Shredded Pork & Peppers (Qing Jiao Rou Si)

The story

Every Chinese household has a version of this — it is the default "there is meat and there are vegetables" dinner. Freezing the pork for 20 minutes makes hand-cutting strips trivial; even easier, ask the butcher for pork cutlets and slice.

Ingredients (5 + pantry staples)

• Pork shoulder or loin — 10 oz / 300 g, sliced thin into strips
• Green bell peppers (or Anaheim) — 3, sliced
• Soy sauce — 1.5 tbsp
• Cornstarch — 1 tsp (velvet the pork)
• Garlic — 2 cloves, sliced

Pantry staples used (don't count toward the 6): salt, sugar (pinch), cooking oil. Not stocked yet? See the pantry page.

Steps

1. Toss pork with 1 tsp soy, cornstarch and 1 tsp water; rest 10 minutes.
2. Stir-fry pork in hot oil until no longer pink, 2–3 minutes; remove.
3. Fry peppers and garlic 3 minutes — you want blistered edges. Return pork with remaining soy and a pinch of sugar; toss 1 minute.

Swaps

Chicken thigh strips, ground pork, or firm tofu strips all follow the same timing. Jalapeños if you want Hunan heat.