The first dish ever cooked on television in a Ken Hom wok was ‘Stir Fried Pork with Spring Onions’, and it’s as popular today as it was when people tuned into the Ken Hom’s ‘Travels with a Hot Wok’ show.
Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is the major lunar celebration marking the end of winter and the beginning of Spring. It focuses on family reunions, honouring ancestors and ushering in good fortune. The 2026 celebration marks the Year of the Horse, starting on 17 February and lasting a fortnight, and as always, it features traditions like red decorations, lion dances, fireworks and of course food to share with friends and family.
If you are looking for inspiration of the culinary kind, turn to Chef Ken Hom, the ‘master of the wok’. Ken Hom is the chef who showed the British how to cook Asian food using a wok, and this year, he is celebrating the 40th anniversary since his wok was first launched. Did you know? You will find a Ken Hom wok in one of seven kitchens in the UK. This iconic piece of cookware was even chosen by the BBC as one of the objects which shaped our lifestyle in the last century.
The first dish ever cooked on television in a Ken Hom wok was ‘Stir Fried Pork with Spring Onions’, and it’s as popular today as it was when people tuned into the Ken Hom’s ‘Travels with a Hot Wok’ show.
You will find the recipe in Ken’s landmark book ‘Ken Hom’s Complete Chinese Cookbook’ (available from Amazon) but we have it right here for you. Quick to make, healthy and delicious, it may even bring you luck during this new Lunar Year. Give it a try.
Stir-fried Pork with Spring Onions
This is a basic stir-fried dish in the southern Chinese tradition. The key to success in this recipe is not to overcook the pork.
Serves 3-4
450 g (1 lb) boneless pork fillet
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornflour
8 spring onions
1 tablespoon groundnut or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
Cut the pork into thick slices 5 cm (2 in) long. Put the sliced pork into a bowl and mix in the Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornflour. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes so that the pork absorbs the flavours of the marinade. Cut the spring onions on the diagonal into 5 cm (2 in) lengths.
Heat a wok or frying-pan to a very high heat. Add the oil, and when it is very hot and slightly smoking, add the pork slices and stir-fry them until they are brown. Add the spring onions, salt, pepper and sugar. Continue to stir-fry until the pork is cooked and slightly firm. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Remove and arrange the pork on a warm serving platter. Pour any juices remaining in the wok over the pork and serve at once.
This is a fuss-free, fast and healthy recipe, perfect when cooked in a wok. Make sure you bring the wok to a high heat before adding any oil until it’s slightly smoking, then quickly stir fry the food which will cook in very little time, then drain any residual oil. This will result in a dish which is full of flavour and very little fat.
Wishing you wealth and prosperity – Gong Xi Fa Cai!