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This dish is made up of lotus root, yardlong beans, and pork belly. It could be a main dish, or a side dish to get your veggies in.

Yardlong beans are my favorite type of ‘green bean’ and can be found in Chinese supermarkets. Like its name, these will come in a bunch, each bean about a ‘yard’ long. When cooked in oil, the beans become tender and juicy, with a crunch – which makes these great for stir-fries!

Lotus root is a versatile vegetable, it could be used in soups, stir-fries, pickled, etc. When using in a stir-fry, the key is to slice them into thin rounds, so they can cook fast, and still have that crunch to it.

~ingredients:

• 1/2 lb chinese yardlong beans 
  • note: sub for green beans if you can’t find these
• 1/2 lb lotus root
• 1/2 lb pork belly 
• Pork belly marinade: ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp white pepper
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• shaoxing wine
• neutral cooking oil
• sauce:
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper 
  • 1 tsp sugar 
  • 1 tsp corn starch 

~instructions:

1. To prepare the pork belly, slice into thin pieces, about ¼ inch thick as well. 
2. Add ½ tsp of salt and ½ tsp white pepper to the pork belly, and mix. Set aside. 
3. Veggie prep: Cut off the ends of the yardlong beans, then chop into 2 inch pieces. 
4. Wash your lotus root, and peel the skin with a vegetable peeler. Chop off both ends of the lotus root. At this point, I like to run the lotus root under water again, through the holes of the lotus root, to clean any remaining dirt inside. 
5. Chop the lotus root into rounds, about ¼  inch thick. Thinner rounds cook faster when we stir-fry this later. 
6. Mince 3 cloves of garlic, set aside. 
7. In a small bowl, mix together the above listed sauce ingredients. Set aside.
8. When you’re ready to cook, add the pork belly to a cold wok. 
9. Turn on the heat to a medium and let the pork belly fat slowly render out. 
10. Flip the pork belly when one side has browned, and let the other side brown for another 2 minutes. 
11. Remove the pork belly, and set aside. 
12. In the same wok, add the minced garlic, and toast for 30 seconds. 
13. Add in the yardlong beans, and spread into an even layer in the wok.
    • If there isn’t enough oil, here you can drizzle a bit of avocado oil around the edges of the wok. 
14. Let the beans cook for 3-5 minutes, until it turns bright green and the skin begins to blister.
    • Alternative: add a bit of water and cover the wok to steam the beans for 2-3 minutes to cook faster.
15. Add in the lotus root, salt, and a splash of shaoxing wine.
16. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
17. When the lotus root has browned, add back in the pork belly. 
18. Give the sauce a mix, as the corn starch has likely settled, before pouring it into the wok. 
19. Stir to combine everything, until coated in the sauce. Turn off the heat. 
20. Serve, and enjoy as a main dish over rice, or as a side dish!