Stir-Fried Zucchini with Pork Belly
A savory stir-fry of pork belly and zucchini. Salting the zucchini first helps draw out excess moisture before cooking.
Ingredients
- 200-250 g pork belly
- 1 zucchini
- 2 cloves garlic
- Bird's eye chilies, as much as you like
- 2 level tablespoons light soy sauce
- 400 ml water
- A few shakes of white pepper
- 1 tablespoon lard
Steps
- 1
Wash the zucchini, remove the soft seedy core, and slice it diagonally. If your knife skills are not great, you can use a peeler to help. Uneven slices are fine—they will still absorb plenty of flavor.
- 2
Important: Put the zucchini slices in a bowl, add about 2 spoonfuls of salt, and toss well. Let sit for at least 10 minutes. This step draws excess water out of the zucchini, and the salt will be rinsed off later.
- 3
Slice and wash the pork belly, then pat it dry with kitchen paper and set aside. Crush the 2 garlic cloves and set aside. Cut up the bird's eye chilies and set aside. Once the zucchini has rested, rinse it with water and set aside.
- 4
For a wok: Heat it over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of lard, using the hot wok, cool oil method. For a nonstick pan: Add the lard first, swirl it around, then start with a cool pan and cool oil before turning on the heat, since nonstick coatings are not suitable for the hot wok, cool oil method. If you do not have lard, you can substitute soybean oil, rapeseed oil, or peanut oil.
- 5
Set the heat to medium to melt the lard, then switch to high heat.
- 6
Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and bird's eye chilies and bloom in oil until fragrant.
- 7
After they become fragrant, add the pork belly and stir-fry until all the pieces turn white.
- 8
Add 2 level tablespoons of light soy sauce and stir-fry evenly.
- 9
Continue stir-frying until all the meat is evenly colored.
- 10
Add the zucchini and stir-fry continuously for 1 1/2 minutes.
- 11
Pour in 400 ml water. Do not cover the pan.
- 12
Cook until the liquid has reduced. You can lower the heat to check how much liquid remains in the pan. Just before removing from the heat, add an appropriate amount of white pepper—about 3 to 5 shakes is fine—stir briefly, then turn off the heat and plate. If you do not have white pepper, you can skip it.
- 13
The simmering takes about 5 to 8 minutes, so you can clean the stovetop while you wait. Be sure to salt the zucchini to draw out the water.
Tips
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