Name: Pork with Potatoes and Carrots Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 lb pork butt or shoulder; 2lb potatoes; 1 lb carrots; 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine; 1 tbsp naturally aged soy sauce, or dark soy sauce; 1/2 tbsp Zhenjiang vinegar; 2 green onion stalks; 10 thin slices of ginger; 4 anises; 4 bay leaves; 5 dried cloves; 1/4 tsp red yeast rice, grounded powder; 2 tsp sugar, unrefined organic cane sugar or sugar in the raw; 4 tbsp dark soy sauce; 2 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 cup of water

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Pork with potatoes and carrots one-dish meal features juicy pork chunks combined with savory potatoes and carrots. All in one pot, such an easy and cozy meal.

What do you need to make this Pork with Potato and Carrots a yummy one-pot meal?

pork with potato and carrots braised one-pot ingredients

Pork – either pork butt or shoulder shall work out great.

Potatoes – I prefer either red small round potatoes or golden round potatoes. These potatoes are tender and taste more refreshing. Nevertheless, large baking potatoes are fine too.

Carrots – Any carrots will do. Carrots in this dish are so savory. In addition, people believe eating cooked carrots with meat will help our bodies better absorb the nutrients inside carrots. If you have kids who are not a big fan of carrots, this might be the beginning for them to start enjoying carrots, LOL.

For Marinating the Pork – Aged soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and Zhenjiang vinegar. Together with light soy sauce, they are my go-to four basic essential cooking condiments. They almost appear in all my recipes for cooking meat and poultry.

For Braising – Green onion, ginger, anises, bay leaves, dried cloves, red yeast rice powder, sugar in the raw, light soy sauce, and water.

I ditched the store-bought oil sprayer and made my oil spray bottle after I jump-started healthier cooking, eating, and living journey in 2015. I have been using this oil sprayer since. It helps to spray the oil evenly across the pan and use way less oil than otherwise.

Red yeast rice, or Hong Qu Mi (红曲米) in Chinese, is rice that has been fermented with certain types of yeast. The fermentation process changes the color of the rice from white to red. It is a very traditional all-natural red color. We use it a lot in my hometown Suzhou area as an all-natural food color for centuries.

I use it to cook yummy red braised pork belly, red braised Lion’s Head, and meat cooking where I want a hint of red color. I also use it to make All-Natural Red Velvet Cake.

How to make Pork with Potatoes and Carrots?

1. Cut pork, potatoes, and carrots into similar bite-size chunks

This is for easier cooking and serving.

2. Marinating the pork before cooking

This is a very important step which is the secret to having juicy and tasty pork.

3. Sear the pork before braising

This is the step people often overlook. Sear the meat before braising not only helps maintain the tasty juiciness of the pork but also helps reduce the overall cooking time. Pork shall be cooked at least 50% by the end of the 10-minute frying process.

When you started searing the pork in the hot wok with ginger and green onion slices, the pork has a tendency to stick to the bottom of the wok. All you need to do is non-stop turning the pork for one minute, then the oil inside the pork will come out, which helps grease the Wok.

From here you just need to turn the pork every two minutes to complete the 10-minute total frying step using green onion, ginger, anise, bay leaves, clove, and sugar.

The next step is to fold the braising juice and stir-fry the pork with potatoes and carrots for about 3 minutes.

Last but not least is to add 1 cup of water and cook on medium-high for 10 minutes and low for additional 10 minutes.

pork with potato and carrots in the wok with seasonings

pork with potato and carrots mixed with seasonings

Isn’t it easy to cook this cozy, yummy one-pot meal? Enjoy!

Do you like healthy yummy Chinese one-pot meals? Make sure you check out

Pork with Potatoes and Carrots Recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Tasty juicy pork chunks combined with savory potatoes and carrots, all in one pot. Such an easy, yummy, and healthy family weeknight dinner.

Ingredients

2 lb pork butt or shoulder
2lb potatoes
1 lb carrots

For Marinating the Pork:

2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp naturally aged soy sauce, or dark soy sauce
1/2 tbsp Zhenjiang vinegar

For Braising:

2 green onion stalks
10 thin slices of ginger
4 anises
4 bay leaves
5 dried cloves
1/4 tsp red yeast rice, grounded powder
2 tsp sugar, unrefined organic cane sugar or sugar in the raw
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 cup of water

Instructions

Cut pork into bite-size chunks, rinse under running water, gently squeeze to remove extra water, and place into a mixing bowl
Add everything under for "Marinating the Pork" - dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and Zhenjiang vinegar toss and mix well using a pair of wooden or bamboo spatulas, and set aside.
Gather and add 5 tbsp dark soy sauce, 2 tbsp light soy sauce and 1/4 tsp red yeast rice powder to a small bowl and mix well.
Prepare green onions and gingers. Cut green onions into small snippets, and slice and dice gingers into thin & small pieces.
Prepare potatoes and carrots. Wash potatoes thoroughly and remove bad parts, and then cut them into bite-size chunks, similar size to the pork chunks. Wash carrots thoroughly, peel the skins using a peeler, and cut them into bite-size chunks, a little smaller or similar size to the potatoes.
Turn the heat to medium-high, and heat the wok for 2 minutes and then add ginger and half of the green onion. No need to add oil since pork usually has enough pork fat to do the pan frying.
Add marinated pork, non-stop turn and mix for 1 minute using a slotted turner. After that, all pork chunks should be properly seared.
Add the dry spices (anises, bay leaves, and cloves) to the wok. Pan-fry the pork chunks in the wok for another 7 minutes or so. Sprinkle the 2 tsp sugar evenly on top of the pork chunks halfway through. Use the same slotted turner to turn the pork every 2 minutes or so to make sure all pork chunks and pork sides are cooked.
Pour in the braising sauce from the small bowl in a circular motion evenly on top of the pork. Toss, turn, and fold the sauce into pork.
Add the potatoes and carrots into the wok, toss & turn for about 3 minutes.
Pour 1 cup of water around the edge of the wok. Cover the wok with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. Fold, turn, and mix the pork, potatoes, and carrots halfway through.
The juice should be disappearing by now. Turn the heat to low, toss & turn everything in the work, cover the wok with a lid, and cook for additional 10 minutes. Again, fold, turn, and mix the pork, potatoes, and carrots halfway through.
Turn off the heat, and garnish with the rest of the green onion.
All done! Enjoy naturally yummy and satisfying pork with potatoes and carrots.