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

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.

 The Best RecipeLink for the Pancakes I can find. 

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

Baked Pork Chops with Parmesan Sage Crust

My Crew and I like simple fried pork chops for a quick mid-week dinner.
This is a great recipe to "dress up" the chops for guests.  They are delish!





Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
1 tablespoon dried rubbed sage
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 large eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 boneless center-cut pork loin chops (each about 1 inch thick)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges (optional)
Orange wedges (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, sage and lemon peel in pie dish. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend. Place flour on plate; season generously with salt and pepper. Coat pork chops on both sides with flour; shake off excess. Dip chops into eggs, then coat on both sides with breadcrumb mixture.
Melt butter with oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops to skillet and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer skillet with pork to oven. Bake until pork chops are crisp on the outside and meat thermometer inserted into pork registers 150°F, about 20 minutes.
Transfer pork chops to plates. Garnish with lemon wedges and orange wedges, if desired, and serve.

Pork Milanese with Tomato Topping

Did a bit of twiking to this recipe, but it was Exellent.
Plus you get the recipe for the topping, which I'm going to remember the next time I prepare fried grouper.





Ingredients for Chops:

1 pork tenderloin, about 1 lb. (we used 4 bonless chops with a bit of fat on them)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs or 3/4 c. italian Panko
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

This works best if the tenderloin is very cold. Sticking it in the freezer for 10 minutes will help.
Combine the breadcrumbs and the grated cheese in a shallow bowl.
Slice the pork tenderloin into medallions that are approximately 1/2″ thick. Pound the medallions until they are about half as thick with a mallet or heavy-bottomed pan or object. 
Season with salt and pepper.
Dip the thin slices first into the beaten eggs and then into the breadcrumbs/cheese, coating all pieces.
Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add oil and heat until hot.
Add breaded pork tenderloin to the hot oil and pan-fry until pork is done. The chops will take abbut 4-5 min. per side. This should only take about a minute or two per side since the pork is so thin. Set aside and keep warm.

Tomato Topping

1 small onion,  diced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Balsamic vinegar, couple tablespoonsful
Basil (fresh is best but dried works)
Salt and pepper

In the same pan you cooked the tenderloin, add the onions to saute until translucent (add more oil if necessary). Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar.
Stir in tomatoes and basil, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer (for as long as you want, really).
Spoon over the pork tenderloin milanese