• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Subscribe
Subscribe by email Connect on Facebook Connect on Pinterest Follow Me on Instagram

Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Finding the Forgotten Feast

  • Shop
  • Video Course
  • Stories
  • About
    • Public Events
    • Privacy Policy
  • Wild Game
    • Venison Recipes
    • Duck Recipes and Goose Recipes
    • Rabbits, Hares and Squirrels
    • Pheasants, Turkey, Quail
    • Dove Recipes
    • Wild Pig and Bear Recipes
    • My Best Taco Recipes
    • Wild Game Sauces
  • Charcuterie
    • Homemade Sausage Recipes
    • Smoker Recipes
    • Bacon, Jerky, Hams, etc
    • Salami Recipes
    • Confit, Pate, Terrines
  • Fish
    • General Fish Recipes
    • Salmon Recipes
    • Snapper Recipes
    • Crabs, Shellfish and Squid
    • Little Fish and Oddballs
  • Gathering
    • Preservation Recipes
    • Mushrooms
    • Sweet Things
    • Wild Greens and Herbs
    • Acorns, Nuts, Starches
  • Podcast
Home » Foraging » Fiddleheads Stir Fry with Pork

Fiddleheads Stir Fry with Pork

By Hank Shaw on May 1, 2017, Updated April 2, 2021 - 1 Comment

Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe Comment
5 from 3 votes
fiddlehead stir fry
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Ah, fiddleheads. One of the more mysterious wild spring vegetables. They are the fresh new shoots of a few particular species of ferns, and their cool shape and crunchy, slightly slippery texture and “green” taste make them one of the most sought-after spring wild edibles. This stir fry is my favorite fiddlehead recipe.

This is not a post about identifying fiddleheads, although if you want to find your own, you need to look for fiddleheads from the ostrich fern in the East, Midwest and Canada, and lady fern everywhere else. And remember: Most ferns put up fiddleheads, which are a structure, not a species. You must find the right fiddleheads.

Fiddlehead stir fry in a bowl
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

We only have lady fern fiddleheads here in California. They’re OK, but not as good as the Eastern ostrich fern fiddlehead. If you are east of the Great Plains, you can often buy them in farmer’s markets. Sometimes you can see them in ritzy supermarkets like Whole Foods.

Whatever fiddleheads recipe you use, you will want to highlight them. Their season only lasts a few weeks, and you’ll want to savor your fiddleheads while they’re around. (Although you can pickle fiddleheads to eat later in the year.)

I like to add fiddleheads to other springtime dishes, like rabbit with morels and fiddleheads, trout with morels, and added to springy things like ramp pasta or nettle spätzle.

As for my favorite fiddleheads recipe, this Chinese stir fry hits the spot.

It’s all about the fiddleheads, although there’s a healthy amount of shredded pork in there for good measure (vegetarians, sub in mushrooms like morels or shiitakes). It’s light, with no heavy, goopy sauce to hide the flavors of the fiddleheads and other vegetables in the bowl. Serve it with simple steamed rice and you’ll be in business.

I like to add unopened daylily buds to this fiddleheads recipe, because you find them around the same time as fiddleheads, but green beans are a perfectly good substitute.

A Chinese fiddlehead recipe, a stir fry in a bowl
Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Fiddleheads Stir Fry with Pork

This is a great fiddleheads recipe and a classic Chinese stir fry, with the marinade, stir fry ingredients and then a simple sauce. You will want to "velvet" the meat first -- this pre-frying step keeps the meat super tender -- and then bring everything all together in just a couple minutes. Trust me, this recipe is a lot easier than it looks. Just make sure you have everything prepped before you start, so you can just reach for things as you need them.
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time45 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 280kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

MARINADE

  • 2 teaspoons corn starch
  • 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 egg white

STIR FRY

  • 1 pound pork loin, cut into 1/4-inch matchsticks
  • 2 cups vegetable oil, (peanut if possible)
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
  • 1/2 to 1 pound fiddleheads
  • 1/4 pound daylily buds or green beans
  • 1/4 cup ramps, wild onions or scallions, sliced on the diagonal

SAUCE

  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (black is OK, too)
  • 1 teaspoon corn starch

Instructions

  • Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl, then mix well with the shredded pork, making sure each piece is nicely coated. Set aside at room temperature while you chop the vegetables. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in another bowl.
  • Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan to about 275°F -- not too hot. Working with about 1/4 of the pork at a time, fry the meat in the hot oil for 30 to 45 seconds, just to set the coating. Move to a plate and repeat with the rest of the pork. When you're done, remove all but about 3 tablespoons of the oil. (You can strain and reuse the oil 2 or 3 more times.)
  • Heat the remaining oil in the wok over very high heat on your hottest burner. When the oil is thinking about smoking, add the fiddleheads. Stir fry them until you get a little char on the edges of the fiddleheads, about 2 or 3 minutes.
  • Add the daylily buds or green beans and stir fry another minute. Add the garlic and sliced green onions and stir fry 1 more minute. Finally, stir the sauce well so you get the corn starch (which will have settled to the bottom of the bowl) and pour it into the stir fry. Cook another 30 seconds or so and serve at once.

Notes

You can switch up the meat if you want. Chicken, wild turkey, grouse, quail, partridge -- even fish and shellfish -- are all good alternates. I'd stick to light colored meats here, but you could do duck or venison if that floats your boat.

Nutrition

Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 491mg | Potassium: 509mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 290IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @HuntGatherCook or tag #HankShaw!

Thanks for Sharing This!

262 shares

Filed Under: Asian, Featured, Foraging, Recipe

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Avatar for Daniel WhittingtonDaniel Whittington says

    May 4, 2015 at 9:06 am

    Wow, I basically independently thought this up on Friday. I found my first fiddleheads ever (I’d always showed up too late in previous seasons) as well as some feral onions and wanted a simple preparation to let them shine. With some of your other stir fry recipes in the back of my head, I basically made up the same recipe. Though I added red peppers and Porcini and served it over black rice.

    It was fantastic!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hank Shaw holding a rod and reel in the American River

Hi, my name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

More about Hank...

Featured Recipes

Closeup of sliced, smoked venison backstrap on a platter
Venison 101: How to Cook Venison
pickled pike recipe
Pickled Pike
Slices of smoked venison roast on a cutting board.
Smoked Venison Roast
Conejo en adobo on a plate
Conejo en Adobo
A platter of fried walleye with lemon.
Fried Walleye
A plate of pine nut cookies.
Pine Nut Cookies

As Seen In

As seen on CNN, New York Times, Simply Recipes, Martha Stewart, Food and Wine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, and The Splendid Table

Never Miss a Recipe

Receive recipes direct to your inbox.

 

 

Back to Top
  • Home
  • Shop
  • Video Course
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Stories
  • Wild Game
  • Charcuterie
  • Fish
  • Gathering
Subscribe by email Connect on Facebook Connect on Pinterest Follow Me on Instagram

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

© 2023 Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, All Rights Reserved.

Site built by: Site by Status Forward

262 shares
  • Print
  • Pinterest
  • 154Facebook
  • WhatsApp
  • Save
  • Email
262 shares
  • 154