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Yu xiang means 'fish fragrance,' and there is no fish in it. The name refers to a seasoning combination used for cooking fish in Sichuan, which got applied to pork, eggplant, and anything else that would carry it. If a menu translation tells you it's fish-flavored pork, the kitchen isn't wrong; the language is just compressed.
The sauce is a fixed ratio of salt, light soy, vinegar, sugar, starch, and water: 1:2:3:3:2:4. Equal parts sugar and vinegar, twice the vinegar to the soy, and enough starch to glaze. Memorize it and you can season the whole family of yu xiang dishes without a recipe.
The 1:2:3:3:2:4 Ratio
Salt : light soy : vinegar : sugar : starch : water. In spoons for a standard batch: 1 salt, 2 soy, 3 vinegar, 3 sugar, 2 starch, 4 water.
It reads alarmingly sweet and sour when you mix it in the bowl, and it should. The sugar caramelizes slightly in the hot pan and the vinegar volatilizes, so what ends up on the plate is much more balanced than what's in the bowl.
Chinkiang vinegar is the right choice — it's maltier and less aggressive than rice vinegar. In a pinch, use a mix of rice vinegar and a small amount of balsamic, which is not traditional but gets closer to the depth than plain rice vinegar does.
Cutting Everything the Same Size
The dish is julienne: pork, wood ear, carrot, and green pepper all cut to roughly the same thin matchstick. This isn't decorative. Everything cooks in about ninety seconds and if the pieces differ in thickness you'll have raw carrot next to overcooked pork.
Soak dried wood ear in warm water for 20 minutes, then trim the hard base and shred. If it's still tough after soaking, blanch it for two minutes before cutting.
Carrot takes longest to cook of the vegetables, so it goes in first and gets a little more time before the others join it.
Stir-Fry It in Batches
Sear the pork first and remove it. This is the standard move for any stir-fry with marinated meat: you get browning on the protein without overcooking it while the vegetables come up to temperature.
Then aromatics, then doubanjiang — fried until the oil reddens — then the vegetables, then the pork back in, then the sauce.
The sauce goes in last and thickens quickly. Once it's glossy and coating, it's done. Another thirty seconds and the vegetables lose their crunch.
Yu Xiang Pork: The Fish-Fragrant Sauce With No Fish In It
Ingredients
- 300 g (10 oz) pork loin or tenderloin, cut into fine matchsticks
- For the marinade: 1 tsp Shaoxing wine, 1/4 tsp salt, pinch of white pepper, 2 tsp potato starch, 1 tsp oil
- 15 dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked
- 1 small carrot, julienned
- 1-2 green peppers, julienned
- 1 spring onion, julienned
- 1 thumb ginger, shredded
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp Pixian doubanjiang
- For the sauce: 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 3 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar, 3 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp potato starch, 4 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp neutral oil, divided
Directions
- Combine the pork with the marinade ingredients and let it sit 10 minutes while you prepare everything else.
- Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl until the sugar and starch have dissolved. Set it by the stove.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok over high heat until it shimmers. Add the pork in a single layer, let it sit 20 seconds, then toss until it just changes color. Remove to a plate.
- Add another tbsp oil. Add the ginger, garlic, and spring onion, then the doubanjiang. Fry over medium heat until the oil turns red, about 30 seconds.
- Add the carrot first and stir-fry for a minute, since it's the slowest to cook. Add the wood ear and green pepper and continue for another minute.
- Return the pork to the pan along with any juices. Toss to combine.
- Give the sauce a stir — the starch will have settled — and pour it in. Toss over high heat until it thickens and coats everything, about 30 seconds. Serve at once.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Notes
If you're using a salty doubanjiang, cut the salt in the sauce to a scant half teaspoon and taste before serving.
Bamboo shoots or julienned lotus root are traditional additions and both work well; add them with the carrot.
The same sauce makes yu xiang eggplant: fry cubes of eggplant until golden, then finish with the aromatics and sauce.
Everything must be cut and within reach before the heat goes on. The cooking takes under four minutes.
Adapted from a home recipe on xiachufang.com.
