Spicy Ground Pork and Cucumber Stir-Fry is another delicious recipe to have on hand when the garden is popping. One can only make so many pickles!
Spicy Ground Pork and Cucumber Stir-Fry is very tasty. But I think this dish is a treat for the eyes as much as it is for the palate! Capriciously peeling the cucumbers, leaving stripes of dark green, makes it so pretty. The peel provides fiber and nutrients, so that’s good too! The cucumbers we buy at the grocery store are usually waxed, so they wouldn’t be appropriate in this dish, unless you know of some way to completely remove the wax before you peel the cucumbers. I just recommend going to the farmer’s market for your cucumbers, which makes this a seasonal dish.
Sweating the cucumbers pulls out a lot of the moisture, so when you stir-fry them, they become silky, yet they retain their firmness. The pork provides umami and a satisfying mouthfeel. The sauce is minimal, just enough to coat the cucumbers and pork, but it is an essential element of this dish. I serve condiments alongside Spicy Ground Pork and Cucumber Stir-Fry in case someone is looking for a little somethin’, somethin’ extra – tasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, more tamari. This dish is more that the sum of its parts. Enjoy!
Spicy Ground Pork and Cucumber Stir-Fry
Equipment
- large wok
Ingredients
Stir-Fry
- 2 pounds garden-fresh cucumbers
- 2 t kosher salt
- 8 cloves garlic
- 4 scallions
- 1 t crushed red pepper flakes
Marinated Pork
- 1 t tamari
- 1 t dry white wine
- 1 t olive oil
- 1 t fish sauce
- 1 t cornstarch
- 1 pound ground pork
Sauce
- 1 T water
- 1 T rice wine vinegar
- 1 T tamari
- 2 t toasted sesame oil
- 1 t cornstarch
Instructions
- Prep the cucumbers – Trim the cucumbers by slicing off the ends and peeling lengthwise, leaving stripes of cucumber skin. Cut the cucumbers in half vertically, and scoop out the seeds. Place the cucumbers cut-side down and slice across each half, angling your knife by about 30 degrees so that the slices are on the bias, creating more surface area.
- Prep the aromatics – Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Trim the scallions and separate the white from the green parts. Slice the white parts across and set aside. Slice the scallion greens diagonally into 1-inch pieces and set aside.
- Marinate the pork – In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 teaspoon each of tamari, wine, oil, fish sauce and cornstarch. Then add the pork and stir gently to distribute the marinade through the pork. Refrigerate for no less than 30 minutes.
- Make the sauce and drain the cucumbers – In a small bowl, whisk together 1 T water, 1 T rice vinegar, 1 T tamari, 2 teaspoons sesame oil and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Set aside. Rinse the cucumbers under cold water. Drain well, and pat dry.
- Stir-fry – Heat the wok until it's smoking hot, then add 1 t oil. Add the pork, spreading it out and patting it down with your spatula. Let it cook, undisturbed, for a minute or so, creating some crispy edges. Then break it into pieces and continue cooking until the meat is no longer pink. Remove from the wok. Add the garlic and white parts of the scallions and stir-fry for about 30 senconds. Add the cucumbers and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Return the pork to the wok and pour in the sauce. Continue cooking and stirring until the cucumbers are coated and glossy, just a minute or two.
- Finish – Remove from the heat and garnish with crushed red pepper flakes and scallion greens. Serve with rice.
If you don’t have fresh cucumbers and you’re looking for inspiration for other stir-fry dishes to try, check out my Stir-Fry Variations Page.
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