Ginger Scallion Stir-fry with Pork

Stir-fry is an easy and delicious way to use up the veggies in your CSA share. In our house we usually have stir-fry the night before our new box comes with whatever odds and ends we still have from the week before. Most of the time I don’t even use a recipe, I just use these loose guidelines. We’ve had such huge bunches of scallions in the CSA Shares, and I started making this dish with lovely pork chops from Autumn’s Harvest Farm. Instead of just being used as a garnish or flavoring, scallions make up the base of the dish. The flavor and texture is really mild when cooked this way. Julienned ginger is a great base, and you can also add garlic if you like. Add any other veggies that sound good, I used one of the huge bell peppers in this week’s share, and at the last minute threw in some extra squash. You can also try carrots, greens, and any other veggies in your share. Get everything chopped, and then slice the pork chops. You’ll be able to get really thin slices if the chops are still a little frozen when you slice them. Remove the bone and any excess fat before slicing. Slice as thin as you can.

I don’t have a lot of process photos, because you have to move fast while stir-frying! Stir-frying is really easy, it’s just a few simple steps. The first step is getting all of the ingredients ready and close by. Get out your wok and high temperature oil of choice. I use a cast iron wok, it’s not traditional but I love it. It holds the heat really nicely. I use organic canola oil for most high temperature cooking. Get the wok really hot, then cook the pork stirring frequently until it’s cooked through. Remove the pork from the pan, add more oil if necessary and add the ginger, cook for a minute then add the vegetables.

I only add soy sauce, and a little rice vinegar or lime juice to the stir-fry while I’m cooking it, then serve it with spicy condiments and extra soy sauce on the side. That way everyone can season the dish to their liking. I learned recently to cut the soy sauce that gets added to the pan 50/50 with water, the water evaporates quickly leaving just the soy sauce. It helps keep the dish from getting dry without getting to salty. If you must eat gluten free, look for gluten-free tamari. It’s fairly easy to find at natural and larger grocery stores. When the veggies are cooked through, add the pork, stir a few times, and then turn down the heat. Add a tablespoon of rice vinegar or a squeeze of lime juice.  Serve with extra wedges of lime, and hot sauce.

Ginger Pork Stir-Fry (serves four)

2 thick pasture raised pork chops, bone and excess fat removed, thinly sliced
1 bunch scallions. cut into 3 inch segments, sliced down the middle if very thick
2 tablespoons ginger, cut into thin slices, then stacked on top of each other and sliced
2 cups assorted vegetables, thinly sliced like green pepper, summer squash, carrots, turnips, radishes, etc.
2 tablespoons soy sauce (or gluten free tamari) cut with 2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon rice vinegar or lime juice
canola oil

For serving: extra soy sauce, lime wedges, sriracha hot sauce

Heat a wok or sauté pan over high heat. Heat two tablespoons of the canola oil until shimmering. Add pork to the pan, and cook stirring frequently until meat is cooked through. (about 3- 4 minutes). Remove pork from the pan. Add more oil if necessary, then add ginger to the pan. Cook for about a minute, add remaining vegetables and soy sauce water mixture. Cook stirring frequently until veggies are cooked through, add pork, stir to combine and turn off heat. Sprinkle with rice vinegar or lime juice. Serve over rice or stir-fry noodles.