Stir-fry Pea Shoots, Pork & Mushroom
This stir-fry pea shoots, pork & mushroom was cooked and served directly in the pan. A simple one-pan stir-fry and rice are all we need on a relaxing rainy evening. The fun part of this recipe is that it was made with Japanese pea shoots (toumyou sprouts) bought at Don Don Donki. They are harvested fresh just before cooking and then regrown for a second round of harvest.
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JAPANESE PEA SHOTS AT DONKI
My buddy FJ shared this amazing life hack that the Japanese pea shoots selling at Donki (pictured above) for S$2.80 are re-growable after harvesting! Wow sounds fun! I always frequent Donki but never knew about this little gem. I ran down to Donki and bought a packet soon after. We joked that by regrowing it, we nab ourselves a perpetual buy-one-get-one-free deal :p
This was my pea shoots regrowing in a container on the day that I harvested them to cook.
This was the status of my pea shots after 7 days. Not bad huh! I’m going to harvest the regrown pea shoots in the next few days, hopefully I can make a nice dish with it.
STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS
When you want to cook, harvest the top part of the pea shoots, making sure the bottom section with baby sprouts is intact for regrowing. I felt like a professional chef for once, harvesting fresh greens on the spot to cook :P Although the bag of pea shoots looks big, I only realised when I cut the pea shoots that the amount is too little for a meal (so much for being professional). I added on what’s available in my freezer: shabu shabu pork (also from Donki) and maitake mushrooms (yes I store them in the freezer) to bulk up the dish.
Marinade the shabu shabu pork with simple seasonings (soy sauce, mirin, garlic & ginger).
Heat oil in wok. Add maitake mushrooms and stir fry until just softened.
Note: I’m using frozen maitake (woodear) mushrooms without thawing hence the ice crystals. As Maitake mushrooms freeze well, I often buy them in bulk to store in the freezer.
When the mushrooms starts to soften, push them to one corner of the pan. Add marinated shabu shabu pork.
Stir fry quickly until all the pork is almost opaque. Then add garlic, ginger …
.. and shredded carrot. Stir fry until carrot is just softened.
Finally add the pea shoots, water or stock (pictured above) and seasonings.
Stir fry briskly on high heat so that the cooked sprouts remain green & tender. Done!
Stir-fry Pork, Pea Shoots & Mushrooms Recipe
Fun nugget #1: I used Japanese pea shoots from Don Don Donki. The pea shoots come in a sealed bag which allows the sprouts to be harvested on the spot for cooking, and then regrown for a second round. However, feel assured to substitute this recipe with any local variety of pea shoots with similar results.
Fun nugget #2: I used frozen maitake (woodhen) mushrooms for the stir-fry, just like I did for my miso soup. There is no difference in the resultant taste & texture of the cooked mushrooms.
Ingredients:
- 100g shabu shabu pork cut to uniform, shorter sections (4 cm)
- 2 tsp + 1 tsp cooking oil divided
- 100g Japanese maitake (woodhen) mushrooms break into smaller chunks
- 3 thinly sliced ginger julienned
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 50g thinly sliced carrot matchsticks
- 100g pea shoots (豆苗/dou miao/toumyou sprouts)
- 2 tbsp water or chicken stock add more if needed
- 1 tsp mushroom seasoning powder optional; add a pinch of salt if omit
- 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
(A) Marinade
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp mirin or sake
- 1/2 tsp soy sauce
- tiny pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste (or 1 clove minced garlic)
- 1/2 tsp ginger paste (or 1/4 tsp ginger juice)
Directions:
- Marinate the meat. Dissolve the marinade (A) using a spatula. Add the shabu shabu pork to coat evenly in the marinate for 15 minutes in the fridge.
- Cook the mushroom. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add maitaki mushrooms and fry until just softened. Push them to the side of the pan.
- Cook the pork. Add the remaining oil. Add marinated pork and stir fry until most of the pork is opaque. Then add ginger, garlic and carrots. Stir fry until the carrot is just softened.
- Add pea shoots, water (or stock), mushroom seasoning and oyster sauce. Stir fry quickly on high heat until the pea shoots are still green and tender.