Moo Shu Pork


Moo-Shu Pork  
Wow, did I ever pick the most complicated (and, arguably the best tasting dish) for this week-ends Chinese-Themed Cooking Party.  As if a decent recipe for the pork mixture wasn't enough, I also needed to produce a great pancake to go with it.  I found one moo shu recipe which read well, until I got to the part where it wanted me to use FLOUR TORTILLAS! in lieu of an authentic pancake.  It's a tell, when one sees such a blatant shortcut, which should cause the screen to be killed; which I did.  Finally found the recipe which follows.  I did a "dry run" on this recipe and it is two things I like in a recipe, Great and Easy.  
Thank goodness, other members of my Cooking Clique are contributing to the dinner, for I fear this would be the only thing on the menu if I was running solo.  
(I am making an edit in the recipe in slicking the pork butt into strips, because of the way I like it to lye in the pancake for presentation.)
Here goes:

For pancake dough:
Use the Recipe which Follows.
For the Pork Mixture:
16 ounces pork butt, trimmed and thinly sliced across grain
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
4 tablespoons Shaohsing rice wine
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 ounce dried Chinese black mushrooms (also known as black fungus or wood ear mushrooms; about 2/3 cup)
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon Asian toasted sesame oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

To cook pancakes: (I did used this suggestion)
1 tablespoon Asian toasted-sesame oil
2 tablespoons peanut oil

To cook pork:
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 (1/4-inch) piece fresh ginger, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced on diagonal
8 ounces Napa cabbage, quartered lengthwise, cored, and cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch triangles (about 5 cups)
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 English or kirby cucumber, cut crosswise into 2-inch lengths, then thinly sliced lengthwise (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon Asian toasted sesame oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
preparation
Prep stir-fry:
In large nonreactive bowl, toss together pork, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice wine, pepper, and cornstarch. Let marinate 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine dried black mushrooms and boiling water to cover. Let stand until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, squeezing out excess liquid, rinse to remove any grit, discard stems, and coarsely chop caps. Set aside.
In small bowl, stir together remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 1 tablespoon rice wine, oyster sauce, and sugar. Set aside.
In small sauté pan over moderate heat, heat sesame oil until hot but not smoking. Add eggs and scramble until softly set, about 1 minute. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.

Cook pancakes:
Keep warm until ready to serve.

Cook stir-fry:
In wok or heavy large sauté pan over moderately high heat, heat peanut oil until hot but not smoking. Add ginger, garlic, half of scallions (reserve remainder for garnish), and pork and stir-fry until pork is cooked through and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add black mushrooms, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, and cucumber and stir-fry until vegetables are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs and soy sauce-rice wine-oyster sauce mixture and stir-fry until heated through, about 1 minute.
Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with remaining scallions. To serve, divide pork mixture among pancakes and roll up to enclose mixture.

At any rate, it worked and it wasn't complicated.

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