• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Devour.Asia

Devour.Asia

Connie Veneracion explores Asian food, history and culture

  • Tea
  • Kitchen Tales
    • Pantry Staples
    • Kitchen Tools
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Food Trivia
  • Food Tales
  • Travel Tales
  • Search

  • All Recipes
    • Chinese
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Taiwanese
    • Thai
    • Vietnamese
    • Asian Fusion
    • Instant Noodles (Ramen)
  • Tea
  • Kitchen Tales
    • Pantry Staples
    • Kitchen Tools
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Food Trivia
  • Food Tales
  • Travel Tales
  • Pop Tales
  • About
  • Privacy
  • All Recipes
  • Chinese
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Taiwanese
  • Thai
  • Vietnamese
  • Fusion
You are here: Home / All Recipes / Cucumber and Ground Pork Stir Fry

Cucumber and Ground Pork Stir Fry

Connie Veneracion
Cucumbers in a stir fry? Surprising, isn’t it? But, yes, it works.
Draw out the excess liquid from the cucumber by tossing it with salt and letting it sit for 30 minutes. Squeeze and its ready for cooking chili ground pork and cucumber stir fry. 
Salty meat, sweet cucumber slices, heat from the chilies and a thickish sauce. It’s so simple to make but the combination of spices and seasonings will make you feel there’s a celebration going on inside your mouth.
Cucumber and Ground Pork Stir Fry in a Serving Bowl
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Soaking and marinating time 30 mins
Total Time 50 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 3 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large cucumber
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ kilogram ground pork with at least 20% fat for best results
  • 2 bird’s eye chilies
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 half-inch knob ginger
  • 1 shallot
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce divided
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine (I used mirin)
  • ¼ teaspoon sesame seed oil
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • ½ cup bone broth
  • 1 teaspoon tapioca starch or corn starch

Instructions
 

  • Peel the cucumber in portions (optional), cut in half lengthwise and scrape off the seeds.
  • Cut the cucumber into half-inch slices, place in a bowl and sprinkle in the salt. Toss thoroughly. Cover the bowl and leave the cucumber slices to soak for 30 minutes.
  • Place the ground pork in a bowl.
  • Take one chili, finely chop and add to the pork.
  • Finely slice the other chili and set aside.
  • Peel and mince the garlic. Add to the pork.
  • Peel and grate the ginger. Add to the pork.
  • Peel the shallot and cut into two. Finely chop one portion and add to the pork. Thinly slice the remaining half and set aside.
  • To the pork and spices in the bowl, add one teaspoon soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine and sesame seed oil. Mix well. Cover the bowl and marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  • When the soaking time for the cucumber slices is up, strain then squeeze out as much liquid as you can without breaking the cucumber slices.
  • In a small bowl, stir together the bone broth, the remaining soy sauce and starch.
  • Heat the cooking oil in a wok (this is stir frying so keep the heat on high at all times). Swirl the wok to coat as much surface as possible.
  • Spread the marinated ground pork on the hot oil. Do not disturb for about half a minute. Then, stir to break up lumps. Stir fry the pork until lightly browned.
  • Add the reserved shallot to the pork. Continue stir frying until the shallot slices are limp.
  • Add the cucumber slices to the pork and stir fry for half a minute.
  • Stir the broth-starch solution again to make sure that the starch has not settled in the bottom of the bowl. Pour into the wok, stirring to incorporate. Continue cooking until the sauce is thick and clear.
  • Transfer the cucumber and ground pork stir fry to a serving platter. Garnish with the reserved chili. Serve at once. Best with rice.

Notes

Cucumber and Ground Pork Stir Fry
Updated from a recipe originally published in 1/17/2018
Keyword Pork, Stir Fry
Looking for Filipino food?Visit CASA Veneracion for modern twists on favorite classics!

If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.

More Chinese food
How to cook Ma Po eggplant

Ma Po Eggplant

Poached Chicken in Sichuan Chili Oil Sauce

Poached Chicken in Sichuan Chili Oil Sauce

Chinese Red-braised Pork Belly (Hong Shao Rou) Sprinkled with Scallions and Sesame Seeds

Chinese Red-braised Pork Belly (Hong Shao Rou)

Inside my Asian kitchen

Pizza crust wrapped around rolling pin

How to Transfer Rolled Pie Crust into the Baking Pan Without Breaking It

Beef shigureni topped with toasted sesame seeds, served with rice, lettuce and egg

Is Shigureni Sauce the Same as Teriyaki Sauce?

Slices of kalabasa (squash)

Is Kalabasa (Calabaza) a Pumpkin?

Asian food tales

From Port Klang to Kuala Lumpur

Roast Duck, Pork Face and Tea at Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown

Khao lam (sweet sticky rice in bamboo; this version with black beans) from Warorot Market in Chiang Mai

Sweet Sticky Rice in Bamboo (Khao Lam)

Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong, Day 1: Shopping and Dining

Explore Asia

Cagsawa Ruins in Albay: walls that survived the volcano eruption

There is More to the Cagsawa (Cagsaua) Ruins than the Bell Tower

In Jiufen, Gazing at the Breathtaking View While Sipping Tea and Nibbling at Cakes at Amei Tea House

Beef pho for breakfast, Hanoi View 2 Hotel

Where We Stayed in Hanoi

July 16, 2020 : All Recipes, Cooking Chinese
Previous Post: « Top View of Chinese Scrambled Eggs With Tomatoes on Plate Chinese Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes
Next Post: Braised Pork in Soy Sauce (Tau Yew Bak) Braised pork in soy sauce served in clay pot »

Sidebar

Asian Pop Tales

Cutting scallions with scissors in "Always Be My Maybe" | Image credit: Netflix

Kimchi-jjigae and Asian-Americans in “Always Be My Maybe”

Scene from Samurai Gourmet | Image credit: Netflix

“Samurai Gourmet”

"Giri/Haji" | Image credit: Netflix

“Giri / Haji”: Masterful Storytelling, Stunning Visuals and Brilliant Acting

  • About
  • Privacy & Usage
  • Full Archive

Everything © Connie Veneracion. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.