Typically a dish for the first day of spring or “立春, Li chun” this stir-fry is perfect for using up a large amount of vegetables such as chives and bean sprouts. You can make it with or without pork while using the same sauces and spices. Small, thin strips of chicken breast meat can be used instead of pork as well.
This dish is typically served with a thin tortilla like wrap called “春饼, Chun bing” or spring pancakes. We wrap the pancakes around mounds of vegetable or meat stir-frys along with thin strips of green onion, and generous amounts of sweet bean sauce “甜面酱, Tian mian jiang” or other preferred condiments.
Li Chun, 立春: The First Day of Spring
Before the Western/Gregorian Calendar took over the world, Chinese people used two methods of tracking time of year: a lunar calendar tracking positions of the moon; as well as a system called “节气, Jie qi” or solar terms. The two systems work hand in hand in helping people track time, astronomical events, when to plant crops, when to expect rain, etc, creating the lunisolar calendar system we now call “农历, Nong li” or the farming calendar.
There are 24 solar terms in a year, and the day of Li Chun is the first day of spring. It typically falls between Feb 4th and 6th and is a very important day for Northern Chinese people. The family gathers around to eat the spring pancakes, vegetables, fruits and candies, sometimes praying for good luck for the rest of the year. Some people like to eat radishes raw on this day, as part of the tradition of “咬春, yao chun” or biting spring. Eating He/Huo Cai is a part of biting spring!
Chao He Cai/Chao Huo Cai 炒合菜/炒和菜 Spring Stir-fry
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- If using dry mushrooms, put them to soak in warm water in a large bowl. Chop green onions into small pieces, about 1/4 inch pieces or smaller. Chop ginger into desired size – if you love the flavor of ginger, chop it finely; if you don't like it too much, leave it in larger chunks so you can remove the pieces before serving while still having some aroma of it in your dish. Set aside the green onion and ginger in the same bowl, if desired. Wash and cut chives into bite-size pieces, about 1-1.5 inch in length and set aside.
- Bring water to a boil in a big pot. There should be enough water to blanch the bean sprouts. While the water is heating up, slice pork into thin strips and set them to marinate in half the soy sauce and cooking wine, if using pork.
- Blanch the bean sprouts for about 90 secs, or until the bean sprouts become soft and translucent. Be careful not to overcook them to the point of mushy-ness. Scoop the bean sprouts out of the hot water using a slotted spoon, a mesh strainer, or a pair of big chopsticks and set aside. Reserve the hot water for the next step.
- Drop the roll of dry vermicelli/glass noodles into the hot water. It's okay if some bean sprout bits remain in the water. The noodles should loosen up in about 30 seconds and become plump and springy. Strain the water out of the noodles once they are cooked, and set the noodles aside to cool.
- Beat the eggs until foamy, about 1 min or so. Add a small amount of salt, about 1/2 tsp to the eggs. Heat a large pan on the stove and add 1 tbsp of oil. Scramble the eggs in the hot pan until just cooked and remove the eggs from the pan immediately. They can rest in the same bowl you beat the eggs in, if desired as we will be cooking them a second time.
- Slice up the soaked mushrooms into bite-size pieces, removing excess water in the process. Cut up the cooled vermicelli into bite size pieces, about 1-1.5 inch in length. Use kitchen shears if desired.
- In the same large pan on medium-high heat (no need to fully clean the pan here, just so long as there are no large chunks of eggs remaining, you are okay to proceed), add the remaining 2 tbsp of cooking oil. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add chopped green onions and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the marinated pork strips, if using, and cook until the pork changes color. If not using pork, go to the next step.
- Add the soaked and sliced mushrooms to the pan, moving them around for about 2 min, or until cooked. Add the blanched and drained bean sprouts to the pan. Stir them around a little until evenly mixed with the mushrooms, and add the (remaining) soy sauce and cooking wine (and oyster sauce, if using) to the pan. Mix the sauces in, and add the scrambled eggs into the mixture. Stir the mixture around to mix, and then add the cooked and cut vermicelli. Taste test the mixture here to see if additional salt is needed. Add white pepper powder to taste.After adjusting salt levels, add in the chives. Mix immediately and cook until the chives are soft, about 1-2 min. Remove from heat and serve warm with spring pancakes or rice.
Notes
- The oil might splatter if the mushrooms have excess water! Use caution and squeeze out as much water as possible after soaking.
- Substitute chicken for pork if desired. Cut chicken breast into thin strips and marinate in a corn starch slurry with the sauces before cooking.
- Optional: add 1/2 tsp of sesame oil and 1/2 tsp of sugar to the pork marinade for a richer flavor.