Spring Equinox · Dinner · Balanced
Stir-fried spring bamboo shoots and pork with garlic spinach
Crisp, sweet spring bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork, plus a plate of garlic spinach: one meat, one vegetable, nicely balanced.
- 30 min
- Serves 3
- Stir-fry
- Easy
NeutralBalances yin and yangNourishes blood
Why it suits you: Balanced types simply need balanced eating at the Spring Equinox, neither cold nor drying. Sweet, cold bamboo shoots clear heat, neutral pork and warm ginger and garlic balance them, and spinach nourishes blood, harmonising qi and blood.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 15 min- 1Marinate the pork with half the soy sauce and the cornflour for 10 minutes. Blanch the bamboo shoots for 3 minutes to remove bitterness and drain.
- 2Heat half the oil with the ginger, stir-fry the pork until it changes colour, add the bamboo shoots and spring onion for 2 minutes, then the rest of the soy sauce.
- 3In a clean wok, fry the garlic in the remaining oil, add the spinach over high heat until wilted and season with salt.
Cautions
- Bamboo shoots are a 'trigger' food and hard to digest; go easy if you have sensitive skin or a weak stomach.
Chef's tips
- Always blanch spring bamboo shoots to remove oxalic acid and astringency.
The TCM view
Spring bamboo shoots are sweet and slightly cold, clearing heat and phlegm and refreshing the stomach. Pork is sweet, salty and neutral and moistens; spinach is sweet and cool and nourishes blood; ginger and garlic temper the coolness.
