BETTER THAN TAKEOUT - Pork and Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe

Hi everyone, I'm Mandy. Welcome to Souped Up Recipes. Today we're making pork and broccoli stir-fry. This is one of those comforting home-style recipes that may not look fancy but has stood the test of time because it's simple, healthy, delicious, and budget-friendly. So let's get right into it. You will need 340 grams of pork. Slice it into 1 eighth of an inch thick pieces. I'm using pork loin, but pork shoulder and tenderloin will also work. Or you can switch to chicken and beef. Season it with a quarter teaspoon of salt, a quarter teaspoon of white pepper, one and a half teaspoon of dark soy sauce, one and a half tablespoon of cornstarch, one and a half tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine, and one egg white. If you don't know what to do with the leftover egg yolk, check out my General Tso's chicken. Give it a rough mix to combine all the seasonings, then continue to massage the meat for 5 minutes or until the meat slices become sticky. Using cornstarch and the egg white in the marinade, then massaging it is a technique called velvety or Shang Jiang in Chinese. It creates a starchy layer which wraps around the meat and protects the muscle fibers from seizing up. That's why the stir-fry meat in the Chinese takeout restaurants are always so tender and juicy. I strongly suggest you give this a try. Trust me, you'll be blown away by the result. Alright, add a big drizzle of oil and give a rough mix. This helps to separate the meat slices, making it easier to stir-fry later. Alright, let's set it aside. Cut the broccoli into florets. I have made so many broccoli stir-fry recipes before, such as beef and broccoli, chicken and broccoli, and shrimp and broccoli. I don't think I have ever showed you how to wash broccoli. Simply fill a big bowl with 2 liters of water, and add 2 teaspoons of salt and 2 teaspoons of baking soda. Add the broccoli and stir until the salt and the baking soda dissolve. Then soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Most pesticides are acidic. As in alkaline salt, baking soda can disrupt the stability of pesticides and decompose them. This method also works for other vegetables. While waiting for the broccolis, we are going to put together our stir-fry sauce, or what we call wanqian. You will need 1.5 tbsp of light soy sauce, 1.5 tbsp of oyster sauce, 1 tsp of hoisin sauce, 1 tsp of cornstarch, and a quarter cup of water. Mix well and set it aside. Rinse the florets and drain thoroughly. Now you have clean broccoli that is pesticide-free. Next, I want to show you a special method to pre-cook the broccoli. A lot of people like to blanch it before stir-frying, which not only tastes plain, but also you will introduce too much water into the dish and dilute the taste. Instead, we are going to add a drizzle of vegetable oil. Just a little bit, and stir to coat the broccoli. Turn the heat to medium and add the broccoli to the wok. Spread it out and let it toast for a little bit. Give it a toss and continue to toast like that for 3 to 4 minutes or until slightly charred. This method gives the dish a lovely smoky flavor. Take it out and set it aside. It is important to clean the wok if you see any residue, otherwise it will cause the food stick to the bottom. Turn the heat to high and heat the wok until smoking hot. If you want to make this dish the countryside style, you should use pork lard. Of course, if you don't like animal fat, you can use vegetable oil. Carefully add the pork and quickly loosen the meat. I love using a carbon steel wok. As long as you preheat the wok thoroughly, it becomes completely nonstick, but there is no teflon coating. I will link this wok in the description, you can check it out if you want. When most of the pork changes color, toss in the diced Thai bird eye chilies and the garlic. Stir until fragrant. If you can't handle spicy food, use bell pepper instead. Introduce the broccoli back into the wok and stir everything until well combined. Pour in the sauce and continue to mix until thickened. That's it. So easy. I just love simple home-style recipes. I make this so often that I don't even need to look at the measurement. Every step is so natural and it always comes out delicious. I hope you give this a try soon. As always, the printable recipe link is in the description, go check it out. Don't forget to like and subscribe to my channel for more easy and delicious Chinese food. Thank you for watching and I'll see you next time. Bye!