Water Velvet Stir Fry turns leftover pork spare rib trimmings into tender pork with broccoli and a sweet, savory brown garlic sauce. The technique adds one extra move before the final stir fry, but Dad says it changes everything.
The pork comes out melt in your mouth tender, while the broccoli stays tender crisp and the sauce brings the familiar flavor of Chinese takeout.
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Water Velvet Stir Fry with Pork and Broccoli
Equipment
- Knife
- Small saucepan
- Wok
Ingredients
Pork and marinade
- 1 pound sliced pork
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sherry cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper optional
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil
Brown garlic sauce
- 2 tablespoons regular soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon sherry cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 2 cloves garlic finely grated or crushed
- 1 ¼ cups water
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Broccoli and cooking
- 1 large head broccoli cut into bite sized florets
- water for blanching and water velveting
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil for water velveting
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil for the final stir fry
- ¾ to 1 cup brown garlic sauce
Instructions
Prepare and marinate the pork
- Trim excess fat from the spare rib trimmings and slice the pork across the grain into strips about quarter inch thick.
- Mix the soy sauce, sherry cooking wine, cornstarch, white sugar, optional white pepper, and neutral oil. Toss the sliced pork in the marinade until well coated. Marinate for 20 to 30 minutes.1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sherry cooking wine, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon white sugar, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon neutral oil
Make the brown garlic sauce
- Whisk the regular soy sauce and cornstarch together until smooth.2 tablespoons regular soy sauce, 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Whisk in the oyster sauce, sherry cooking wine, white sugar, garlic, and water.3 tablespoons oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon sherry cooking wine, 1 teaspoon white sugar, 2 cloves garlic, 1 ¼ cups water
- Pour the mixture into a cold saucepan. Heat over medium low, stirring constantly until the sauce comes to a simmer and thickens. Simmer for 1 minute.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the toasted sesame oil. Set aside.½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Water velvet the pork
- Heat a pot of water to about 180°F (82°C) to 190°F (88°C). The water should be steaming but not boiling.water
- Add 1 teaspoon neutral oil.1 teaspoon neutral oil
- Slide in the marinated pork and gently separate the slices. Cook for 45 to 60 seconds, until the pork is mostly white but not fully cooked.
- Remove the pork immediately and drain well.
Blanch the broccoli
- Blanch the broccoli in boiling water for 60 to 90 seconds, then drain well.1 large head broccoli, water
Finish the stir fry
- Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon neutral oil.1 tablespoon neutral oil
- Stir fry the velveted pork for 1 to 2 minutes, until lightly browned.
- Add the blanched broccoli.1 large head broccoli
- Pour in 3 quarters to 1 cup brown garlic sauce.¾ to 1 cup brown garlic sauce
- Toss until everything is coated and the sauce is glossy and bubbling, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately over rice.
Video
Notes
Tried this recipe?Mention @DadGotThis or tag #DadGotThis!Why Water Velvet Stir Fry Changes Everything
This recipe started with a useful question. What should you do with the leftover trimmings from two racks of spare ribs? Dad turned those off cuts into enough pork for a nice stir fry. After removing the bones, unwanted fat, and silver skin, he ended up with just shy of a pound of what he called extra meat from buying ribs.
The trimming matters because silver skin and some of the tougher material would stay hard and chewy in a stir fry. Dad was aggressive about removing those pieces because there was still plenty of pork left. The usable meat was cut into quarter inch strips against the grain so the finished pieces would pull apart easily.
Of course, Dad could not discuss spare rib trimmings without asking what you call a pig with no legs. The answer was groundhog. The pork may be tender, but the dad jokes remain completely unrestrained.
A Marinade That Supports the Brown Garlic Sauce
The marinade uses many of the same flavors that appear in the sauce. Soy sauce, sherry cooking wine, cornstarch, a little white sugar, a tiny bit of white pepper, and neutral cooking oil coat the pork before it rests in the refrigerator.
Dad notes that Shaoxing cooking wine is the expected choice, although he used sherry cooking wine because that was what he had available. He also used avocado oil as his neutral cooking oil. The white pepper is optional, and the tiny amount used does not make the dish particularly spicy.
Cornstarch contributes to the tenderness, but it is only part of the story. The water velveting stage is what takes the pork from an ordinary stir fry texture to the result Dad describes as melt in your mouth tender.
The Sweet and Savory Brown Garlic Sauce
The sauce is inspired by a traditional Chinese takeout style brown garlic sauce. It brings together soy sauce, cornstarch, white sugar, sherry cooking wine, water, oyster sauce, garlic, and toasted sesame oil.
Oyster sauce supplies the strong umami flavor that Dad loves. Meanwhile, the garlic makes the sauce live up to its name. The written recipe calls for two cloves, while Dad uses three in the video because he likes it garlicky.
The sauce cooks over medium low heat until it reaches a simmer and begins to thicken. After simmering for about one minute, the heat is turned off and a little toasted sesame oil finishes it. Dad describes the result as sweet and savory with the perfect flavor for the pork.
How Water Velvet Stir Fry Gets Tender Pork
Chinese restaurants often velvet meat in hot oil. However, Dad explains that using an entire vat of oil is wasteful for a home cook. Water velveting produces a very similar result with hot water and a small amount of oil.
The water should be hot and steaming rather than boiling. Dad aims for 180°F to 190°F (82°C to 88°C). When his water was around 210°F (99°C), he added cold water to lower the temperature.
The marinated pork cooks in that hot water for about one to two minutes. The pieces are gently separated so they cook individually. They are ready to drain when they have turned white but are not fully cooked. That brief treatment is the secret to the texture.
Dad is direct about whether water velveting is an unnecessary extra step. His answer is no. According to the taste test, it changes everything and creates the texture that makes the dish taste like real Chinese takeout.
Broccoli That Stays Tender Crisp
Broccoli gives the dish its vegetable component and a contrasting texture. Dad blanches it in boiling water for one to two minutes before removing it and setting it aside.
During the final taste test, the broccoli is tender crisp and perfect. It also carries the brown garlic sauce, which Dad calls great with a wonderful flavor. The contrast between the crisp broccoli and tender pork gives the finished stir fry much of its appeal.
A Smart Use for Spare Rib Trimmings
The best part of this recipe is that it gives those spare rib off cuts a purpose. Instead of treating them as scraps, Dad turns just shy of a pound of bonus meat into a full stir fry.
The finished pork is tender, the broccoli retains its texture, and the brown garlic sauce delivers the sweet, savory takeout character Dad wanted. More importantly, the video demonstrates that a home cook can use water instead of a large quantity of oil and still get a similar velveting result.
Dad says he does more than barbecue and can actually cook. After this Water Velvet Stir Fry, the evidence is on the plate. He may cook fantastic stir fries and tell horrible jokes, but one thing Dad will still never do is an outro.
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