Crispy Pork Belly Stir Fry

Grandma’s Crispy Pork Belly Stir Fry is a weeknight regular! It uses leftover roast pork for a terrifically easy side dish. Made with classic Asian greens, the vegetables can be easily swapped for your favorites!

A heartfelt treasure

This Crispy Pork Belly Stir Fry holds a truly special place in my heart. It’s the first recipe I ever made with Grandma when I set out to learn how to cook. If I flip to the very very beginning of my recipe book, it starts with this very dish.

Of course, ‘learning’ actually meant instructing then taking over when Grandma believed I wasn’t doing things correctly (which was 99.9% of the time).

While it may have been hard for her to understand that I needed to cook the recipe myself to learn, over the next few years of following her, I came to an understanding:

Every instruction, every lecture, every ‘let me do it’ was out of love. To a Chinese-Vietnamese Grandma, that was her way of showing that she cared.

You don’t let your grandchild fail when you can show them how to do it correctly.

These days, it’s a little different. Grandma doesn’t make the rarer dishes like her Steamed Pork Belly with Salted Radish or her Pig Stomach Soup with Peppercorns anymore.

Maybe she just likes to stick to the simpler dishes. Maybe it has to do with her getting older. But whenever she makes her Crispy Pork Belly Stir Fry, I KNOW I’m in for a treat.

Sentimental value or not, this is a winning weeknight dish. Leafy greens soak up every drop of flavor while remaining snap crunchy, the pork is beautifully succulent and it’s a foodie’s dream over a bed of hot steaming rice!

Which vegetables to use

For this recipe, Grandma has always used ‘jook choy’, which comes from the mustard greens family. There are many variations based on size but we love it for its texture and length.

It’s one of those Goldilocks moments where it’s not too tough and not too soft. Jook choy for this side dish is just right.

But as with any stir fry, the world is really your oyster. You can keep it green or add in other colored vegetables. Here are some options that will work well when cooked on a high heat:

• Chinese broccoli (gai lan)
• Bok choy
• Mustard Greens
• Broccoli
• Green beans
• String beans
• Sugar snap peas
• Capsicum
• Carrots
• Baby corn

Just keep in mind that every vegetable will soften at different temperatures, so keep an eye on them as they cook!

Why this recipe works

• Using roast pork belly adds extra flavor so you can go lighter on the seasoning.
• Crunchy vegetables means great texture with every mouthful.
• Stir frying the greens and meat separately at first

What you’ll need

About the ingredients

We get the crispy pork belly 燒肉 (pronounced ‘siu yuhk’ in Cantonese) from our local Chinese roast BBQ shop and ask for it to be cut up in to pieces for us. You can get any favorite roast pork or make your own.

How to make this recipe

Preparing the greens

Prepare the jook coy by separating each stem. Slide small a knife through the bottom of the stems and tear it off.

Rip off the tips of the leaves as they are usually the hardest part of the leaf and remove any holes or discolorations.

You’ll also find that the outer skin is rather tough, so make an incision at the base of the stem roughly 2mm (0.08″) from the outer skin and press that between the knife and your index finger. Then slowly peel the skin away, repeating until all the outside parts are removed.

Note: Doing this will unearth a lighter green stem that is much more tender.

When all the greens are prepared, soak them in cool water with 2 tsp salt for 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly, then repeat in new water. Do this 2-3 times to clean the vegetables well.

Drain and transfer the the greens into a colander to dry.

Cooking the dish

Heat up the wok or pan on a high heat. Once the wok is hot, turn the heat to medium and add half of the cooking oil in. Turn the heat up to high and add the jook choy stems and cook for 2 minutes or until 70% cooked.

Add the leaves in along with the salt. Fold the leaves through the wok to cook evenly and stir fry for another 1 minute or 90% cooked, then transfer into a bowl.

Add the rest of the cooking oil in the wok and add the finely chopped garlic. Let the garlic cook for 20 seconds.

Add the meat in and cook for 30 seconds.

Pour the greens back in along with the chicken bouillon powder and oyster sauce.

Stir fry the ingredients together quickly for 1 minute or until combined, then plate.

Note: To change things up, sometimes we let the ingredients braise by letting it simmer on medium heat for another 10-20 minutes until soft. The flavors will mellow out and be just as tasty.

Serve as is with rice!

Recipe FAQs

Tips for the best results

• Stir fry in smaller batches. Divide the cooking into 3-4 batches to ensure the ingredients are hot enough and do not get a chance to release liquid and boil instead.
• Use Chinese crispy pork. While any type will work, the Cantonese version is already preseasoned with spices that pair well with oyster sauce.
• Choose smaller greens. Grandma always said that the smaller ones were generally younger and less tough than their larger, older counterparts.

What to serve this with

• Braised Chicken Wings and Mushrooms in Oyster Sauce – One of my favorites from Grandma, this comfort food is so simple to make!
• Tomato Tofu with Minced Pork – Enjoy a savory zest with this incredibly easy and budget friendly dish.
• Stir Fried Water Spinach with Fermented Bean Curd (炒腐乳空心菜) – Every feast needs a side of just greens!
• Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil – Drizzle this over everything to give it a spicy kick.
• Lotus Root Soup (蓮藕汤) – Soothing and nutritious, this soup will bring every meal together.
• Chinese Silky Egg Pudding (冰花燉蛋) – Finish off dinner with the silkiest and EASIEST steamed dessert!

Want more home cooked recipes?

Subscribe to our email list and be the first to get recipe updates as soon as they’re posted. You can also follow Wok & Kin on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter!

This post was originally published on 11/7/19 and updated with tips and FAQs in January 2020.

Join the family!