There’s
a Sichuan restaurant close to home in New York that I go to more frequently
than I’d like to admit. There’s a big
“B” in the window which means The New York City Board of Health has some "issues" with the place. In my view, if they
haven’t closed it down, and I haven’t experienced any problems after
eating there, I’m good to go. I would
have to say this mainly has to do with the fact that the lunch special comes in
at $6.75 and includes a choice of soups or egg or spring rolls, three kinds of
rice and finally, about 20 main dishes all fairly standard Sichuan fare. Every one I have tried has never disappointed. The place also has a Japanese menu and a
prominent sushi bar. I choose to believe
that the “B” was assigned to that end of the restaurant. I am happy to spend
so little for such traditional Sichuan dishes as Pork in Garlic Sauce. In fact
I like it so much, that this weekend I made it at home. Once you get the hang of stir-frying, there’s
no limit to your kitchen creativity. And if there was one technique that I
could pass on to harried, time-pressured home cooks, it would be the
stir-fry. And you don’t need a wok, just
a big non-stick frying pan.
It
also helps if you keep an Asian pantry, which is far less daunting than those
words sound. Here’s a list of what to
have on hand to be able to whip together Asian stir-fries whenever the mood
strikes you:
The Basics of an Asian Pantry
This Asian Pantry includes a couple of things
not on this list--
bean paste and dried mushrooms among them.
1 large bottle of Soy Sauce.
(These come in low sodium versions
all sauce ingredients together in bowl. Set aside.
Cut
pork into 2” lengths and then cut each length into 1/4” matchsticks. Combine
pork with baking soda and water in bowl.
Let
sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Rinse
pork in cold water. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels. Whisk rice wine
and cornstarch in bowl. Add pork and toss to coat.
For
the stir fry, combine garlic, scallion whites, chili paste in bowl.
Heat
1 tbsp oil in large non stick pan over high heat until just smoking. Add mushrooms
and cook stirring frequently until tender, 4 minutes. Add snap peas and cook
until just tender, about 4 minutes. Add water chestnuts and cook for additional
2 to 4 minutes until tender. Transfer vegetables to separate bowl.
Add
remaining 3 tbsp oil to pan and place over medium low heat. Add garlic scallion
mixture and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Transfer 1 tbsp garlic scallion
oil to small bowl and set aside.
7.
Add pork to skillet and cook until no longer
pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk sauce to recombine and add to skillet. Increase
heat to high and cook stirring constantly until thickened and pork cooked thru,
1 to 2 minutes. Return vegetables to skillet and combine.
8.
Transfer to platter,
sprinkle with scallion greens and reserved garlic scallion oil and serve.
