Crunchy Preserved Radish and Pork Belly Stir-fry | 菜脯炒豬肉

Preserved radish and pork belly stir fry is absolutely on the very top of my favourite dishes.  My dad knew how much I craved for it so he would cook it all the time.  To balance the saltiness from the preserved radish, my dad would add lots of sugar.  Mom joked with him saying that his best dishes were all composed of sugar and syrup.  Honestly speaking, the generous amount of sugar my dad put in really does the magic to the dish.  It helps thicken the sauce, balance the salt, and flavour the pork.  Our whole family just loves it the way it is.

Back in Hong Kong, we could easily find preserved radish, diced or whole.  However, where we live now, most often we can only find shredded or diced and they don't taste good.  After I tried them a few times, I just gave up and stopped buying them.  Soon, I forgot this dish that reminds me of my childhood..

Until last month when we visited a very old shop in Chinatown.  To our surprise, we found these whole preserved radish.  My husband and I were laughing with joy.

After nearly two years, I finally found some good quality preserved radish to cook this dish again.

 I actually called my dad and asked him for the recipe again so that I can duplicate the flavour.

Crunchy Preserved Radish and Pork Belly Stir-fry

菜脯炒豬肉

INGREDIENTS:

500 gram Pork Belly

4-5 pcs Preserved Radishes, whole

10 tablespoons Sugar

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

4 tablespoons Water

材料：

500 克  豬腩肉

4-5 條  菜脯，全條

10 湯匙  糖

2 湯匙  菜油

4 湯匙  水

DIRECTION 做法：

1. Rinse and pat dry the preserved radishes; cut them into small pieces.  Set aside.

1. 菜脯洗淨抹乾；切成小粒。備用。

2. Cut the pork belly into about 1cm thick pieces.

2. 腩肉切成 1cm 厚塊。

3. Heat up vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add pork belly and stir fry until it turns colour; about 3 minutes.

3. 用中火燒熱菜油。下腩肉；炒其至變色，若3分鐘。

4. Turn the heat to high.  Add preserved radish and continue to stir fry until the radish is fragrant and the pork belly is thoroughly cooked.

4. 把火調至最高。下菜脯，繼續炒至菜脯香氣四溢和腩肉全熟；若5-8分鐘。

If it is too dry, add 3-4 tablespoons of water.

若太乾，可加入3-4湯匙水。

5. Add sugar.  Stir it constantly until the sugar is totally melted and the sauce thickens.  Remove the pan from the heat.

5. 下糖；繼續炒至糖全熔掉和汁變稠。離火。

Enjoy!

Stir fried Egg with Preserved Radish | 菜脯炒蛋

Preserved radish is a common ingredient in Hong Kong.  We often use it in stir fry eggs or pork, or serve it as a side dish with plain congee.

Making preserved radish requires two main simple steps.  Rubbing salt on the radishes and laying them under the hot sun to dry during the day, and storing them away at night.  This process needs to repeat for at least two weeks before they are stored in a sealed container for another three months.  The preserved radishes we normally see in the market are golden colour to slight brown; they are fresh preserved radishes.  However, the preserved radishes that are stored up to ten years are black in colour, and the ones over twenty years will release black oil, which some people believe has a medical purpose and cherish it a whole lot.

My friend knows my husband and I like preserved radish.  So when she saw that there were such good quality ones for sale at the market, she bought me some.  They smelled so fragrant.  I wanted to use that to stir fry pork belly, but we are on a diet right now so I scrambled eggs with them instead.

INGREDIENTS:

8 Eggs, large, beaten

2 pieces Preserved radishes, rinse off the salt

3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

材料：

8 隻  雞蛋，大，打勻

2 條  菜脯，沖淨鹽份

3 湯匙  菜油

DIRECTION 做法:

1. Cut the preserved radishes into fine pieces.  Add them in a pan with a tablespoon of vegetable oil.  Sauté them over high heat until fragrant; remove them from the pan.

2. Add the rest of the oil in the same pan.  Add beaten egg and scramble it until half set.  Add the preserved radish back to the pan and continue to cook until they mix evenly.  Serve immediately.

1. 菜脯切成幼粒。在一只鑊中加入一湯匙油和茶脯，大火炒至其香氣四溢；盛起備用。

2. 在同一鑊中下剩餘的油。倒入雞蛋，快炒至半凝固。菜脯回鑊，與蛋炒至均勻；上桌。