Sichuan Vegetable with Mince
The weather here is so unbearably hot this year, that the time spent in the kitchen is carefully minimized. This is a shortcut recipe for Sichuan vegetable with mince meat (四川菜炒肉碎). The shortcut comes from using ready-to-eat shredded Sichuan vegetable (see picture below). This stir-fry is so delicious, that we can’t help eating extra bowls of porridge with it. Not good for diet, but it definitely made us belly-happy.
See Also:
This is the brand of shredded Sichuan (Szechuan) vegetables ( 四川菜 or 榨菜 in Chinese) that I use for this recipe. Pictured above are the 80g mini packets, but for this recipe I used one 400g packet. I always use this brand as it is the most common one sold at the supermarkets, does not contain preservatives and it is tasty. But I find it a tad too salty for my liking. So I will soak the shredded veg in a bowl of water for 10 minutes to lessen the saltiness, before adding to the wok. You can skip this step if you don’t mind the default saltiness, or extend the soaking time by another 5-10 minutes, if you want to reduce the saltiness further. Don’t soak the veg for too long though, else they will become tasteless.
This stir-fried Sichuan vegetable with mince meat goes incredibly well with porridge (we are having brown rice porridge above) or rice. 
Sichuan Vegetable with Mince Pork Recipe
Leftovers keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days , making this dish ideal for meal prep.
Different brands of shredded Sichuan veg vary in saltiness, so adjust or even omit the soaking time accordingly.
Ingredients:
- 150g minced pork (or chicken)
- 1 x 400g packet of shredded Sichuan (szechuan) vegetable (四川菜/榨菜)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- water enough to cover the shredded veg in a bowl
- 1-2 chilli padi sliced thinly; to taste
- coriander to garnish
(A) Marinade
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 4 dashes white pepper powder
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch
Directions:
- Marinade mince meat with seasonings (A) for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Prep sichuan veg. Empty packet of shredded sichuan vegetable in a large bowl and add enough water to cover the veg. Soak for 10 minutes. Drain the Sichuan veg in a sieve and set aside.
- Cook and serve. Heat oil in a large wok. Add garlic and stir fry for a few seconds until aromatic. Add marinated pork and stir-fry until no longer opaque, while breaking up the pork to smaller pieces using the spatula. Add prepared Sichuan veg and sliced chilli. Stir-fry for 2 minutes more. Garnish with coriander and serve with porridge or rice.