Hakka stir-fry with pork and squid

Here is a traditional Taiwanese Hakka-style stir-fry combining pork belly and squid. It's easy to make and requires the ingredients to be cut thinly before cooking.

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 250 g skinless, boneless pork belly
• 3 sticks dried bean curd (see Note)
• 110 g cleaned squid, tentacles removed (about 300 g uncleaned)
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 piece bruised and finely diced ginger
• 2 tbsp rice wine
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 cup Chinese celery (see Note), cut into 2.5cm stems
• 2 spring onions, cut into 2.5 cm stems

The following recipe has been tested and edited by SBS Food and may differ slightly from the podcast.

Instructions

Cover the pork belly in a pot of cold water, bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Run under cold water to cool. Slice pork thinly into ½ cm slices, about 2-3 cm long. Meanwhile, soak bean curd sticks in boiling water for 10 minutes to soften, drain and cut into 2.5 cm-long pieces. Score the inside of the squid in a diamond pattern and slice into 2 cm-wide strips.

Heat oil in a large wok over medium-high heat until hot. Add the garlic and ginger and stir occasionally until sizzling hot and fragrant. Add the pork and softened bean curd and toss until golden brown. Add the squid, stir, add 125ml (½ cup) water, rice wine and soy sauce and cover to simmer for a few minutes. When the liquid is nearly dry in the wok, add the celery and spring onions. Stir for 1 minute until the vegetables are warmed through but still crisp.

Note

• Dried bean curd sticks and Chinese celery are available to most Chinese food shops and other selected Asian food shops. If Chinese celery is unavailable, cut regular celery into 1 cm-wide strips lengthways, then into 2.5 cm sections.

Photography by Alan Benson. Styling by Michelle Noerianto. Food preparation by Nick Banbury and Cynthia Black.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.