Rain Water · Dinner · Blood Stasis
Stir-fried cabbage, wood-ear & pork with black vinegar
Sweet spring cabbage with wood-ear fungus and pork, finished with a splash of black vinegar — tangy, warming and appetising.
- 25 min
- Serves 3
- Stir-fry
- Easy
WarmingMoves blood, eases stasisAids digestion & appetite
Why it suits you: Blood Stasis shows as a dull complexion and easy bruising, and cold makes it worse. In damp, chilly Rain Water, ginger, onion and black vinegar warm and open the circulation, wood-ear helps move blood, and cabbage supports digestion.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 10 min- 1Soak the wood-ear in cold water for 20 minutes until plump, trim and tear into pieces. Tear the cabbage into pieces and slice the onion.
- 2Mix the pork with 1 tsp of the soy sauce and the cornflour and leave for 10 minutes.
- 3Heat the oil, fry the ginger and onion until fragrant, stir-fry the pork until it changes colour, then set aside.
- 4In the same wok, stir-fry the cabbage and wood-ear over high heat for 2–3 minutes with a splash of water, until the cabbage softens.
- 5Return the pork, add the remaining soy sauce and the sugar, splash the vinegar down the side of the wok, toss and serve with rice.
Cautions
- On blood thinners (such as warfarin) or having surgery soon? Keep wood-ear fungus to small amounts.
Chef's tips
- Add the vinegar last, down the side of the hot wok — the aroma lifts and it won't turn too sour.
- Soak wood-ear for just 20–30 minutes, never overnight, as fungus left soaking too long can grow harmful bacteria.
The TCM view
Cabbage is sweet and neutral and settles the stomach; wood-ear fungus is sweet and neutral and helps blood flow; onion is pungent and warm and moves qi and blood; black vinegar is sour, bitter and warm and disperses stagnation; ginger warms; a little brown sugar is sweet and warm and rounds out the flavour. Warming and moving without overheating.
