This pickled cabbage stir-fry with pork is a great way to cook our 3-ingredient overnight pickled cabbage into a delicious dish! The tangy cabbage marries so well with a little hunk of pork shoulder, giving you a rich but still mostly-veggie meal.
Homemade Pickled Cabbage
If you haven’t checked out our homemade pickled cabbage recipe yet, head there now. You’ll see that it can be made in one day (it just needs to sit overnight), and that it only has 3 ingredients: green cabbage, ginger, and vinegar—along with some boiling water.
It’s insanely simple to make, taking just 5 minutes of prep time. That pickled cabbage isn’t meant to be enjoyed on its own as a pickle, but rather used as a cooking ingredient in recipes like this.
Cabbage is available all year round—and it’s inexpensive—so you can make this dish anytime you like!
The Flavors of Chinese Home Cooking
You won’t find this dish in any restaurant. This is simple Chinese home cooking. Just thinly slice the cabbage, marinate a small piece of pork shoulder cut into strips, and stir-fry everything together with some garlic, chilies, scallions, and seasonings from your pantry.
A little sugar counterbalances the sourness of the cabbage, and the pork adds richness. There’s nothing here that you won’t find in an average Chinese pantry, so if you’ve cooked with us before, you probably have most of the ingredients on hand.
If you like, you can use other proteins like chicken or beef. Just follow our tips on how to velvet chicken or beef if making that substitute. For any stir-fry dish that includes meat, it is super important to velvet it properly, as this step really elevates the overall enjoyment of the dish.
If you’re a fan of sour flavors, this is the recipe for you!
Recipe Instructions
In a medium bowl, add the pork, water, cornstarch, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and white pepper. Mix well until the pork has absorbed all the liquid, and marinate for at least 15 minutes (or up to overnight).
Rinse your sour cabbage, and squeeze out as much water as possible. Then slice it into ½-inch (1cm) thick strips.
Pre-heat your wok until it starts to smoke, then add 1 tablespoon of oil. Sear pork for a few minutes until lightly browned around the edges, and remove from the wok, leaving any oil behind.
Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the wok, and cook the sour cabbage for a few minutes, to cook off any liquid; this allows it to better absorb the flavor from other ingredients.
Now add the pork back in, along with the garlic, chilies, light soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and white pepper.
Stir-fry for 1 minute. If the dish looks too dry, splash it with a couple of tablespoons of water so all the flavors can come together. Stir in the scallions…
And serve!
Pickled Cabbage Stir-fry with Pork
Ingredients
For the pork:
- 6 ounces pork shoulder, butt, or belly (julienned)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 pinch white pepper
For the rest of the dish:
- ½ head pickled green cabbage
- 2 tablespoons oil (divided)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 dried red chilies (deseeded and roughly chopped; optional)
- 1½ tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 2 scallions (chopped)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the pork, water, cornstarch, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and white pepper. Mix well until the pork has absorbed all the liquid, and marinate for at least 15 minutes (or up to overnight).
- Rinse your sour cabbage, and squeeze out as much water as possible. Then slice it into ½-inch (1cm) thick strips.
- Pre-heat your wok until it starts to smoke, then add 1 tablespoon of oil. Sear pork for a few minutes until lightly browned around the edges, and remove from the wok, leaving any oil behind.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the wok, and cook the sour cabbage for a few minutes, to cook off any liquid; this allows it to better absorb the flavor from other ingredients.
- Now add the pork back in, along with the garlic, chilies, light soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and white pepper. Stir-fry for 1 minute. If the dish looks too dry, splash it with a couple of tablespoons of water so all the flavors can come together. Stir in the scallions and serve.
