Muxi Rou Chinese Mushu Pork Food

MUXI ROU (CHINESE MUSHU PORK)

Steps:

• Soak wood ears in boiling water for 20-60 minutes, then drain and squeeze out excess water, and slice julienne.
• Freeze the pork loin for 20-30 minutes to firm up a little bit, then slice very thin, then stack the slices and julienne.
• Combine 1/4 t salt, 1/2 t sugar, 2 t soy sauce, 6 turns white pepper mill, 1 t wine, 1 t cornstarch, and 1 T water for the marinade. Add to the pork and stir to coat.
• Marinate meat for about 20 minutes, then stir in 1 T oil.
• Beat the eggs lightly with 1 T oil and 1/4 t salt.
• Heat a wok over high heat until smoke rises. Add 1 T oil and swirl it around. Add the wood ears and stir for 30 seconds. Season with 1/4 t salt, 1/4 T sugar, and 1 T soy sauce. Transfer to warm dish and set aside.
• Reheat the wok until smoking. Add 2 T oil and swirl it around. Pour in the egg and scramble lightly. Set aside on warm plate.
• Scrape wok clean, washing if necessary.
• Reheat wok until smoke rises. Add 3 T oil and swirl around. Add the garlic and stir a moment until fragrant. Add the white part of the scallions, toss and allow to sizzle for a few moments. Add the pork and stir-fry for about a minute until color changes. Add 1 t wine around the side of the wok, continuing to stir-fry. Add wood ears and eggs to the wok, stirring for another minute until pork and egg are thoroughly cooked and all ingredients are hot.
• Serving option 1: After removing wok from heat, toss in green onion parts and fresh cilantro, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve with rice.
• Serving option 2: After removing wok from heat, drizzle with sesame oil. Serve meat on one platter, mandarin pancakes on another, and green onions and cilantro in a third dish. At the table people may pick up a pancake, and use their chopsticks to stuff the pancake with meat and top with green onions and cilantro.
• Serves 2 as the main dish, or up to 10 as part of a full Chinese meal.

MU SHU PORK

Steps:

• Combine soy sauce, sherry and hoisin sauce in a bowl. Add the pork, toss to coat evenly, cover, refrigerate and marinate for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, soak the mushrooms in enough hot water to cover for 20 minutes. Drain and thinly slice. Set aside on a plate, along with the cabbage, carrot and scallions.
• Heat a wok or large skillet over medium/high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil and swirl to coat. Pour in the eggs, swirling and tilting the wok to form a thin film. Cook just until the eggs are set and feel dry on top, about 1 minute. Transfer to a platter, let cool slightly and cut into 1 inch strips.
• Return the wok to high heat, and swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Add the garlic, and ginger, and stir-fry to release the aromas, about 1 minute. Add the pork and stirfry until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the reserved mushrooms, cabbage, carrot, bean sprouts, and scallions, along with the chicken stock, and stir-fry another 2 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, and sugar, and cook, stirring until sauce boils, about 1 minute. Add egg strips and mix well. To serve, spread a small amount of hoisin sauce on a warm Mandarin Pancake. Spoon about 1/2 cup mu shu mixture in center of pancake, wrap like a burrito, folding the ends to close, and serve.
• Place flour in a medium bowl, making a well in the center. Pour in the boiling water, and use a wooden spoon or chopsticks to mix until a soft dough is formed. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough gently until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a log, 16 inches long. Cut the log crosswise into 1 inch pieces, shape each piece into a ball, then use your hands to flatten each ball into a pancake. Brush the tops of the pancakes lightly with the sesame oil. Then, place one pancake on top of a second pancake, oiled sides together, so that there are 8 pairs. With a rolling pin, flatten each pair into a 6 inch circle. (A tortilla press also works well for this.) Cover the pancakes with a damp towel to rest.
• Heat an ungreased, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the pancakes, one at a time, turning them once as they puff and little bubbles appear on the surface, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes on each side. As each pancake is finished, remove from pan and gently separate the halves into 2 pancakes while still hot. Stack cooked pancakes on a plate while cooking the remaining pancakes.
• Serve pancakes while still warm with Mu Shu Pork. Or, pancakes may be prepared up to 1 day in advance, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated. Pancakes may also be frozen. Reheat them by steaming for 5 minutes, or warming them in a 350 degree F oven, wrapped in foil, for 10 minutes.
• Yield: 16 pancakes

