹ juk⁶, 豬肉), large grind (small/normal grind can be substituted)

½ inch knob of Ginger , (goeng¹, 薑),  crushed

2 Garlic Cloves (syun³, 蒜), crushed

1 tsp. (or to taste) White Pepper (baak⁶ wu⁴ ziu¹, 白胡椒)

½ Tbs. Corn Starch (suk¹ fan², 粟粉)

½ Tbs. Soy Sauce (si⁶ jau⁴, 豉油)

½ Tbs. Soy Paste or Thick Soy Sauce (zeong³ jau⁴ gou¹, 醬油膏) (see notes)

1 tsp. Hoisin Sauce (hoi² sin¹ zoeng³, 海鮮醬) (see notes)

½ Tbs. Shao Hsing Rice Wine (siu⁶ hing¹ zau², 紹興酒) or Dry Sherry

1 tsp. Sesame Oil (maa⁴ jau⁴, 麻油)

Spicy Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs. Bean Paste (Lian How brand; see notes)

1 Tbs. Hot Bean Paste (Lian How brand; see notes)

1 tsp. Hoisin Sauce (see notes)

2 Tbs. Shaoxing Rice Wine or Dry Sherry

1 tsp. Sesame Oil

Chicken Stock or Water

Other Ingredients

¾-1 lb. Okra (cau¹ kwai⁴, 秋葵)

1 lb. (1 package) Marinated (Five Spice) Bean Curd (ng⁵ hoeng¹ dau⁶ fu⁶, 五香豆腐), cut into ¼ inch strips

3 Garlic Cloves, diced

3 Thai Chilies, thinly sliced (optional)

Oil for cooking

Ground Pork Preparation Instructions

1. Marinate the ground pork for 1 hour (or overnight) using the crushed ginger and garlic, white pepper, corn starch, soy sauce, soy paste or thick soy sauce, and Shao Hsing Rice Wine.
2. If marinating the pork overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.

Spicy Sauce Preparation Instructions

1. Put the bean paste, hot bean paste, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing Rice Wine, and sesame oil into a small bowl and mix together. The portion of hot bean paste can be increased if a spicier sauce is desired.

Other Preparation Instructions

1. Wash the okra and remove most of the stem. Set the okra aside.
2. Cut the marinated bean curd into ¼ inch strips.
3. Dice the garlic and thinly slice the Thai chilies. Set aside these ingredients. You can add or subtract the amount of Thai chilies depending upon your taste.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat the wok or pan over high heat before adding oil.
2. Stir fry the pork until brown, breaking up any large clumps, and then transfer to a bowl.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat, add more oil, and add the Thai chilies to the wok, and stir fry.
4. Add the okra to the wok, and then stir fry until tender.
5. Add the marinated bean curd to the wok and stir fry.
6. Add the garlic to the wok and stir fry. More oil may have to be added.
7. Add the cooked pork back into the wok, and mix the ingredients together.
8. Add the sauce to the wok and combine the ingredients together. You may need to add more liquid to get the quantity of sauce you desire.
9. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish.
10. Serve with steamed rice.

Notes

1. Soy Paste is bottled by Kimlan. Thick soy sauce is darker and thicker than regular soy sauce due to the addition of molasses. Regular soy sauce can also be used if soy paste or thick soy sauce is not available.
2. Hoisin sauce is a thick sweet bean sauce and is almost black in color. Brown sugar or regular sugar may be substituted if you don’t have hoisin sauce.