Simple and tasty! Taro and Ground Pork Stir Fry is great for easy weeknight dinners. We season ground pork with garlic and ginger and cook with taro until tender. Oyster sauce makes it extra good. Pair with a bowl of rice and you are set.
We had lots of extra diced taro from making Taro Cake. In need of an easy weeknight dinner, I made this simple dish of ground pork with taro. It's good with rice and you only need a few ingredients.
Taro pork is one of those not-so-pretty dishes that are quite tasty. Make sure to cook the taro until it is super soft. Some people even like to mash the taro with the pork. It is comfort food all the way.
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Ingredients
Here's what you'll need:
- Taro - Make sure to use big taro (not small taro). See section below for more details.
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Ground pork
- Oyster sauce
See recipe card for quantities.
Big Taro Versus Small Taro
There are usually 2 types of taro at the supermarket. Big and small.
Size difference.
The big one is like the size of a very big eggplant. The small taro is like the size of your fist or a potato.
Exterior difference.
Small taro has a little bit of "hair" on the outside. Big taro has light brown skin and no "hair."
Taste difference.
The big taro is more starchy and when cooked, it has a texture similar to cooked potatoes or cassava. The small taro is more moist but has less flavor. We don't often use the small taro for cooking. All the taro recipes on this blog use big taro.
Please make sure to use big taro for this recipe. Small taro will not taste "right" for this recipe.
Instructions
Let's get cooking!
In a large pan over medium-high heat, saute the minced taro until lightly browned. This should take about 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
In the same pan, add a little more oil and saute the minced garlic and ginger for a few minutes.
Then add the ground pork and cook for a few more minutes. Season with the oyster sauce.
Add the minced taro back into the pan. Then add ⅓ cup of water (or chicken broth). Stir to mix and then turn the heat to low.
Simmer for about 20 minutes until the taro is very soft. Add more water/broth if it starts to look dry.
Remove from heat and pour into a serving bowl. Top with chopped green onions (optional). Enjoy with a big bowl of rice.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few ideas:
- Skip the ginger - You can skip the ginger and double (or triple) the garlic.
- Soy sauce - Replace half the oyster sauce with soy sauce.
- Marinate ground pork ahead of time - If you have extra time, marinating the ground pork for 30 minutes is a very good idea and makes this dish very flavorful. Place the ground pork in a bowl and add a tablespoon each of sesame oil, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Because the pork is no w very well seasoned, reduce the amount of oyster sauce you add in Step 2 (of recipe below) to 1 tablespoon.
- Bigger pieces of taro - Our taro pieces were pretty small because we made a lot of diced taro for taro cake. But dicing taro is a lot of work! So you can also leave the taro in larger chunks (think 1-inch pieces). You just have to cook for a little longer in Step 3 to make sure that the taro is cooked all the way through and is super tender and soft.
Enjoy!
Equipment
No special equipment is needed. We just use a pan to make the stir fry.
Storage
Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Make sure to store in a sealed container. Reheat in the microwave in 30 second increments.
Top Tip
Don't rush Step 3 (of the recipe below) when cooking the taro on low heat. You want to cook the taro until it is super tender and soft.
You can even cook it until it has a "mashy" texture (think boiled potatoes). Soft taro will soak up all the sauce and flavors. It's not the most beautiful, but it is very delicious.
FAQ
Make Taro Cake!
Or make Taro Rice!
Make Taro (Kalo) With Coconut Milk.
Learn about a popular Hawaiian dessert called Kulolo (Taro Pudding).
We have plenty of tasty ground pork recipes. Here are a few favorites:
Ground pork with noodles:
Mama Noodles
Ants Climbing A Tree
Ground pork with dumplings, rolls, wrapped:
Lumpia
Pork Hash
Gau Gee
Kimchi Dumplings
Stuffed Aburage
Pork Wontons
Ground pork steamed, braised, and stir fry:
Pork Tofu Casserole (Taiwan Mushi)
Steamed Pork With Salted Fish
Braised Daikon, Pork, and Mushroom
Stuffed Bitter Melon
Bitter Melon Stir Fry
Cha Trung (Vietnamese Egg Meatloaf)
Stuffed Tofu
Teriyaki Meatballs
You might see two types of taro at the supermarket. One is small. One is big. Make sure you use the big taro.
Taro and Ground Pork Stir Fry Recipe
Taro and Ground Pork Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 pound taro diced
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1-inch knob of ginger minced
- ½ pound ground pork
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
Instructions
- In a large pan over medium-high heat, saute the minced taro until lightly browned. This should take about 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
- In the same pan, add a little more oil and saute the minced garlic and ginger for a few minutes. Then add the ground pork and cook for a few more minutes. Season with the oyster sauce.
- Add the minced taro back into the pan. Then add ⅓ cup of water (or chicken broth). Stir to mix and then turn the heat to low. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the taro is very soft. Add more water/broth if it starts to look dry.
- Remove from heat and pour into a serving bowl. Top with chopped green onions (optional). Enjoy with a big bowl of rice.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Mahalo for Reading!