Yu Xiang Rou Si
鱼香肉丝·(yú xiāng ròu sī)
The Mother Brine: Pao Cai
If there’s one dish that tests the mettle of a Sichuan home cook, it’s Yu Xiang Rou Si. The name is a culinary ghost story—a nod to the way grandmothers used a heavy-handed, sweet-and-sour blend of pickled chilies, garlic, and ginger to mask the muddy flavor of river fish. When those same aromatics hit humble pork slivers, a legend was born. You won't find the heavy, cloying bean pastes of takeout joints here. A true home kitchen relies purely on crimson Pao Jiao pulled straight from the family pickle crock. Get your prep done early, because once the wok is hot, this perfectly balanced weeknight marvel takes exactly three minutes.
Before you start
Slice the ingredients into uniform matchsticks.
Cut the pork, rehydrated wood ear mushrooms, and bamboo shoots into slivers roughly 1/8-inch thick and 2 inches long to ensure they cook evenly in a matter of seconds.
Velvet the pork to protect it from the high heat.
Aggressively massage the salt, white pepper, Shaoxing wine, and 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce into the meat until entirely absorbed. Mix in the egg white and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch until tacky, then stir in 1 tablespoon of oil so the slivers won't stick together in the pan. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
Mix the Golden Sauce.
Whisk the broth, black vinegar, sugar, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves. The 5-4-3-2-1 ratio is a bulletproof grandmother's mnemonic you'll use for the rest of your life.
Ingredients
- pork tenderloin10 oz
- Shaoxing cooking wine1 tbsp
- light soy sauce1 tsp
- egg white1/2 large
- cornstarch1 tbsp
- neutral cooking oil1 tbsp
- salt1/8 tsp
- white pepper1/8 tsp
- dried wood ear mushrooms1/2 cup
- bamboo shoots1/2 cup
- Sichuan pickled red chilies3 tbsp
- fresh ginger1 tbsp
- garlic1 1/2 tbsp
- scallions3 med
- unsalted chicken broth5 tbsp
- Chinkiang black vinegar4 tbsp
- white sugar3 tbsp
- light soy sauce2 tbsp
- cornstarch1 tbsp
- neutral cooking oil3 tbsp
Method
- 01
Pass the meat through the hot wok.
Heat a wok or heavy skillet over high heat until wisps of smoke appear, add 3 tablespoons of oil, and rapidly toss the marinated pork for 60 seconds just until opaque. Remove the pork immediately, leaving the residual oil behind.
- 02
Sizzle the mother brine.
Drop the heat to medium and stir-fry the minced pickled chilies for 30 seconds. Watch as the oil miraculously turns a brilliant, fragrant red.
- 03
Bloom the aromatics.
Toss in the minced garlic, ginger, and scallion whites for 15 seconds until your kitchen smells undeniably like a Sichuan restaurant.
- 04
Warm the vegetables.
Crank the heat back to screaming high, add the wood ear mushrooms and bamboo shoots, and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
- 05
Glaze the dish.
Return the pork to the wok, give your reserved Golden Sauce a quick stir, and pour it around the hot edges of the pan so it immediately bubbles and thickens.
- 06
Finish and serve.
Toss furiously for 15 seconds until everything is draped in a glossy, clinging glaze, fold in the scallion greens, and slide onto a platter.
Notes
Substituting authentic pickled chilies.
If you cannot source traditional Sichuan Pao Jiao or Lao Gan Ma Pickled Red Chilies at your local Asian market, substitute 2 tablespoons of Sambal Oelek mixed with 1 teaspoon of white vinegar.
Omitting Doubanjiang is a deliberate choice.
Modern recipes often rely on fermented broad bean paste, but classic grandmother-era preparations omit it entirely to allow the pure, delicate sweet-sour-spicy balance to shine.
From The Sichuan Home Kitchen.