How to cut garlic scapes for stir-fries?

For stir-fries, you’ll want to use just the middle dark green bendable parts. Cut the bottom yellow-green part (about 1-2 inches usually) and well as the top bulb part, which can be quite stringy. The bottom yellow parts are far too tough to eat even once cooked. You can either save them to flavor soups (then take it out before serving like you would a bay leaf), or discard them.

Where to buy garlic scapes?

Look for garlic scapes in farmer’s markets or Asian supermarkets. They are in season from late spring to summer, and are sold in bunches. If you’re based in Asia, you can find them in wet markets and in some supermarkets during the spring and summer seasons.

What to serve with this stir-fry?

A bowl of steamed rice is a must to soak up the delicious sauce. You can use brown rice or cauliflower rice if you prefer. A simple side dish of stir-fried or steamed veggies such as bok choy, broccoli, Chinese broccoli, choy sum, or water spinach would pair well with this stir-fry too.

Stir-fried Garlic Scapes with Pork & Tofu

Name: Stir-fried Garlic Scapes with Pork & Tofu
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Sichuan
Ingredients: 200 grams / 7 ounces Pork Fillet (pork tenderloin) – excess fat removed and thinly sliced; ¼ TSP Ground White Pepper; ½ TBLS Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce; ½ TBLS Shao Xing Rice Wine; 1 TSP Corn Starch; ¼ TSP Sesame Oil; 1 TBLS Canola Oil (or other cooking oil with a high smoke point); 1 TBLS Oyster Sauce; ½ TBLS Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce; 2 TSP Shao Xing Rice Wine; ½ TSP White Sugar; 1 TSP Sesame Oil; 1 TSP Corn Starch; ¼ cup Water; 2 TBLS Canola Oil; 1 TSP Peppercorn Chili Oil; ½ TSP Chili Oil (optional); 1 TBLS Dou Ban Jiang (Chili Bean Sauce) – Sichuan Pixian Dou Ban Jiang preferred, but Lee Kum Kee’s Chili Bean Sauce will work. (see notes); ¼ medium Yellow Onion – sliced into ¼-inch thick strips, then sliced in half widthwise; 3 Garlic Cloves – minced; 1 TBLS minced Ginger; 2-8 Red Chilies (Bird’s Eye preferred, but any small hot red chilies will work), to taste – chopped; 150 grams / 5.3 ounces Garlic Scapes – bottom tough yellow-green ends and top bulb trimmed off and discarded, then sliced into 1.5-inch pieces; 2 squares (50-60 grams each) pressed firm Brown Tofu – thinly sliced; 1 Spring Onion (Scallion/Green Onion) – sliced into 1.5-inch pieces; To Serve (optional): Chopped spring onion greens, steamed white rice

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5 from 4 reviews

Garlic scapes, tender pork slices, and tofu get stir-fried with fragrant aromatics in a spicy Sichuan-style sauce in this easy 20 minute weeknight one wok wonder!

Author: Lavina
Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 10
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 1x
Category: Dinner
Method: Stir-fry
Cuisine: Sichuan

Ingredients

Scale

For the Pork:

200 grams / 7 ounces Pork Fillet (pork tenderloin) – excess fat removed and thinly sliced
¼ TSP Ground White Pepper
½ TBLS Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce
½ TBLS Shao Xing Rice Wine
1 TSP Corn Starch
¼ TSP Sesame Oil
1 TBLS Canola Oil (or other cooking oil with a high smoke point)

For the Sauce:

1 TBLS Oyster Sauce
½ TBLS Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce
2 TSP Shao Xing Rice Wine
½ TSP White Sugar
1 TSP Sesame Oil
1 TSP Corn Starch
¼ cup Water

For the Stir-fried Garlic Scapes with Pork & Tofu:

