Pork Hearts and Fish Tofu with Snow Peas (荷蘭豆魚豆腐豬心, Ho4 Laan4 Dau6 Jyu4 Dau6 Fu6 Zyu1 Sam1)

This recipe was updated on 09 Jun 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Pork and seafood is a tasty combination used in Chinese dishes - in this case it’s pork hearts and fish tofu. Just like dishes using beef hearts, such as Curry Tomato Beef Heart Chow Mein (咖哩番茄牛心炒麵, Gaa³ Lei¹ Faan¹ Ke⁴ Ngau⁴ Sam¹ Caau² Min⁶), Grilled Spicy Beef Hearts (燒烤辣牛心, Siu¹ Haau¹ Laat⁶ Ngau⁴ Sam¹), and Beef Heart with Bell Peppers (青椒牛心, Ceng¹ Ziu¹ Ngau⁴ Sam¹), dishes with pork heart don’t taste like organ mean since it’s a muscle (physically smaller than a beef heart), is crunchy like chicken gizzards, and has a subtle pork flavor. Ground pork is usually included in this dish, so when I saw pork hearts at my local Asian market, I decided to try something different and was happy that I did.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Pork hearts (豬心, zyu1 sam1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1 lb.	454 g.	One package fish tofu (魚豆腐, jyu4 dau6 fu6)
8 oz.	225 g.	One 15 oz. (425 g.) can baby corn (玉米尖, juk6 mai5 zim1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
1 lb.	500 g.	Snow peas (荷蘭豆, ho4 laan4 dau6)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
2	2	Red chili peppers (紅番椒, hung4 faan1 ziu1), cut into ¼-inch (7.5 mm) pieces – optional
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Laoganma brand spicy bean paste (春辣醬,ceon1 laat6 zoeng3) or equivalent
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
2 tsp.	10 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
4 tsp.	20 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Laoganma Brand
Spicy Bean Paste
(春辣醬, ceon1 laat6 zoeng3)

Preparation Instructions

1. If the fish tofu is frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Take the thawed or fresh fish tofu out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. If purchased whole, the pork hearts needs to be cut into long ½-inch (12 mm.) wide slices. Prepare the pork heart slices by removing any fat, silver skin, and veins, and then cut each slice into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces.
3. Marinate the pork heart in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the pork heart overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
4. Open and drain the liquid from the can of baby corn. Cut the baby corn into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces.
5. Wash and remove the string from the snow peas by grasping each snow pea in one hand and pulling the string the length of the snow pea with the other.
6. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
7. Remove any stems from the dried red chili peppers, cut into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces, and place into the bowl with the crushed ginger and garlic. The amount of red chili peppers to use in this dish depends upon personal taste and is optional, so feel free to reduce or increase the amount.
8. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
9. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Laoganma brand spicy bean paste or equivalent, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat and before adding oil. Add the pork heart pieces to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the pork hearts in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Set the pork hearts aside in a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the fish tofu. Stir fry the fish tofu and then remove them to the bowl with the pork.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the baby corn. Stir fry the baby corn and then remove them to the bowl with the pork.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the snow peas. Stir fry the snow peas to brown them. Add the bowl with the ginger, garlic, and red chilies, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger, garlic, and red chilies become fragrant. Add the green onions and the contents of the bowl with the pork hearts back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
5. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some liquid (stock or water) to the wok. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.