Sautéed Pork Julienne with Sweet Bean Sauce (京酱肉丝 Jing Jiang Rousi)

Sautéed Pork Julienne with Sweet Bean Sauce (京酱肉丝) (also known as sautéed shredded pork with sweet bean sauce) is a famous Beijing homey dish that is very close to my heart. I’ve had it numerous times growing up in Beijing. When we ate out in local Beijing restaurants, we would either pick Sautéed Pork Julienne with Sweet Bean Sauce or Yuxiang Pork Julienne (鱼香肉丝) (also known as shredded pork with garlic sauce outside of China). They are both delicious with unique flavors. I will cover Yuxiang Pork Julienne in another post.

This dish uses the sweet bean sauce to its fullest. For those who’s never had sweet bean sauce, the sauce is made with mostly fermented wheat flour with a similar appearance to Hoisin sauce. The sweet bean sauce has a mix of sweet and savory taste with an aromatic fragrance. When cooked together with pork julienne, the pork takes on the sauce, creating this succulent tender meat with uniquely sweet and savory flavors.

Traditionally, sautéed shredded pork with sweet bean sauce is eaten along with some green onion whites (大葱白) and wrapped in a tofu skin or sheets (豆腐皮). This is somewhat similar to another famous Beijing dish, Peking Duck. If you can’t find tofu skin, try eating with thin flour tortillas or other pancake-like products. If all else fails, pair it with plain white rice or noodles.

Preparation Time:  25 minutes

Total Time:  40 minutes

Servings: 2-4 people

Ingredients:

Main

• 1/2 lb (~225g) pork tenderloin
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• ~3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
• another 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 2 green onions (white part only)¹
• A few tofu skins/sheets or thin flour tortillas ²

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons sweet bean sauce/sweet flour sauce (甜面酱)³
• 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons water

Preparation:

1. Make the pork julienne first by following step 1-4 from my previous Shredded Pork/Pork Julienne recipe. Reduce the salt for the recipe to 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt (or 1/8 teaspoon of table salt) since sweet bean sauce, which is used here, is quite salty already. Make sure the pork julienne is only cooked to 80% doneness. Set aside.

2. While marinating the pork julienne, prepare the sauce by mixing 2 tablespoons of sweet bean sauce, 1 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine, 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of water.

3. Cut the white part of the scallions into thin slices. Cut the tofu skins into smaller squares. Set aside.

4. Once pork julienne has cooked, heat a skillet or wok under medium-high heat. When the pot is getting warm, add the 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, then pour in the sauce, stirring immediately to prevent burning. Once the sauce looks glossy and starts thickening (about 20 seconds), add the pork julienne, stirring and tossing until all of the pork julienne is well blended with the sauce. Turn off the heat.

5. Transfer the sautéed pork julienne with sweet bean sauce to a large plate. Lay the previously prepared white parts of green onions and tofu skin next to it. When eating, wrap the sauteed pork julienne and sliced green onion whites in a tofu skin and enjoy!

Bon Appétit

Notes:

1. Ideally, this recipe uses the northeast green onions (大葱), which literally translates into “big green onion.” I’m showing a picture here to compare the northeast green onion (大葱) with a regular green onion (小葱). They taste similar. Due to the size of the northeast green onion, it can also be used as leafy vegetable to cook with meat, whereas regular green onion is typically used more as an herb. The white part of the northeast green onion tastes slightly sweet. You can also add/substitute with some thinly sliced cucumbers or carrot sticks.

2. Traditionally, tofu skin or dry tofu sheets is used to wrap the pork julienne with sweet bean sauce. When using tofu skins, I recommend soaking them in hot water for 5 seconds. But if you are outside of Asia, it can be tough to get the tofu skin. I recommend using a thin pancake such as a flour tortilla as alternative . Ultimately, you can pair it with just plain white rice.

3. Sweet Bean Sauce (甜面酱) can be found in most Asian grocery stores. Do not confuse it with another sweet bean sauce made with red beans. If you can’t find sweet bean sauce, you can substitute 2 tablespoons of sweet bean sauce with 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of sugar.

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