Pork and snow pea stir fry

Growing up, Chinese New Year for me wasn't much more than Mum and Dad wishing my brother and I 'gong hei fat choy' (happy new year) on a seemingly random summer's morning (Chinese New Year follows the lunisolar calendar and changes every year). Even though these days our celebrations aren't that much more elaborate, it's nice to see that there is a bit more awareness around this major Asian holiday with various festivals popping up around the country.

Chinese New Year is normally celebrated with family over a big dinner feast but because Chinese New Year falls in winter in the northern hemisphere, traditional dishes can be heavy... not exactly what we would want to eat in the heat of summer. A stir-fry is better suited for us here in New Zealand, especially if you want to make something quick and easy at home.

While the recipe below isn't a traditional Chinese New Year dish, it is one that I enjoy. The flavours are fresh and light, and the crunch of snow peas always reminds me of summer. 

I hope that you like the recipe, and gong hei fat choy for 10 February!

Thank you to NZ Pork for providing the free range pork used in this recipe and for the opportunity to be part of their newsletter.

Pork and snow pea stir fry

Serves 4

Ingredients

400g lean pork - like tenderloin or shoulder
1/4 c Chinese rice wine (shao xing wine)
4 rashers of streaky bacon - thinly sliced
2 Tbsp plain oil - like rice bran, sunflower or canola oil
1 Tbsp garlic - finely chopped
1 Tbsp ginger - finely chopped or grated
1 onion - cut into small wedges
150g snow peas - topped, tailed and de-stringed
3 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp soya sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp white pepper

Directions

1. Cut the pork into bite sized cubes and put it in a bowl with the Chinese rice wine. Mix and allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes
2. Fry the sliced bacon in a dry pan until light brown and crispy. Set aside
3. In a wok or deep frying pan, heat the oil over a high heat
4. Add the ginger and garlic and before the garlic starts to brown, add the pork pieces, reserving the liquid.
5. Continuously stir-fry for 5 minutes and add the onion and snow peas, oyster sauce, soya sauce, sesame oil and white pepper. Add the marinating liquid from the pork and cook for another minute to allow the juices to thicken a little.

Serve with white rice or toss through cooked egg noodles.

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