Pork Tongue Stir-Fry with Green Beans, Ginger, and Garlic

Pork Tongue Stir-Fry was inspired during a homeschool block on Ancient China with my 6^th grader and reminiscing about my own experiences.  My dad loved Chinese food (as American as it may have been) and my mom took Chinese cooking classes when I was young.  I remember the dragon from Chinese New Year’s parades in San Francisco’s Chinatown, and the inside of urban markets where she would scour for ingredients.

Annually, my extended family always ate at a Chinese restaurant near my grandparent’s home on American New Year’s Day. I loved the festive red and gold décor, goofing off with my cousins, and, of course, the lazy susan!  It’s no wonder that a culture that values having ‘four generations under one roof’ for the holidays would have a table large enough for my extended family to come together.

And while I did not appreciate the entirety of the experience at the time, one of my three dorm roommates in my grad school was Chinese.  I do remember that she rarely ate out and that she dutifully started every dish of fresh greens or meat with a healthy dose of ginger and garlic.  At that time, I didn’t have the insight to pester her about potential organs she may have consumed growing up – what a shame!

Local farmers and pork organs

In the meantime, I’ve noticed that farmers on Weston A Price Farmer Resource Lists tend to have healthy demand for organ meats.  Other pastured farmers, however, tend to have freezers full of offal – at bargain prices, sadly waiting to be truly appreciated.

Serendipitously, I found a new local farmer at a farmers market this past summer.  I offered to purchase much of their offal over the winter and he challenged me to take some pork organs.

Yes, of course! I started off easy and ordered a couple of hearts and tongues.  Similar to carnitas, but as a whole cut, I braised the hearts in the same pot as a bone-in pork shoulder.  In the end, each serving of shoulder was served with a slice of heart as well, to boost nutrient density and add diversity to our diet.

Cut tongues in thirds, then in slices

For the tongues… truthfully, I had no idea what I was going to do! After defrosting them, I salted them and soaked them in vinegar. (It’s a good habit to soak pork in an acid before cooking.)  I poached and peeled them.  (Confession: my 7 year old peeled them for me.) At this point, you can reserve them in their broth (from poaching) for a few days in the fridge, and I intended to do exactly that. Unfortunately, my library of cookbooks and clipped recipes remains tucked away in a storage locker for the time being, so I was going to have to come up with something on my own.

Pork Tongue Stir-Fry

In any case, inspired by our studies in Ancient China, I decided to recreate an old favorite of mine.  In the early 2000s, I dutifully cooked many recipes from my then-subscription to Cooks Illustrated, where this recipe originated. That version calls for pork tenderloin cut into strips.  Tongue is more tender and more flavorful.  It works beautifully.

Next, I made some adjustments to simplify ingredients and use what I had on hand.  First, I substituted fish sauce, which I had at home for the oyster sauce, but feel free to use oyster if you have it. Second, in the absence of sherry, I found sweetness from two other sources.  In the marinade, I used coconut aminos instead of sherry and soy sauce.  And in the final sauce, I used just a teaspoon of honey instead of a tablespoon of sherry.  Third, I substituted arrowroot in place of cornstarch, which I consider equivalent. In combination with a gelatinous broth, the sauce firmed up well. Lastly, I added mushrooms because I love them.

As a final note, this is a high-temperature stir-fry and it goes pretty quickly.  Everything needs to be prepped in advance.  This includes the sauce, ginger, garlic and all the vegetables.  Be sure to stay focused and don’t step away once you’ve started the stir-fry!

In conclusion, bring this into your own home; it’s worth it! Pork Tongue Stir-Fry will surely have a repeat appearance in ours. Delightfully, this recipe even landed a mention in our weekly appreciation jar from one of the kids. Success!

Pork Tongue Stir-Fry with Green Beans, Ginger, and Garlic

December 3, 2021

by Janine Farzin

Cuisine Asian

Category Tongue

Persons

6

Prep Time

2 hours, 20 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Total Time

2 hours, 40 minutes

Notes

Tongue can be salted, poached, and peeled up to 3 days in advance and stored in the fridge in its own broth.

Ingredients

For the tongue

• 1.25 lb (~2-3) pork tongues
• 1/2 c apple cider or white vinegar
• salt
• 1/4 c coconut aminos

For the sauce

• 1/2 c chicken or pork broth
• 1 t honey
• 2 1/2 T fish sauce
• 2 t toasted sesame oil
• 1 t white vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)
• 1/4 t ground pepper
• 1 T arrowroot

For the stir-fry

• lard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2" thumb of ginger, grated
• 1 lb green beans
• 1 small bell pepper
• 6.5 oz can (organic) cremini mushrooms (optional)
• 2-3 green onions, chopped

Instructions

For the tongue

1. In advance, add the tongues to a medium sized bowl, rub a teaspoon salt over each tongue, and add vinegar. Cover bowl and leave overnight in the fridge, turning a few times in the vinegar.
2. The following day, drain the tongues and place in a medium to large pot. Fill with enough water to cover the tongues by at least two inches and bring to a boil. Next, cover pot and reduce heat so that it maintains a rolling simmer (~3 on my electric range). Simmer for 1-2 hours, or until a fork can prick the tongue and come out easily. Reserve the broth while you remove tongues to a plate. While still warm, peel the skin off of the tongue. Finally, place peeled tongues in a storage container (if not using immediately) and cover with reserved broth. Store for up to 3 days.

To prepare for the stir-fry

1. To start, drain tongue and cut into 1/4" slices. Then, cut slices into strips, to pair well in size with the green beans. Next, place tongue strips into bowl and add coconut aminos. Turn with a spoon several times until all the slices are well-coated. Reserve.
2. To prepare the sauce, combine broth, honey, fish sauce, toasted sesame oil, white (or rice wine) vinegar, ground pepper, and arrowroot in a small pot. Subsequently, heat on low until warm enough to combine all ingredients (especially gelatinous broth and honey). Once mixed, turn off heat and reserve.
3. Be sure to prep remaining ingredients before you begin the stir-fry, as it goes quickly! Grate ginger; dice garlic; trim ends and cut green beans into 2" pieces; thinly slice bell pepper (to width of green beans) and cut into 1 1/2 -2" pieces; drain can of mushrooms.

To stir-fry

1. First, add a spoonful of lard and heat pan on high heat until lard is shimmering. Meanwhile, drain excess coconut aminos and add half of the tongue slices to pan; cook for 2-3 minutes until browned on one side. Transfer to a medium bowl. Subsequently, repeat with remaining pork slices.
2. Next, add a spoonful of lard to the now-empty pan and add half the green beans. Cook for about 5 minutes, shaking or stirring occasionally until they have brown spots and are lightly cooked. Transfer green beans to bowl with pork. Repeat with remaining green beans.
3. Next, add a spoonful of lard to the pan and add bell pepper slices. Cook for about 2 minutes until peppers are softening with brown spots. Push pepper to sides of pan and add grated ginger and diced garlic to center of pan. Allow to cook for about 30-45 seconds, or until fragrant.
4. Finally, add pork, green beans and can of mushrooms back to pan and mix all together for just a minute. Next, whisk sauce well so all ingredients are mixed again and pour contents into pan. Continue cooking on high heat for another minute or two until sauce thickens and all the ingredients are warm and coated with sauce. Lastly, garnish with chopped green onion and serve right away!

Tags

China,

Cooks Illustrated,

farmers market,

homeschool,

New Year's Day,

San Francisco

https://offallygoodcooking.com/pork-tongue-stir-fry/