Stir fried pork and chilies

Slice the pork against the grain, perpendicular to the muscle fibers: cut into roughly two millimeter sheets, stack them and cut about three millimeters apart into slivers.

Marinate, a sort of marination sometimes called velveting: add a quarter teaspoon salt and half a teaspoon sugar to the pork in a bowl.

Mix half a teaspoon of cornstarch into half a teaspoon of liaojiu to prevent clumps, and add that.

Add a quarter teaspoon of dark soy sauce.

Squirt in about a teaspoon of oil, coat well, and set aside at least fifteen minutes.

Smash, julienne and finely mince an inch of ginger and two cloves of garlic.

Longyao: heat the wok piping hot, about steak searing temperature, shut off the heat, add the two tablespoons of oil to fry in and swirl it for a nonstick surface.

With the flame on high add the marinated pork slivers, break them apart with chopsticks, and fry about one minute until 90% done, then set aside once the colour has visibly turned.

Do another longyao with one or two tablespoons of oil and immediately add the garlic and ginger over the same high heat, within seconds of the oil or they burn.

After about fifteen seconds pour a tablespoon of liaojiu over the spatula and around the sides of the wok, mix quickly, and add the chilies.

Fry the chilies about thirty seconds, add the pork back, fry fifteen seconds more, then season with a teaspoon of soy sauce and a quarter teaspoon of salt.

Toss briefly, shut off the heat, drizzle in a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, mix and serve.

Variation, without a wok: in a 28cm nonstick pan skip the longyao, heat on high and add the oil; pork one minute and reserve, aromatics fifteen seconds in a touch of cool oil, wine in, chilies 45 seconds since tossing takes a touch longer, pork back for 30 seconds, then the same seasoning and sesame oil.

Variation, everything in one pot as street vendors do: fry the pork as before, and at about 80% done scooch it up the side of the wok, add a touch of cool oil and the aromatics, fry fifteen seconds then mix everything together, wine over the spatula, chilies in for thirty seconds, seasoning, heat off, sesame oil.

Variation, the restaurant deep frying method, also called passing through oil, for super juicy tender meat: crack half an egg white into the marinade as well.

Get a cup or so of oil to 180 centigrade in a round bottom wok and fry the marinated pork about 20 seconds; or use a little more oil and shallow fry in a pan.

Pour out the oil and reserve the pork.

Variation, adding a sauce: to three tablespoons of water add half a teaspoon of stock concentrate, or use stock, plus the same seasoning of a quarter teaspoon salt and a teaspoon of soy sauce.

In a separate bowl make a slurry of half a tablespoon of cornstarch and just enough water to bring it together, about a teaspoon. More stock and cornstarch for a saucier stir fry, less for just a touch of sheen.

Go through the same motions, but where the seasoning would go lower the flame to medium and add the sauce instead, mix, then add the slurry and take it out once thickened, about 15 seconds.