Entrees/ Pork/ Recipes/ Salads and sides

[Recipe] Pork tenderloin stirfry with Nagaimo (Chinese yam)

What is nagaimo?

Nagaimo is a root vegetable from the family Dioscoreaceae and is a type of mountain yam. The flesh is white, and the texture is comparable to a water chestnut. Unlike many other yams, it can be eaten raw.

There are likely many names for this yam. I have been told the dried version is typically used in Chinese alternative medicine and has many health benefits.

Nagaimo

My parents had introduced me to the fresh version which can be bought at many Chinese grocery stores (I bought mine at a T & T Chinese supermarket). The fresh version is versatile as it doesn’t need blanching and cooks quickly! It provides a nice crunch to any stir fry.

The Pork Tenderloin Stir Fry:

For the pork marinade, I added store-bought “char siu” sauce which can be readily found at the Chinese grocery store giving the meat the reddish colour and slightly sweet flavour. You can make your own marinade with light soy sauce, sugar, water and hoisin sauce, which will still turn out delicious. This makes a quick weeknight dish.

Fresh nagaimo (wai san)

Another healthy and delicious recipe for you!

Pork tenderloin stirfry with Nagaimo

Cuisine Chinese

Author Mary Tang

Ingredients

1 pound pork tenderloin cubed
2 1/2 cups of broccoli including the stems
2 1/2 cups of the nagaimo peeled and sliced about 1/2 inch thick
1 cup of carrots peeled and cut 1/4 inch thick
4 cups of water Add more as needed
Oil for cooking
1 tsp each of shallots ginger and garlic minced
1 cup of chicken stock can use vegetable
A handful of green onions

Marinade for the pork

1 tsp of hoisin sauce charsiu sauce
1 tsp of dark soy
1 tsp thinly sliced ginger and garlic
A drizzle of vegetable oil
1/2 tsp of corn starch
1 tsp of water

Sauce (slurry)

1/3 cup of cup of oyster sauce
1/3 cup of water
2 tsp of corn starch

Instructions

Use a mallet to tenderize the meat by pounding the meat, and then cut it into cubes.
In a bowl, add all the ingredients for the marinade and mix well. Taste it first and adjust as needed. Add the marinade to the pork and mix. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
Cut all the vegetables.
Blanche the carrots in a pot.
In a hot pan, add oil and cook the pork. When cooked through, remove from the pan.
Using the same pan, saute the shallots, ginger, followed by the garlic.
Add in the broccoli, carrots and nagaimo. Add the stock. Cook for about 1 minute.
Add the meat back in the pan.
In a small bowl, make the slurry with the corn starch, water and hoisin sauce. Mix well and add to the stir fry. Cook for a few minutes.
Sprinkle with the green onions and serve.