Chinese Stir-Fried Greens and Bacon

Serves

4

Hardware

Ingredients

3 oz   Chinese bacon
1 Tblsp   peanut oil
1 Tblsp   sesame oil
9 cloves   garlic, sliced very thin
2 tsp   salt
2 lbs   greens
  soy sauce or tamari
  Shaoxing wine
  water

Procedure

  1. Soak the bacon for at least six hours; remove the rind and chop.

  2. Wash and prepare the greens as appropriate.

  3. Cook the bacon until crispy; drain on paper towels; reserve 1 Tblsp of fat; if necessary, chop the bacon into small pieces.

  4. Heat the bacon fat and oils; stir-fry the garlic and salt for 15 seconds.

  5. Add the greens and stir-fry until wilted.

  6. Add the bacon, a bit of soy sauce or tamari, and if needed some wine and/or water; continue to cook until the greens are cooked however much you like.

Notes

Chinese bacon is also known as air-cured bacon and/or lacquered bacon.

You can use pretty much any Asian green (bok choy, mustard greens, Chinese cabbage) or Napa cabbage, or even spinach.

I’ve given this recipe a difficulty rating of “moderate” only because cooking in a wok tends to move quickly and takes a bit of practice. If you’re comfortable using a wok then pretend the rating is “easy.”

Rating

Difficulty:   Moderate.
Time:   6 hours + 20 minutes.
Precision:   2.

Source

The Bacon Cookbook by James Villas.

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