Mei Cai/muy choy (preserved mustard greens) is braised with pork along with umami-boasting ingredients that gives you this easy and flavorful one-pot stew.
Soak the dried mei cai for 5-6 hours or overnight. Then rinse with clean water to make sure all the dirts and sands are gone. Squeeze the mei cai dry and cut into about 1-inch pieces
If you use "wet" mei cai (sweet and/or salty version), Both needs to be washed and then soaked for 1 hour and then cut into 1-inch pieces. The salty mei cai is really salty. If it's still too salty after soaking, change to a fresh water and soak a bit longer. Squeeze the mei cai dry and cut into about 1-inch pieces
Cooking on the stove:
Preheat oil in a dutch oven or large heavy-bottom pot. Add cooking oil and stir fry garlic, star anise, and ginger for about 10 seconds. Add in the pork and saute until they turn color. Add the mei cai and seasonings. Stir fry for another minute. Add the rice wine to deglaze. Loosen up any bits that stuck to the bottom of the pot with a spatula
Add water and bring to boil. Lower the heat and cover the lid and let it braise for the next 1 hour or until the mei cai is soft and the pork is tender to your preference
Cooking with Instant Pot pressure cooker:
Press "saute" on Instant Pot. When it says "hot", add cooking oil. Saute garlic, star anise, and ginger for about 10 seconds. Add in the pork and saute until they turn color. Add the mei cai and seasonings. Stir fry for another minute. Add the rice wine to deglaze. Loosen up any bits that stuck to the bottom of the pot with a spatula
Turn off saute mode. Add water and stir to mix. Close the lid and turn the steam release valve to sealing. Press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on "high pressure". Set the timer to 20 minutes. Allow natural release. Carefully unlock the lid
To serve:
Garnish with a fresh cilantro leaves and serve with some rice as part of multi-course meal
Notes
You can also use a combination of 150 grams of sweet mei cai and 50 grams of salty mei cai