Sichuan Pork & Greens

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

An easy one pot pork and greens stir-fry with soy sauce, tingly Sichuan peppercorns, cashews and chili oil. Ready in about 20 minutes.
Course Dinner
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword dinner, greens, pork, recipe, sichuan, simple
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  • 1 large bunch Swiss chard (silverbeet), kale or other greens
  • 1 lb ground pork 450g
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
  • large handful roasted cashews to serve
  • chili oil or chili salt to serve

Instructions

  1. If using chard, finely slice the stems and coarsely chop the leaves, keeping the stems separate. If using kale, spinach or other greens, just coarsely chop everything.

  2. For chard: heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add a good glug of oil and the chard stems and cook, covered, until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Skip this step if using other greens.

  3. Increase the heat to high (or heat the pot with a little oil if you skipped the stems) and add the pork.

  4. Stir-fry until the pork is no longer pink and is cooked through. Add the soy sauce, water and Sichuan peppercorns, then add the chopped green leaves. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the greens are just cooked through.

  5. Taste and season with a little more soy sauce if needed. Divide between two bowls, top with cashews, and serve chili oil or chili salt 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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I’m Jules Clancy, an Australian Food Scientist and certified Health Coach. Stonesoup (est 2005) helps you lose weight without counting or depriving yourself. So you feel good in your clothes.


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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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