Serves 4
My name for the waxed pork used in this dish is New Year pork as it is traditionally only available for sale during the Chinese New Year. There is a shop in Taipei where my parents buy New Year pork. As they sell so much of it during the Chinese New Year period, they only open during that time and are closed for the rest of the year. Waxed pork can be considered the Taiwanese/Chinese equivalent of pancetta and one of our traditional ways of preparing it is to steam cook it with rice. This allows the juices from the pork to be soaked up by the rice, making it super delicious.
INGREDIENT
80 g (24/5 oz) peas
80 g (24/5 oz) carrot, peeled and cut into pea-size cubes
2 Tbsp cooking oil
200 g (7 oz) waxed pork, cut into small cubes
400 g (141/3 oz) cooked white rice, chilled
30 g (1 oz) spring onion, finely chopped
15 g (1/2 oz) garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
Scrambled Egg
3 large eggs
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp cooking oil
HOW TO COOK NEW YEAR PORK FRIED RICE
1. Prepare the scrambled egg. Beat the eggs with the soy sauce and sugar. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat and add the beaten eggs. When the eggs are almost set, use a spatula to scramble it. Dish out and set aside.
2. Boil a small pot of water and cook the peas until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again and set aside. Cook the carrots in the same way.
3. In a clean wok, heat the oil and add the waxed pork. Stir-fry for 3–5 minutes until fragrant.
4. Add the rice and stir-fry to mix. Press down on any lumps to break them up.
5. Add the scrambled egg, spring onion, garlic, peas and carrot. Stir-fry until heated through.
6. Season with soy sauce and pepper and mix well.
7. Dish out. Garnish as desired and serve.
Note: This recipe uses very little light soy sauce and salt as the waxed pork is often quite salty and will provide most of the flavour needed. If waxed pork is not available, pancetta or bacon lardons can be used as a substitute.
