Thai-Style Pork StirfryRecipe by Chef Heidi Fink

Directions

1. Prepare the pork by trimming off all of the fat and slicing the meat into thin strips. Place in a bowl and mix well with the oil and white pepper. Set aside while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
2. Prepare the sauce by mixing together the oyster sauce, light brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce and sambal oelek. In a separate small ramekin, mix together the water and cornstarch.
3. For the vegetables, chop them as described in the ingredient list. Mix the broccoli, carrot, and bell pepper together in a mixing bowl. Have the shallot on its own, and the garlic on its own.
4. Before cooking, make sure you have rice finsihed cooking (or almost finished), and have all your ingredients chopped, measured and prepared near the stove. Have the pork in its bowl, the sauce mixture, and the vegetables organized as described above. TIP: having all the ingredients prepped and organized by the stove makes the cooking go much more smoothly.
5. Get out your largest skillet and heat on high heat. Add one tablespoon of the oil and heat it up. Add the pork and sear on all sides, stirring as needed, for about 2 minutes. Pork will not be fully cooked. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
6. If the skillet is very caked with stuff after this, clean it out before proceeding with the next step. If not, move on to the next step.
7. Reduce heat to medium, return skillet to the heat and add remaining oil. Add shallot and stir fry for about 30 to 60 seconds, until slightly softened. Add garlic and stir fry for about 10 seconds, until fragrant but not burnt. Add the vegetables and stir well. Add a couple of tablespoons of water if the pan seems to hot or if anything is burning.
8. Stir fry for a couple of minutes until vegetables are lightly softened. Add pork, along with any accumulated juices, and the sauce mixture (NOT the cornstarch mixture yet). Mix well and continue to cook for about 2 minutes, until vegetables have softened and pork is cooked through.
9. Re-mix the cornstarch-water mixture and add it to the stir fry, stirring very well for the next minute while the cornstarch thickens the sauce. TIP: cornstarch will not thicken until it is boiling. TIP: cornstarch mixtures need to be stirred continuously while cooking so that they end up smooth rather than clumpy
10. Remove stir fry from heat, stir in basil, and serve immediately, with rice.