A Crispy Pork and Rice Recipe, Brightened With Pickled Slaw

Making quick pickles — vegetables infused in brine for as little as 10 minutes — is the easiest way to add a little brightness to an otherwise lackluster meal.

I often pile them on sandwiches, salads, and grain bowls. Usually they’re born with whatever I have on hand: half an onion lingering in the fridge or some smashed cucumbers.

In this recipe, I apply that technique to a full-on slaw. Instead of a creamy version, this one is super acidic — and makes a showstopping side served alongside crispy ground pork and sushi rice.

To start, prepare your vegetables. Julienne 2 medium carrots, which comes out to a little more than a half cup. (Although you can buy pre-shredded carrots, I highly recommend investing in this julienne peeler; you’ll recoup your $10 investment in no time.) Slice 2 Persian cucumbers into thin planks.

Thinly slice a quarter of a small Napa cabbage, which should come out to a heaping cup. You can buy pre-shredded here, too — but whole cabbages last a shocking amount of time in the fridge (I consider them my emergency vegetable), so I prefer to buy them whole.

Thinly slice 2 scallions. If you don’t want to buy a whole bunch, you can substitute a small thinly sliced shallot or even a bit of thinly sliced onion here.

In a small bowl, make your brine by whisking together 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, ½ teaspoon of kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon of sugar. Pour it over the vegetables, mix, and set aside.

Return and mix the slaw every 10 to 15 minutes as you cook the rest of the meal. The vegetables will release their own moisture, absorb the vinegar, and become more limber. As the slaw sits, the mound will sink.

Now rinse ½ cup of sushi rice until the water runs clear. Add it to a small pot along with ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of water. (I usually just eyeball a tiny bit over the ½-cup line and it turns out fine, but precision never hurts.) Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then turn it down to a simmer, cover, and cook for 18 minutes. When done, turn off the heat and put a kitchen towel under the lid to absorb moisture as the rice steams for about 10 minutes.

While the rice is simmering, make the pork. (I’ll note here that crumbled tofu is a great sub if  you want to skip the meat.) Add ½ pound of ground pork to a bowl. Season it with ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. Grate 1 small garlic clove over it, and mix everything together with your hands.

Place a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat on the stove. (Both cast iron and stainless steel will work well.) Add a drizzle of olive oil; you don’t need too much, as the meat itself is fatty. Add the pork, pressing it into a thin, even layer. Let that cook until brown and crispy across the bottom, seven to eight minutes.

Flip the pork over, breaking it up into bite-sized pieces as you go. Cook for another three to four minutes.

Just a reminder: By now, your rice should be close to done. As it finishes up, make a spicy mayo. Scoop 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise into a bowl and then stir in a bit of your preferred hot sauce — sriracha, sambal, whatever. I also like to add a splash of rice vinegar to liven things up even more.

Put everything into a bowl, and you’ve got the perfect balance: sticky rice; fatty, crispy pork; creamy, spicy mayo; and a slaw that elevates everything with its quick-pickled punch.