Talking cat SHIO-CHAN & SHIN-KORO’s Secret Recipe
Garlic chives and pork stir fry
Garlic chives (or nira in Japanese) is a common ingredient in Asian recipes for stir fry, soup and other dishes. Yellow chives (kinira) are of a variety that’s soft with a sweet aroma. They are a family favorite. Kinira is more delicate than the garlic chives and responds best to cooking swiftly in high heat; the key to drawing out their flavor is not to overcook them. Also, pork can be replaced with squid, prawns or other types of seafood. I think Shio-chan will say, “It also tastes great with chicken.” Both garlic chives and yellow chives can be found at Uwajimaya, Maruta Shoten and other Asian grocery stores.
Ingredients (Makes 4 cups)
- 1/2 pound sliced pork
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
- 3 tbsp canola oil
- 1 bundle garlic chives
- 1 bundle yellow chives
- 1 chili pepper
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
❶ Marinate pork in ginger, rice wine, 1 Tbsp of the canola oil, salt and pepper for 10 minutes.
❷ Heat 2 Tbsp of canola oil in a fry pan, add chili pepper and stir fry the pork.
❸ Slice the garlic and yellow chives to desired length. When the pork gets cooked through, add the chives. When the chives are about half cooked, add the yellow chives.
❹ After lightly stir frying the yellow chives, add salt and pepper to taste, drizzle the sesame oil and turn off the heat.
Shio-Chan is a cat, who became popular in Japan with her “talking” videos. She can say words in Japanese such as “Okaeri (welcome home)” and “Ohayo (good morning).” Her YouTube videos have hit over 50 million views.
Shin-Koro is an immunology scientist living in New York. His hobbybased side businesses include hip-hop dance instructor and recipe writer. His blog and videos of talking Shio-Chan are available at http://www.okyn.jp.
