Have you ever bought a tub of miso to make miso soup, only to use only a little bit of it and not know what to do with the rest? Here is my porky miso stir-fry recipe.
Instead of a regular teriyaki sauce, this method introduces an additional ingredient, miso, to give a lighter colour but deeper aroma while still yielding a fast cook time. It’s a small adjustment to a household weeknight dish that goes great with rice and steamed vegetables on the side.
The vegetables I used today were pretty mild, and they love to absorb oil, so this was a more fattening version. One can always substitute with bold, micronutrient-rich vegetables such as bell pepper or dark greens. For a more crunchy texture, one can add carrot or any sort of cabbage.
One can also, of course, use a different sort of meat or tofu. But then, it wouldn’t be packed with juicy, piggy flavour; therefore, it couldn’t be called porky miso stir-fry.
Glistening Porky Miso Stir-Fry Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons miso paste
1 teaspoon sugar (white sugar)
2 teaspoons soy sauce- 2 tablespoons sake
- 1 teaspoon mirin
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium red chili (red chilli in British English) - dried
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 teaspoon ginger - grated
600 grams ground pork (minced pork)
4 small button mushrooms - sliced- 2 cups brocolli
2 large zucchini - quartered lengthwise and cut into bite-size chunks
Instructions
- Mix the miso, sugar, soy, and sake in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large pan or wok over medium-high heat, fry the chilli, garlic, and ginger in oil for 30 seconds.
- Add the pork and break it into small chunks using your spoon or spatula. Fry and constantly stir until pork is cooked. I like to fry it for a longer time until it is nicely browned after the water content has evaporated, the fats have rendered, and the sugar has caramelized the sweet, sweet meat.
- Add mushrooms, broccoli and zucchini, then turn the heat down to medium. Continue to stir-fry until vegetables are tender, about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Like a bay leaf, remove the dried chilli. It probably won’t be tender enough to be pleasant to eat.
- Add the miso mixture to the stir-fry and cook for another 2 minutes. If the sauce gets too thick, add a bit of water.
- Serve hot with rice. My default at home is a brown basmati rice.
