Name: Four-Spice Pork with Spinach (四味肉絲)
Yield: Serves 2 as a main dish with noodles or rice, 4 as part of a multicourse meal.
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 pound fresh spinach, preferably with red stem ends intact; 2 teaspoons cornstarch; 1 teaspoon sugar; 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic; 3–4 tablespoons corn or peanut oil; 2–3 teaspoons Chinese chili sauce, or ¼–½ teaspoon dried red chili flakes; 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger; 2 tablespoons minced green and white scallion; ½ pound boneless pork loin, trimmed of all fat (weight after trimming); ½ teaspoon Chinese or Japanese sesame oil; 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or quality, dry sherry; 1 teaspoon thin (regular) soy sauce; 1½ teaspoons hoisin sauce; 2 tablespoons thin (regular) soy sauce

Preparation info

Serves
2
as a main dish with noodles or rice .

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking

By Barbara Tropp

Published 1982

About

Here is my favorite aromatic foursome—ginger, garlic, scallion, and chili—flavoring a simple stir-fry of marinated pork ribbons, velvety spinach leaves, and crunchy spinach stems. It is a nice, light dish on its own or an appealing topping for Pot-Browned Noodles. I enjoy it “nude”—dressed only in the natural pork and spinach juices—but if you wish a richer sauce, an optional one is provided.