Healthy and Easy Pork Tenderloin Wrap Everyone Will Love
Recipe for the Beginning of Spring solar term (serves 4)
- Text by Jared Pearman
- Photography by Tiana Wang
The Beginning of Spring (February 4 –19) is the first solar term of the year. At this time the winter weather still persists, but beneath the surface the yang energy is becoming stronger and beginning nature’s process of awakening. Leeks, sprouts, and nutrient-rich vegetables wrapped with slightly sautéed pork tenderloin are particularly good for this solar term.
This pork tenderloin wrap are perfect for adding spring sprouts and vegetables to your spring diet. They have a long tradition going back to the Wei and Jin Dynasties in ancient China, when the dish was called Five Spices Platter. This ancient dish featured wraps topped with green onions, garlic, leeks, ginger, and mustard to help the five internal organs release the cold yin energy and stimulate the warm yang energy during the cold days of winter.
Today, we just call them spring wraps and there are many variations. Fresh local vegetables can be mixed with meat or tofu and then rolled in wraps according to everyone’s taste. It is delicious, healthy, and easy to prepare.
Ingredients:
4 slices ginger
2 tablespoons cooking wine
1 leek (the white base)
1 clove garlic
3 carrots, peeled and shredded
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 egg white
1 tablespoon cornstarch
32 dumpling wrappers
1 cup cooking oil
400 g pork tenderloin, shredded
3 tablespoons sweet soy paste
⅓ cucumber
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
Instructions:
1. Add ginger slices, ⅓ of the leek base (chopped), and the cooking wine to a bowl with two tablespoons of water. Soak for 10 minutes. Remove the ginger and leek but keep the flavoured water for step 4.
2. Shred the cucumber and the remaining leek base separately and place them on a platter.
3. Press the garlic and sauté in a pan until fragrant. Add ½ tablespoon sugar and the shredded carrot. Begin to stir-fry, adding ½ teaspoon of table salt and 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce. Continue to stir-fry until softened and then place on the platter.
4. Add the flavoured water from step 1, white pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt, and an egg white to the shredded pork. Mix with your hands, and finally add cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of oil until fully combined.
5. Heat the pan first, then add 2 tablespoons of oil, sweet soy paste, and white sugar. Sauté on low heat until fragrant.
6. Add 2 tablespoons of water and stir while heating until large bubbles appear. Add in pork shreds, turn the heat to high and stir for two minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce, stir well, and place on a platter.
7. Pour the remaining oil from the pan into a bowl. Soak the dumpling wrappers in the oil for 5 minutes. Roll out the wrappers with a rolling pin to make round pancakes with a diameter of about 15 cm.
8. Heat a pan, then turn to low heat. Stack two pancakes together and fry the double-layered round pancake until slightly yellow spots appear. Turn it over and fry for another 5 seconds. Take it out and pull it apart to get two thin spring pancakes. Continue to fry all the spring pancakes in this manner.
9. To serve, take individual pancakes, top them with your favourite vegetables and meat, and roll them up for easy eating.
Inspired for a Beautiful Life
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