Garlic Chive Stir Fry with Pork or Cang Ying Tou (苍蝇头) literally translates to “Flies’ Heads” in Chinese. And you thought you had heard it all! Someone definitely wasn’t being attentive to image and appetites when they gave this dish the name “flies’ heads.” But that person is not me! I’m just the messenger.
So why flies’ heads?
Well, not to generalize too much, but Chinese names can get pretty creative based on the shape or look of something. Just look at these pictures of Guilin’s “Elephant Trunk Hill” (桂林象山) and Hunan’s “Gate to Heaven” (湖南天门洞).
Guilin’s Elephant Trunk Hill (桂林象山):
Hunan’s Gate to the Heaven (湖南天门洞):
Now look at the picture of this Garlic Chive Stir Fry with Pork dish. See what I mean? The namesake, of course, is the fermented black beans. And while the image that the name evokes may slightly put you off, I have to say that any negatives end there, as the flavor of this dish is “the bomb dot com,” as some of our younger family members described it, and the flavors–“flies heads” or not–are just too delicious to ignore!
Garlic Chive Stir Fry with Pork is a prominent Taiwanese home-style dish. It goes great with rice, and goes even better with congee! (It’s a perfect pairing for our 20-minute congee!) Plus it’s one of our many dishes that is made with ground meat, which means it’s wonderfully simple and easy to prepare. If you don’t like ground pork, any ground meat will work: ground beef, ground chicken, or ground turkey.
One last note: if you can’t find garlic chives, garlic scapes work well too––I remember getting a ton of those in the summer CSA boxes I used to get every season. So if you’re looking for a garlic chive stir fry recipe to use them up, this is the one. Check out our ingredients entry on garlic chives or Chinese chives because there are different types!
Let’s get started!
You’ll need:
- 3 tablespoons oil, divided
- 10 ounces ground pork (or ground chicken, turkey, or beef)
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, divided
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ½ tablespoon finely chopped ginger
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- ¼ cup (35 grams) fermented black beans, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup finely diced fresh red long hot peppers (or red bell peppers)
- 12 ounces garlic chives, cut into ⅓-inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
Preheat your wok over high heat until it starts to smoke slightly. Turn down the heat, and let the wok cool down a bit before adding 1 tablespoon of the oil. (This step of superheating the wok before adding oil prevents the meat from sticking to the wok. This method works well for pan-frying anything–fish included.)
Once the oil is heated, turn the heat down to medium, and add the ground pork. Cook it until the meat is lightly browned. Add in the Shaoxing wine, ½ tablespoon light soy sauce, and the sugar. Mix well, turn off the heat, and transfer the cooked meat to a bowl.
Now turn the heat down to low, and add the last 2 tablespoons of oil and the ginger. Cook it for a minute, then add the garlic and fermented black beans. Cook everything for a minute or two, taking care to avoid burning.
Next, add peppers, and turn the heat up to high. Stir fry everything together, and let it cook for a minute uncovered.
Then, add in the cooked pork and garlic chives (if you use scapes, you will need to extend the cooking time at the end for 1-2 minutes with the wok lid on) and stir-fry.
Now it’s time to add in the remaining light soy sauce (1½ tablespoons) and the sesame oil. Stir-fry to combine. At this point, you can salt to taste, but the fermented black beans are quite salty–I found that I didn’t need to add any salt. But be fast about it, because the garlic chives cook quickly.
Transfer your Garlic Chive Stir Fry with Pork or Cang Ying Tou to a dish and serve with steamed rice.
- 3 tablespoons oil, divided
- 10 ounces ground pork (or ground chicken, turkey, or beef)
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, divided
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ½ tablespoon finely chopped ginger
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- ¼ cup (35 grams) fermented black beans, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup finely diced fresh red long hot peppers (or red bell peppers)
- 12 ounces garlic chives, cut into ⅓-inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- Preheat your wok over high heat until it starts to smoke slightly. Turn down the heat, and let the wok cool down a bit before adding 1 tablespoon of the oil. (This step of superheating the wok before adding oil prevents the meat from sticking to the wok. This method works well for pan-frying anything--fish included.)
- Once the oil is heated, turn the heat down to medium, and add the ground pork. Cook it until the meat is lightly browned. Add in the Shaoxing wine, ½ tablespoon light soy sauce, and the sugar. Mix well, turn off the heat, and transfer the cooked meat to a bowl.
