Asian Pork and Carrots

I made a recipe a while back that was loosely adapted from this one on Vintage Kitchen Notes: a crunchy Szechuan pork. But I don’t like heat, so I didn’t use Szechuan peppercorns, and therefore I don’t think my dish qualifies as Szechuan anything. Plus, my pork wasn’t crunchy. And I chopped the carrots instead of cutting them into matchsticks. I also think that where the recipe calls for corn meal, it should actually be corn flour (or the most finely ground meal there is, really). That’s what I’d use next time. Oh, because there will be a next time: we all loved this dish, and toward the end of the meal, the Engineer upgraded his original assessment and called it “lip-smacking delicious”. I made it with coconut ginger rice, which the Little Prince decided he liked after all (he doesn’t like rice as a general rule). Note that the quantities below make roughly 2-3 servings; I had doubled the recipe to make sure we’d have leftovers, but it’s too much for a single wok – I had to cook the meat in two batches, and even though I might do it again, I now know that this doesn’t double easily.

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
2 Tbsp. corn flour (or most finely ground corn meal you can find)
12 oz. pork tenderloin, cut into bite size pieces
2 medium carrots, cut into small cubes
1 small leek, halved (washed) and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
3 Tbsp. soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari sauce)
2 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. orange juice
3 Tbsp. mirin
chopped green onions or chives, for garnish
2 cups cooked rice, to serve

Put corn flour in a medium bowl and then add the pork pieces. Toss to coat and reserve.

Heat the wok over high heat. Add 2 Tbsp. oil and cook carrots and leek until beginning to brown, 3 or 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate and reserve.

Add 2 more Tbsp. oil to the wok, add pork and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the carrots.

Add ginger and garlic to the wok, sauté 1 minute and add soy sauce, honey, orange juice and mirin. Cook until sauce is somewhat syrupy. Add meat and vegetables and cook for 1 or 2 minutes.

Divide rice between two bowls or plates. Add pork mixture on top, dividing evenly. Garnish with green onions and serve.