Shredded Pork Stir-fry with Sweet Bean Sauce or Jīng Jiàng Ròu Sī (京酱肉丝) is a dish from Northern China. It should be said that Northerners love bean sauce (酱, jiang). In the old days, for a Northerner, a typical nice meal would be two raw big green onions dipped in 酱 (jiang) to go with a couple of steamed white buns (馒头, man-tou)!
Besides this Shredded Pork Stir-fry with Sweet Bean Sauce, the other two better known applications of 酱 (jiang) are probably Peking Duck and Beijing Fried Sauce Noodles (炸酱面).
Our Version of a Traditional Northern Chinese Dish
If you are familiar with this dish, you might look at the opening photo and wonder, “what is Judy up to now?” because in the traditional version of this dish, there’s usually only shredded pork. Why bother adding carrots? Long story short, here at the Woks of Life, it’s our mission to bring you traditional recipes, but as you also know, we’re not afraid to improve on tradition!
Before I give you an answer to your pressing questions about the carrots, let me just say that this is a very “smart” dish. By combining the quick stir-fried shredded pork with savory sweet bean sauce, you get the best of both worlds: tender juicy pork in a sauce that tastes like it’s been cooking for hours. It’s culinary magic at its best.
As for the carrots, I decided to add them because I think carrots really add some natural sweetness that’s needed for the dish. The carrot also does not generate any additional liquid (like other vegetables might), which would dilute the taste–a big no-no in this case. So at the end of the day, you’ve got a beautiful dish–luscious pork with the perfect blend of natural sweetness and savory sweet bean sauce, perfect over a bed of white rice.
But I should say that you can also serve this shredded pork stir-fry dish with mandarin pancakes (a homemade version can be found in our Easy Peking Duck recipe). If you do, don’t forget to include a few pieces of julienned scallion—white portions only—like a true Northerner would do!
Recipe Instructions
In a bowl, add the pork along with ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine, 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Let marinate for 15 minutes.
In a separate bowl, make the stir-fry sauce by combining 1/4 cup water, 2½ tablespoons sweet bean sauce, ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon Chinese black vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 tablespoon light soy sauce. Mix everything together until the sugar is dissolved completely. Set aside.
Now we are ready to cook! Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the carrots, and cook for about a minute. Transfer to a dish and set aside. Be careful not to overcook them–the carrots should still be crunchy.
In the same wok, heat 2 more tablespoons of oil over high heat. Once the oil starts to smoke slightly, add the marinated pork, and give it a quick stir.
Once the pork turns color from pink to white, turn down the heat (to avoid burning). Transfer the pork to a separate bowl and set aside.
At this point, the wok should still be glistening with oil. Pour in the sauce, turn up the heat, and stir the sauce quickly for a few seconds–it should be bubbling. Toss the carrots and the pork back into the wok, quickly stir-frying to combine.
Add a few drops of sesame oil.
Once everything is well-coated with sauce, turn off the heat, dish it out, and garnish with scallions if desired.
Serve this shredded pork stir-fry with sweet bean sauce hot out of the wok with rice or with Mandarin pancakes!
Shredded Pork Stir-Fry with Sweet Bean Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ pound pork loin (225g, or pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine (or other rice wine)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil (plus 3 tablespoons, divided)
- ¼ cup water (60 ml)
- 2½ tablespoons sweet bean sauce
- ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon Chinese black vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2-3 medium carrots (julienned)
- A few drops of sesame oil
- 1 scallion (white part only, thinly sliced)
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the pork along with ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine, 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Let marinate for 15 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, make the stir-fry sauce by combining 1/4 cup water, 2½ tablespoons sweet bean sauce, ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon black vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 tablespoon light soy sauce. Mix everything together until the sugar is dissolved completely. Set aside.
- Now we are ready to cook! Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the carrots, and cook for about a minute. Transfer to a dish and set aside. Be careful not to overcook them--the carrots should still be crunchy.
- In the same wok, heat 2 more tablespoons of oil over high heat. Once the oil starts to smoke slightly, add the marinated pork, and give it a quick stir. Once the pork turns color from pink to white, turn down the heat (to avoid burning). Transfer the pork to a separate bowl and set aside.
- At this point, the wok should still be glistening with oil. Pour in the sauce, turn up the heat, and stir the sauce quickly for a few seconds--it should be bubbling. Toss the carrots and the pork back into the wok, quickly stir-frying to combine. Add a few drops of sesame oil. Once everything is well-coated with sauce, turn off the heat, dish it out, and serve hot with rice! Garnish with scallions, if desired.
nutrition facts
Where did you get your wok at?
Hi Eric, the wok I used for this particular post came with the 48″ Viking stovetop, because its center burner is made for a very large wok.
looking forward toshredded pork stir fry for dinner today
You will enjoy it, Pad!
Our Asian market didn’t have any sweet bean sauce, so we substituted “lady sauce.” We also added shredded cabbage. My daughter and I were both craving scallion pancakes, so instead of serving this on rice, we piled the pork onto the pancakes and ate them like tacos. They were incredible!
Wow, sounds pretty epic! So glad you and your daughter had a great meal :-)
Thank you very much! This recipe is delicious! I didn’t have enough carrots, so I stir fried sliced celery with sliced carrots, and it was still delicious! I like the abundance of sauce with the meal, too!
Yeeeeaaahh…Awesome! I love that you improvised, great job!
Before trying out this recipe, I wonder what kind of veggies you propose to add together with the little pancake ? I remember a good restaurant close to Chaoyang Park, with the best shredded pork in sweet bean sauce. They always offer equally delicious veggetable dishes.
Besides julienned scallions (white portion only), maybe some julienned cucumber would be a good addition.
Delicious! I was shocked to find that I love this dish more than the Beijing Fried Sauce Noodles. Bonus – super easy!
I couldn’t agree with you more, Angela! Thank you so much for your comment.
will the unused bean sauce keep in the refigerator?
Yes, it will, Joe!
Thank you very much for this recipe ! It’s a delicious dish , we feasted !
Triumph! Love it!
Hello,
I’m not a huge fan of pork. Which would be the next best thing to use instead?
Flank steak would be a good substitute.
Thanks!
Yumolicious!!! And easy, always a good combo.
I had a lot more sauce than expected, almost (but not quite) like a soup. Not sure where I went wrong, but don’t care. It was fabulous.
Hi Okiegirl, sounds like you need to cook the sauce longer and let it reduce more using higher heat. I am sure you will get it right next time!
Thank you, Judy! I’ll keep that in mind next time I make this (and there WILL be a next time).
Ha! Had the leftovers over noodles today for lunch. The noodles soaked up all that extra sauce and it was great. Maybe not traditional, but great nonetheless.
Hi Judy, did you try the Beijing Fried Sauce Noodle recipe? You will love it if you like this recipe.