Jing Jiang Rou Si 京酱肉丝 – Peking pork stir fry

Jing Jiang Rou Si 京酱肉丝 is a well known stir fry pork dish from Beijing, in fact, the name directly translates to “Peking sauce meat slivers”.

If you’ve ever had Peking duck, then you'll probably know what Jing Jiang Rou Si taste like. They’ve got the same flavour profile of sweet and savoury from the dark sticky sauce. And they are both eaten the same way...wrapped with scallions in pancake and beancurd sheet respectively.

But forget all that! The reason why this is a great recipe is that there are only 2 main ingredients: pork and scallions…making it a goto meal on a week night in my house.

Sweet Bean Paste

I’ve talked about Sweet Bean Paste 甜面酱 in my Pork and Pepper stir fry. Essentially, it is a thick, dark brown condiment made from fermenting wheat flour and soy beans. Packed with sweet and savoury umami tastes, and it is a star player in Jing Jiang Rou Si.

My recommendation is to add this sauce to your kitchen because its universally appealing flavour goes a long way to add oomph to any stir fry.

The scallions

The scallions in a Jing Jaing Rou Si are not just for looks. We use a lot of it and in 3 different ways:

1. Distilled in a scallion/ ginger liquid that adds aromatics to the marinating meat.

2. Used as a base as you plate the cooked pork. The thin scallion slivers will impart its oniony fragrance as it wilts under the hot stir fry.

3. Add pop of freshness and crunch as a garnish.

Traditionally, Chinese large scallions are used as the taste is more mild and sweet. But those can be hard to find, so green onions and normal scallions are just as good.

Pro tip

Cut the scallions really thin and long and dunk it into cold water. This way, the scallions perk up and separate nicely. As well, drain really well before plating.

The Pork

Jing Jiang Rou Si is always made with pork. Like most of my other pork stir fries , lean cuts are best for fast cooking because there isn’t time for the fat and connective tissues to breakdown. So use loin or tenderloin of pork or …and don’t tell anyone I said this, but in a pinch, you can also use chicken breast…shhhh.

Accompaniment

In a restaurant, when you oder Jing Jiang Rou Si, you will be served pieces of fresh beancurd sheets to eat with it. What you do is take the sheet and fill it with slivers of pork and scallions and eat it like a taco. It’s a protein packed bite.

At home though, my kids like it on top of white rice or even noodles. I think it’s good every which way.