Sichuan Pork & Greens

Sichuan Pork & Greens
Sichuan Pork & Greens
5 from 1 vote
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Sichuan Pork & Greens

This is the type of simple meal my Irishman and I love to have for weeknight dinners. It’s simple. It’s packed with flavour and there are loads of veggies and protein.


Plus it all cooks quickly in one pot so the clean up is speedy as well.


If you don't have Sichuan peppercorns, see the variations below for alternatives.


However they are a really unique ingredient and worth tracking down. I love how they give little tingly bursts of flavour on your tongue as you eat them.


A wake-up call for your taste buds!

Course Dinner
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword dinner, greens, pork, recipe, sichuan, simple
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  • 1 large bunch chard, sliver beet, kale or other greens
  • 450 g (1lb) pork mince
  • 3 tablespoons each soy sauce and water
  • 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
  • large handful roasted cashews to serve
  • chilli oil or chilli salt to serve

Instructions

  1. If using chard or silver beet, finely slice stems and coarsley chop the leaves, keeping the stems separate. If using kale, spinach or other greens just coarsely chop everything.
  2. Heat a large pot on a medium high heat. Add a good glug of oil and chard / silverbeet stems and cook, covered until starting to soften – about 5 minutes. Skip this step if using other greens.
  3. If using other greens, heat a large pot on a high heat and add a little oil and pork. If you’re cooking the stems, increase the heat to high and add the pork.
  4. Stir fry until pork is no longer pink and cooked through. Add soy sauce, water and sichuan peppercorns and then add the chopped green leaves. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring every now and then. You’re waiting until the greens are just cooked through.
  5. Taste and season with a little more soy sauce, if needed. Divide between two bowls and top with cashews and serve chilli oil / chilli salt for everyone to add their own at the table.

Recipe Video

WINE MATCH: A crisp riesling or sauvignon blanc or a glass of pinot noir.

Variations & Substitutions

no sichuan peppercorns – just use regular black pepper. It won’t have the same tang but will still be delicious!

Short on time – Use frozen greens. Make sure you defrost them first and squeeze out the extra moisture.

vegetarian / vegan – replace pork with cooked lentils or chickpeas.

more substantial (carb lovers) – serve with steamed rice or rice noodles

more substantial (low carb) – extra cashews or serve with cauliflower ‘rice’.

more flavour – feel free to add minced garlic and/or grated ginger with the pork.

Low FODMAP – use roast peanuts or other low FODMAP nuts instead of the cashews

family-friendly – For my green-phobic boys, I cook the pork in the soy sauce and Sichuan then keep it separately for them to have with rice and a very small amount of the greens.

different veg – the pork also works really well with broccoli or green beans – they’ll just take a little longer to cook than the greens.

different meat – any minced (ground) meat will work. Chicken or turkey are the most similar but beef or lamb are also lovely with the Sichuan tang

Waste Avoidance Strategy

chard, sliver beet, kale or other greens – will keep in the fridge in a plastic bag for at least 2 weeks. Can be frozen both cooked or raw.

pork mince – freeze it.

chilli-salt / roasted cashews / Sichuan peppercorns / soy sauce – keep them in the pantry.

Prepare Ahead

Yes! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the cashews and chilli oil / chilli salt separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, warm in a pan or wok with a little oil.

Sichuan Pork & Greens

More Simple Chinese Dinner Recipes

Have fun in the kitchen!

With love,
Jules x

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10 Comments

  • Sounds like a really good idea. I usually cook a shoulder chop and cut it into bite size pieces and then cook the greens separately. Have to try it this way – the ground pork seems like an easy one.

    What is it with kids and green food?

    • Pork shoulder would be lovely as well Miriam!

      I think there must be an evolutionary component to the green food aversion – just haven’t figured out what that is yet!

      JX

      • We started early with the girls, the oldest was on solid adult foods (well cooked and cooled) at about 9 months. The youngest was a bit older and although we didn’t force them to eat them all, they had to take one bite. They say they don’t like it, but at the same time, they’ve not tried it! 9 yr old granddaughter loves her greens, she’s not crazy about carrots though…lol

    • OMG Dimitris!

      I can’t believe I forgot to mention that important detail!

      Just use regular black pepper. It won’t have the same tang but will still be delicious!

      Thanks for asking :)

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