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Garlic scape stir fry with pork is a Chinese homestyle dish that helps you incorporate garlic scapes into your weekday dinner. The crisp garlic scapes are cooked with tender pork in a brown sauce that’s just enough to coat the ingredients. It’s fragrant, rich, and comforting, making it a hearty main dish over steamed rice. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}

Garlic Scape Stir Fry with Pork (蒜苔炒肉丝)

By Maggie Zhu
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 3 to 4
Garlic scape stir fry with pork is a Chinese homestyle dish that helps you incorporate garlic scapes into your weekday dinner. The crisp garlic scapes are cooked with tender pork in a brown sauce that’s just enough to coat the ingredients. It’s fragrant, rich, and comforting, making it a hearty main dish over steamed rice. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
To make the dish gluten-free, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine, and use tamari to replace light and dark soy sauce. Your dish will have a much lighter color if using tamari, since dark soy sauce is the one that adds the dark brown color.

Ingredients

Marinade

  • 6 oz (170 g) pork loin , sliced to 1” (2.5 cm) long 1/4” (5 mm) matchsticks (or tenderloin)
  • 1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
  • 1 teaspoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Sauce

  • 2 teaspoons light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (or regular soy sauce) (*footnote 1)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt (*footnote 2)

Stir fry

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 1 thumb ginger , minced
  • 12 oz (340 g) garlic scapes , sliced into 1” (2.5 cm) pieces (yields 2 1/2 cups once cut)

Instructions

  • Combine the pork, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and peanut oil in a small bowl. Mix well. Add the cornstarch and mix with your fingers to coat the pork evenly.
  • Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
  • Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Spread the pork with as little overlap as possible. Let cook for 1 minute, until the bottom is lightly browned. Flip and stir a few times, until the pork is just cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
  • Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil and the ginger. Stir a few times to release fragrance.
  • Add the garlic scapes. Cook and stir for 2 minutes for Asian garlic scapes, until the garlic scapes start to soften. Cook for a longer time for American garlic scapes (*footnote 3). Taste a piece of garlic scape. It should be starting to turn tender and easy to bite into.
  • Pour the sauce over the garlic scapes. Stir and cook until the garlic scapes have turned tender but are still a bit crisp, or to the degree you prefer, 1 minute or so. Return the pork to the pan and stir a few times to mix everything well, then immediately transfer to a large serving plate. Serve hot as a main dish over steamed rice.

Notes

  1. Dark soy sauce adds a beautiful dark brown color to the dish and a light caramelized taste. If you do not have it, you can replace it with regular soy sauce and add a touch of molasses (a heaping 1/8 teaspoon) if preferred.
  2. Skip the salt if you do not plan to serve this dish with rice.
  3. If using American garlic scapes, you will need a much longer cooking time because their skin is quite thick and tough. My favorite way to cook with American garlic scapes is to splash a tablespoon of Shaoxing wine during the stir fry. The wine will evaporate and lightly steam the garlic scapes, so they cook faster. It also adds a nice aroma to the dish. If you do not wish to use Shaoxing wine, add a splash of broth (chicken or vegetable broth), or a splash of water.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 287kcal, Carbohydrates: 30.8g, Protein: 17.5g, Fat: 11.5g, Saturated Fat: 3.2g, Cholesterol: 34mg, Sodium: 414mg, Potassium: 551mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Calcium: 165mg, Iron: 2mg