Qingjiao Rousi

the everyday Chinese stir-fry of green pepper and pork slivers: velveted pork seared fast and tossed with matchsticks of sweet pepper in a light savoury sauce

Origin: China

From the journey of Bell Pepper.

Qingjiao rousi, green pepper and pork slivers, is one of the true staples of the everyday Chinese kitchen, found in home cooking, canteens, and small restaurants across the north and centre of the country, and it is often among the first stir-fries a Chinese cook learns. Capsicum reached China with Portuguese maritime trade in the later sixteenth century and was seized upon first as a spice, remaking the cooking of Sichuan and Hunan; the thick-walled sweet pepper arrived much later and by an entirely different logic, entering as a vegetable rather than a seasoning. It proved perfectly suited to the wok: cut into slivers it holds its shape and its snap under fierce heat, gives off little water, and takes the smoky char of the pan without collapsing. The dish depends on two techniques rather than on any elaborate seasoning. The first is the knife: pork and pepper are cut into matchsticks of the same size, so that they cook in the same instant and can be picked up together with chopsticks. The second is velveting, the marinating of the pork in cornflour, rice wine, and soy, which sheathes each sliver in a film that keeps it tender through the heat. The seasoning is deliberately restrained, since the point is the freshness of the pepper.

Ingredients

Pork

  • 350 g pork loin or shoulder, cut into fine matchsticks

Marinade

  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp water

Stir-Fry

  • 3 whole green bell peppers, deseeded and cut into fine matchsticks
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
  • 15 g fresh ginger, finely shredded
  • 3 tbsp neutral oil

Sauce

  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 0.5 tsp salt, or to taste
  • 2 tbsp chicken stock or water

Method

  1. Cut the pork into fine, even matchsticks, slicing across the grain, and mix with the marinade ingredients, working the water in first until the meat absorbs it, then the cornflour and oil. Leave for 20 minutes.
  2. Cut the peppers into matchsticks of the same length and thickness as the pork. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set everything within reach of the stove.
  3. Heat a wok over the highest heat until it smokes, add 2 tbsp of the oil, and swirl to coat. Add the pork, spread it in a single layer, leave for 20 seconds to sear, then stir-fry briskly for about 1 minute until it has just lost its pinkness. Tip out onto a plate.
  4. Add the last tablespoon of oil, then the garlic and ginger for a few seconds until fragrant, then the pepper matchsticks. Stir-fry hard for 1½ to 2 minutes, until the peppers are blistered in places but still crisp.
  5. Return the pork to the wok, pour the sauce down the side of the pan, and toss everything together for 30 to 45 seconds until the sauce coats and glosses. Serve at once with steamed rice.

Notes

The dish is made across China with local variations: in the north with a little more dark soy for colour, in Hunan and Sichuan with a spoonful of fermented black beans, doubanjiang, or fresh hot chillies alongside the sweet pepper. Beef, chicken, or firm tofu can replace the pork by the same method. Some cooks blister the peppers dry in the wok first, without oil, which drives off water and deepens the flavour, then set them aside as the pork is cooked. Serve with plain rice and a simple soup.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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