2 TBLS Canola Oil
1 TSP Peppercorn Chili Oil
½ TSP Chili Oil (optional)
1 TBLS Dou Ban Jiang (Chili Bean Sauce) – Sichuan Pixian Dou Ban Jiang preferred, but Lee Kum Kee’s Chili Bean Sauce will work. (see notes)
¼ medium Yellow Onion – sliced into ¼-inch thick strips, then sliced in half widthwise
3 Garlic Cloves – minced
1 TBLS minced Ginger
2–8 Red Chilies (Bird’s Eye preferred, but any small hot red chilies will work), to taste – chopped
150 grams / 5.3 ounces Garlic Scapes – bottom tough yellow-green ends and top bulb trimmed off and discarded, then sliced into 1.5-inch pieces
2 squares (50-60 grams each) pressed firm Brown Tofu – thinly sliced
1 Spring Onion (Scallion/Green Onion) – sliced into 1.5-inch pieces
To Serve (optional): Chopped spring onion greens, steamed white rice

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Instructions

Prep:

Marinate the pork: Thinly slice the pork against the grain. Then add to a bowl, along with the ground white pepper, low sodium light soy sauce, Shao Xing rice wine, corn starch, and sesame oil. Mix well to coat, then set aside.
Make the sauce: Which together the oyster sauce, low sodium light soy sauce, Shao Xing rice wine, sugar, sesame oil, corn starch, and water in a measuring cup (for easier pouring) or bowl until combined well, then set aside.
Prepare the fresh ingredients: Chop/prepare the onion, garlic, ginger, red chilies, garlic scapes, tofu, and spring onion as indicated in the ‘Ingredients’ section.

For the Stir-fried Garlic Scapes with Pork & Tofu:

Cook the pork: Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large wok (or deep frying pan) over high heat. Once hot, add the marinated pork and spread the sliced out in the pan. Allow to sear for 1 minute, then stir-fry for 30-60 seconds, until the pork is just cooked. Transfer to a clean bowl using a slotted spoon. Wipe out the wok with a paper towel and set it back on the stovetop.
Sauté onion and aromatics: Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of canola oil, 1 teaspoon peppercorn chili oil, and ½ teaspoon of chili oil (if using) in the wok over medium high-heat. Once hot, add the dou ban jiang and onion, and sauté for a minute until the onion has slightly softened. Add the garlic, ginger, and red chilies, and stir-fry for another 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Cook the garlic scapes: Add the garlic scapes, 2 tablespoons of water, and the tofu. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, until the garlic scapes have slightly softened.
Add the pork and sauce: Give the sauce a quick stir with a spoon (the corn starch will have settled at the bottom). Then add the cooked pork back into the wok and pour the sauce on top. Stir-fry for 1 minute, until combined well and the sauce has thickened. Stir in the spring onion, then switch off the heat.
To Serve: Transfer to a serving bowl/dish. Garnish with more chopped spring onion if desired and serve immediately with warm steamed rice.

Sichuan Pixian Dou Ban Jiang

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Notes

Ingredient Notes, Cook’s Tips, and FAQs

Dou ban jiang: I used a Pixian dou ban jiang, which is more authentic and stronger in flavor than other types of chili bean sauces/pastes. If you’re not based in Asia, the easiest way to find Pixian dou ban jiang would be to order it online. However, if can only find (or already have) Lee Kum Kee’s version of the sauce on hand, you can use it instead as the dish will still be tasty.Keep in mind that Lee Kum Kee’s Chili Bean Sauce is sweeter and has several additional flavoring ingredients as opposed to Pixian dou ban jiang. You may need adjust the quantity to taste if using LKK’s version of the sauce.
Garlic Scapes: These are also known as garlic shoots or sprouts. They are sold by the bunch and can be found in farmer’s markets, grocery shops in Chinatown if there’s one near you, as well as in Asian supermarkets and wet markets during spring and summer.
What to serve with this stir-fry? A bowl of steamed rice is a must to soak up the delicious sauce. You can use brown rice or cauliflower rice if you prefer. A simple side dish of stir-fried or steamed veggies such as bok choy, broccoli, Chinese broccoli, choy sum, or water spinach would pair well with this stir-fry too.
See post above for tips and variations if you’d like to customize this stir-fry.