The first time Bill and I had authentic traditional Pork with Garlic Sauce or “Yu Xiang Rou Si” (鱼香肉丝) was in Chengdu, China. I can say it was authentic, because we were in Sichuan, the birthplace of this dish. This recipe is what we remember eating in Sichuan!

Pork with Garlic Sauce - Yu Xiang Rou Si, by thewoksoflife.com

It features a spicy, tangy sauce, along with shredded wood ear mushrooms and stem lettuce (AKA asparagus lettuce or stem lettuce), though you could easily substitute julienned carrots, broccoli stems, or bamboo shoots.

Note: This post was originally published in July of 2017. It has since been updated with metric measurements and a recipe video. The recipe itself remains the same. Enjoy!

What Is Pork with Garlic Sauce?

Now this pork with garlic sauce may be different from what you’re used to at your local Chinese takeout restaurant. But unlike the Chinese American version, you could actually walk into a restaurant in China and get this dish. Surprising, I know, that something as generic-sounding as “pork with garlic sauce” does indeed have authentic Chinese origins!

Pork with Garlic Sauce is known as yú xiāng ròu sī in Mandarin. “Yuxiang” (鱼香). It literally means “fish fragrance” or “fish flavor,” although there’s actually no fish involved in the dish. This is because the sauce is similar to one that was also used for fish!

As dedicated food bloggers with food always on the mind (it’s a hard job, but someone has to do it), we had lots of fun trying many of the traditional Sichuan dishes in Chengdu. (While taking plenty of notes, of course!)

An authentic version of Pork with Garlic Sauce involves just three main ingredients: pork, wood ear mushrooms (木耳, mù’ěr), and celtuce (莴笋, wōsǔn).

All three ingredients are julienned, so the stir-fry comes together quickly! If you’re sitting there asking, “what the heck is celtuce?”––I should mention that this is our first recipe that uses it, but it’s one of our favorite vegetables!

Also known as stem lettuce, celery lettuce, asparagus lettuce, or Chinese lettuce, it’s cultivated mostly for its stem. Like lettuce, celtuce can be consumed raw, and it cooks quickly when stir-fried. Celtuce is summer produce, and it’s just become more widely available in our east coast Asian grocery stores. If you can’t find it, replace it with some julienned bamboo shoots, broccoli stems, or carrots.

A Note on Marinating the Pork

One last tip before we get to the main event is the importance of adding water to the pork marinade. It sounds unconventional, but it makes all the sense! When it comes to dumpling and bun fillings, I’m used to adding water or liquid to make sure the dumplings are loaded with juice once they are cooked.

Now I know that adding a little bit of water to the pork marinade has a similar effect. It helps keep the pork juicy and tender, especially when cornstarch is present. You can apply this tip to meat preparations for any of our stir-fry dishes!

To julienne the pork very thinly, freeze it until it’s a bit more solid but still easy to slice through (or if the meat is frozen, just de-frost partially). When the meat is more firm, it’s much easier to slice it thinly, and then julienne those slices.

Pork with Garlic Sauce, by thewoksoflife.com

Pork with Garlic Sauce is a much-loved classic. When the pork and vegetables are coated in the deliciously spicy and garlicky sauce (thanks to the addition of spicy bean paste, 豆瓣酱), the flavors and textures make for a wonderfully saucy, traditional Yu Xiang Rou Si Sichuan homestyle dish. So put on a pot of rice, and start cooking!

(If pork isn’t for you, you can easily sub in chicken, or just make my Chicken with Garlic Sauce recipe!)

Pork with Garlic Sauce: Recipe Instructions

First, combine the pork with the marinade ingredients (oil, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, ground white pepper, cornstarch, water) and set aside for 20 minutes while you prepare the ingredients for the rest of the dish. Namely, the celtuce, wood ears, ginger, garlic, etc.

Next, prepare the sauce. Mix all of the sauce ingredients together (rice vinegar, sugar, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, water, and cornstarch) and set aside.

Now we can start cooking! To prevent sticking, preheat a clean wok until it starts to smoke lightly (this step is very important). Now turn up the heat to high, and add one tablespoon of oil to the wok. Cook the marinated pork just until it turns opaque. Turn off the heat, transfer the pork to a dish, and set aside.

At this stage, your wok should still be pretty clean, as the technique used to cook the pork is fairly low impact. But if it’s not, it’s a good idea to wash the wok and wipe it dry before starting the next phase of cooking.

Turn the heat on to medium. Add two tablespoons of oil and the spicy bean sauce. Stir and cook for about a minute until the oil turns red, adjusting the heat to avoid burning if needed.

Now add the ginger, garlic, and dried chili peppers. Stir for about 15 seconds.

Add the wood ears, turn up the heat, and stir fry for 30 seconds (you can add a few drops of water if it’s too dry), making sure everything is well-combined.

Once the liquid in the wok starts to bubble, give your sauce mixture a good stir, and add it along with the celtuce (may substitute bamboo shoots or carrots), scallion and cooked pork.

Stir fry quickly to combine everything and serve your pork with garlic sauce! This Yu Xiang Rou Si is a truly traditional Chinese version of the dish!