Name: Szechwan-Hunan Pork Threads (渝湘肉絲)
Yield: Serves 2–3 as a main course, 4–5 as part of a multicourse meal.
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon Chinese or Japanese sesame oil; ¼ cup rich, unsalted chicken stock; 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons cold chicken stock; 1½ tablespoons finely minced fresh garlic; 1 pound fresh broccoli with solid stems; 2 teaspoons well-aged Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar; 1 tablespoon thin (regular) soy sauce; ¼ teaspoon sugar; ½ pound boneless pork loin, trimmed of all fat (weight after trimming); 1½ tablespoons sugar; 2 tablespoons finely minced green and white scallion; 2 tablespoons tree ears; 3 cups corn or peanut oil, for deep-frying; 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or quality, dry sherry; 1–1½ teaspoons Chinese chili sauce; 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger; ½ tablespoon water; 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Preparation info

Serves
2–3
as a main course .

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking

By Barbara Tropp

Published 1982

About

Until a year or so ago, I thought, like most everyone else I know, Chinese and Westerners both, that the name of this dish was “Fish-Flavored Pork Threads.” So-called fish-flavored dishes are a hallmark of Szechwan and Hunan cuisine, and while the Chinese are simply content to write the characters for “fish” (yu) and “flavor” (hsiang) on their menus and not think much more about it, Chinese cookbooks go to great pains to describe how dishes that clearly have nothing whatsoever