This cabbage stir fry with pork is a quick and flavorful dish that tastes like your Chinese parents made it. This dish is usually made at home versus buying at a restaurant because the dish is so easy to make and has inexpensive ingredients!
My parents make the Pork and Cabbage Stir Fry, the ‘Cantonese’ way, which means it’s more saucy and less spicy. Compared with the Sichuan version where it has many spicy chilis and is fried in oil only to keep the dish a ‘dry saute.’ Both versions are delicious and remind me the taste of home. If you’re looking for a vegetarian version, check out my Chinese Cabbage Stir Fry recipe.
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Ingredients
Here’s a look at what you need to make this pork and cabbage stir-fry. The highlights are here but the full ingredient list and quantities of each are in the recipe card.
The main ingredients for this dish is Chinese cabbage, pork, and chili oil! If you have these components, the dish will taste delicious! It’s important to use Chinese cabbage because it has tender, milder, and sweeter leaves, making it ideal for stir-fries, soups, and quick-cooking dishes. The Chinese cabbage is also flatter and larger than the regular cabbage that can be purchased from Asian grocery stores like 99 Ranch and H-Mart. Regular green cabbage is firmer, with a stronger, peppery flavor, commonly used in slaws, braises, and dishes requiring longer cooking. I recommend to use a chili oil that is spicy, fragrant and full of umami like our homemade chili oil for purchase!
Substitutions and Variations
- Switch up the protein by adding sliced chicken or scrambled eggs. The fattiness of the pork tastes delicious with the cabbage in my opinion but can be easily swapped out. You can also use leaner pork!
- If you can’t find Chinese cabbage in your local store, green cabbage or purple cabbage works too. If it’s purple, just be prepared for the dish to be blue ◡̈
- If you don’t have the Shaoxing cooking wine, you can use dry sherry. If you’re not a fan of the alcohol, you can also omit it.
How to Make Pork and Cabbage Stir Fry
Step 1: Prepare your stir fry ingredients. Chop your cabbage or tear it with your hands (traditional way).
Step 2: Mince garlic and ginger. I am using pre-sliced pork belly but if you bought it whole, slice your pork belly thinly.
Step 3: Heat pan on medium-high heat. When it is hot, add your oil, pork belly, garlic and ginger. Stir for a minute.
Step 4: Add salt, sugar and your cooking wine (optional). Mix together.
Step 5: Then add your cabbage, chili oil, soy sauce, and Chinese black vinegar.
Step 6: Mix everything together and cook for 5 minutes or until your cabbage reaches your desired tenderness. I like mine medium crispy and soft. If you like it crispy, cook for 3 minutes.
Expert Tips
- Don’t cook the cabbage too long or else the cabbage will get wilted and soggy. The texture is up to you, but we prefer that cabbage has a nice tenderness to it.
- Make sure the pan or wok is in high heat! The high heat flavor known as ‘wok hei’ provides a nice smokiness to the dish.
- Use a good chili oil! The chili oil flavor makes a difference in the sauce and adds lots of umami flavor to the cabbage.
Recipe FAQs
This dish is traditionally served with hot white rice. The sauce soaks up the delicious flavor and is the perfect combination. If you want more Chinese side dishes, check out Chinese Stuffed Tofu, Steamed Eggplant with Garlic, and Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry.
The best cut is pork belly in my opinion because the fat can make the cabbage really soft and juicy. You can use pork loin for this dish.
Yes you can! Just omit the pork and the dish will be vegetarian. You can replace the pork with egg or tofu too!
Check Out More Chinese Recipes
- Stir Fried Chinese Green Beans – the spicy and savory aroma of the stir fried green beans is so fragrant that 1 bowl of rice would not be enough!
- Chinese Scrambled Eggs with BBQ Pork – a quick and delicious dish that takes less than 10 minutes to make.
- Shanghai Rice Cakes – made with a sweet and savory sauce cooked with shiitake mushrooms, ground pork, bok choy, and cabbage.
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Pork and Cabbage Stir Fry
Ingredients
- ½ chinese cabbage (1 lb) torn in small pieces
- 1 ginger minced
- 5 garlic minced
- ¼ pound pork belly thinly sliced
- ½ tablespoon avocado oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing cooking wine (optional)
- 1 tablespoon chili oil
- ½ tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
- Prepare your stir fry ingredients. Chop your cabbage or tear it with your hands (traditional way).
- Mince garlic and ginger. I am using pre-sliced pork belly but if you bought it whole, slice your pork belly thinly.
- Heat pan on medium-high heat. When it is hot, add your oil, pork belly, garlic and ginger. Stir for a minute.
- Add salt, sugar and your cooking wine (optional). Mix together.
- Then add your cabbage, chili oil, soy sauce, and Chinese black vinegar.
- Mix everything together and cook for 5 minutes or until your cabbage reaches your desired tenderness. I like mine medium crispy and soft. If you like it crispy, cook for 3 mintues.
Notes
- Don’t cook the cabbage too long or else the cabbage will get wilted and soggy. The texture is up to you, but we prefer that cabbage has a nice tenderness to it.
- Make sure the pan or wok is in high heat! The high heat flavor known as ‘wok hei’ provides a nice smokiness to the dish.
- Use a good chili oil! The chili oil flavor makes a difference in the sauce and adds lots of umami flavor to the cabbage.
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