- Now turn the heat down to low, and add the last 2 tablespoons of oil and the ginger. Cook it for a minute, then add the garlic and fermented black beans. Cook everything for a minute or two, taking care to avoid burning.
- Next, add peppers, and turn the heat up to high. Stir fry everything together, and let it cook for a minute uncovered. Then, add in the cooked pork and garlic chives (if you use scapes, you will need to extend the cooking time at the end for 1-2 minutes with the wok lid on) and stir-fry.
- Now it’s time to add in the remaining light soy sauce (1½ tablespoons) and the sesame oil. Stir-fry to combine. At this point, you can salt to taste, but the fermented black beans are quite salty--I found that I didn’t need to add any salt. But be fast about it, because the garlic chives cook quickly.
- Transfer to a dish and serve with steamed rice.
Carol P. says
Where I live now we don’t have any good Asian restaurants. I’ve had some very tasty dishes in my life and I miss them. Thank you for making it possible for me to enjoy those flavors again.
Judy says
You are so welcome, Carol, happy wokking!
ArtyJ says
WHERE is the big thumbs up icon? I was looking for a recipe to use up a bundle of Chinese chives that I bought for dumplings as I didn’t want to make 300 dumplings. I happened to have all of the ingredients for this (except for the long hot peppers; I used a red fresno and some red bell). It was totally delicious. I also used the Trader Joes Ginger Paste which is a good thing to have in the fridge if you don’t use ginger too often (or if you’re just being lazy); it keeps FOREVER and it’s the next best thing to fresh ginger.
Are red long hot peppers a Chinese thing (would I find them in a Chinese market) or are they the same as the Italian long hot? It’s hard enough to find green long hots in South Florida much less red ones.
Judy says
Hi ArtyJ, I guess red long hot peppers are a Chinese thing––Asian markets sell them at a premium.
adele says
Thank you, so much, for such a wonderful and different recipe! I had some difficult finding the fermented beans – but, I persisted and was happy to locate them in a Chinese grocery store. This is absolutely delicious! I am so happy that I found your blog, and I am planning to share “you” with many of my friends… The recipes on this site are unique and I am anxious to many more!
Judy says
Hi Adele, we are so glad that you persisted. If you want to use up the fermented beans, just search “fermented beans” or “black beans” in our search bar, and you will find a large handful of recipes that use this condiment.
Pia Margarette Santos says
It’s my first time to cook this garlic stem or tips recipe and the result came out really good ! ❤❤❤
Judy says
So glad you like it, Pia!
Rob says
I’ve now made the flies twice. Once with beef and once with pork. Both equally delicious. A great dish and a great conversation starter!
Judy says
Hi Rob, I like the fact that you refer to this dish (affectionately) as “the flies”:-)
Rob says
Love the flies! Whenever it makes it to the table it is demolished immediately. Send more flies!
Judy says
hahaha…sounds good!
Christian says
This was tasty, I had only 6 oz garlic chives and I used about 14 oz portk meat, but nonetheless the result was delicious! I definitely will make this dish in the future again, it doesn’t take long to prepare, but it tastes so fresh and yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
Judy says
You are so welcome, Christian!
Rachel says
Did you really mean 12 oz of garlic chives or is that a typo? That’s more chives than ground park! Just wanted to double check before I make this! ;)
Martin Hill says
I wondered also, I searched for other recipes and they have more chive than pork too, but they also mention things such as find chives with the flowers unopened. One recipe for a Thai version was 6 oz. meat and 16 of the “garlic chive buds and their tender, crunchy bud stems.” Since mine are not flowering in the yard I used six ounces and this ratio works very well. Will have to try this again when my chives try to bloom.
Judy says
Hi Martin, thank you for leaving us your thoughts. Just want to let you know that if the chive flowers opened, the stems may be too tough for consumption.
Martin Rowland Hill says
Follow up – while the flavor was excellent and even though I eat a vegetable rich diet (got the gout) lets just say it was a lot of fiber…quarter the chives if using leaves instead of the flower stalks.
Judy says
Hi Rachel, it’s not a typo. In most Asian cuisines, vegetables make up the bulk of dishes.
naina says
the dish looks new thanks for sharing its recipe i will try making this dish
Judy says
Hope you like it, Naina.