Stir-Fried Pork and Pickled Watermelon Rind

I love the combination of sweet and sour. The taste buds see-saw back and forth between the sweet and the acidic before coming together to create a harmonious balance. The Chinese certainly aren't afraid of mixing together opposing flavours. Bitter and salty. Salty and sweet. And of course, sweet and sour.



I made a batch of pickled watermelon rinds late last summer and was delighted to come across a jar, forgotten, in the back of my fridge. They were still edible (yeah!), still crunchy (double yeah!), and delicious after having a whole year to soak up the flavours of the spiced pickling liquid. I couldn't wait to stir-fry these with some pork.

It's not very common to stir-fry with pickled watermelon rinds, although my mom has made it once or twice in my recollection when we had some on hand. More commonly though, a dish like this is made with pickled ginger or preserved mustard greens. However, give it a whirl if you do have some pickled watermelon rinds on hand. It gives the same sweet and sour effect, and the slight crunchiness from the rinds adds some great textural elements to the dish overall. It's a surprisingly delicious dish, and the sauce is fabulous drizzled over steamed rice.



Stir-Fried Pork and Pickled Watermelon Rind
Serves 2 to 3

For the marinade:
150 to 200 g pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Shaoxing cooking wine
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup pickled watermelon rind, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of the pickling liquid
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
1 dried red chillies
2 stalks green onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon oyster sauce

Combine the sliced pork and marinade ingredients in a small, non-reactive bowl. Set aside and allow to marinade for half an hour.

Heat some oil over medium heat in a wok or a saute pan until hot, then add the sliced garlic and dried red chilli, breaking it apart as you at it to the pan. Cook until fragrant and the garlic begins to brown, about 30 seconds. Add the marinaded pork and continue to cook until the pork is just about cooked through.

Add the fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, pickling liquid and pickled watermelon rind and stir to combine. Allow the rinds to just warm up and the sauce to thicken. Stir through the green onions and turn off the heat. Serve immediately with steamed rice.