MOO SHU PORK

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat sesame oil in a wok over medium heat and mix in sweet bean paste. Stir together until smooth and then add soy sauce and sugar. When sauce bubbles, taste and adjust seasoning, then scrape sauce into a small bowl. Rinse out wok.
• Make the moo shu pork: In a small bowl, mix together rice wine and sugar. Set aside.
• Slice meat against the grain into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Cut into batons about 1/8-inch wide. Put batons in a small bowl and toss them with salt. (If using pressed bean curd, cut it into thin julienne before tossing it with salt.)
• Soak shredded dried wood ear fungus in boiling water until pliable, about 15 minutes, then rinse and drain in colander. (Fresh wood ears should be rinsed before they're trimmed and cut into thin strips.) Meanwhile, if using dried daylily flowers, cover with boiling water and let soak until soft, about 10 minutes, then drain and tear into strips. (Carrots do not need to be soaked.)
• Place wok over medium heat, and when hot, swirl in 2 tablespoons sesame oil. Toss in garlic and fry until fragrant. Add eggs and scramble them, breaking up large curds into pieces 1/2 inch or smaller. When eggs are barely done, scrape into a large, clean bowl. If any garlic remains in the wok, wipe it out.
• Raise heat under wok to high. Pour in another 2 tablespoons oil into the hot wok and quickly stir-fry meat until it's browned before scraping it into eggs.
• Return wok to high heat. Stir-fry bamboo shoots with a little bit more oil as needed, then add wood ears and either the daylily flowers or carrot and cook these until they are barely done before tossing them into the bowl with the meat and eggs. (If you're using bean sprouts in place of bamboo shoots, cook the wood ears and daylily flowers or carrot alone and add them to the bowl with the meat and eggs; then place wok over high heat, swirl in a tiny bit of oil and quickly stir-fry the sprouts until they're just beyond raw but still very crisp before adding them to the bowl with the other cooked ingredients.)
• Place wok back over high heat, pour in any remaining sesame oil, and add green onions, all of the cooked meat, eggs and vegetables, and the rice wine and sugar mixture. Toss these quickly together for a few seconds, taste and adjust seasoning, and plate in a bowl or on a rimmed platter.
• Serve hot with the sauce, wheat wrappers and shredded green onions. Have each diner spread about 2 teaspoons sauce down the center of the wrapper, sprinkle on some raw green onions, and pile on about 1/2 cup of the meat mixture. Fold the bottom edge of the wrapper up over the meat mixture, then fold one side over the center before rolling up the rest of the wrapper from the opposite edge. Eat with your hands.

MU-SHU PORK

Steps:

• Place pork, soy sauce, Marsala, sugar, sesame oil, and salt and pepper in a small bowl; toss and set aside.
• Heat peanut oil in a large wok over high heat. Add ginger, scallions, cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms; cook, stirring and tossing constantly, until vegetables are wilted, about 5 minutes. Add pork and marinade and 6 tablespoons water; cook, stirring constantly, until pork is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately wrapped curry pancakes, with the plum sauce on the side.

CHINESE TAKE-OUT MU SHU PORK

Steps:

• Prepare the pancakes according to the directions with the Chinese Take-Out Peking Duck. In a small bowl, combine the pork, 2 tablespoons of the sherry, 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, and half the garlic. Toss together, and refrigerate while assembling the remaining ingredients.
• In a separate bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and sherry, the stock, 1 tablspoon of the sesame oil, the sugar, chili paste, 1/2 tsp of the salt, and black pepper to taste. Set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok or saute pan set over medium heat. Add the eggs and stir-fry until they become firm, about 1 minute. Transfer the eggs to a large bowl.
• Add another 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the wok and heat. Add the cabbage, mushrooms, and green onion. Saute the vegetables until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining garlic, the ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and continue to cook for another minute, or until the garlic and ginger are fragrant. Transfer the mixture to the bowl containing the eggs.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in the wok, then add the pork and its marinade and stir-fry until it is almost cooked, about 2 minutes.
• Return the cabbage and eggs to the wok along with the sauce. When the sauce boils, add the cornstarch mixture and cook for another minute, or until the sauce thickens. Transfer the mixture to a heated platter.
• To serve, arrange a platter with mu shu pork, pancakes, and hoisin and let your guests make their own mu shu.

MU SHU PORK

Steps:

• Place 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of white wine, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in a non-reactive bowl, and stir until smooth. Stir the pork strips into the marinade until thoroughly coated, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Pour hot water over the shiitake mushrooms in a bowl, and allow to soften for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, pat dry, remove any hard stem pieces, and finely chop the mushrooms. Combine the mushrooms, green onions, garlic, and ginger in a bowl, and set aside.
• Remove the leaves from the Napa cabbage, and tear the green leafy portions from the central stalks of the leaves. Slice the stalks the long way into thin slices, then cut them into 1-inch pieces. Finely chop the green leafy portions, and set aside the sliced stems and chopped leaves in separate bowls.
• In a small bowl, stir together 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of white wine, 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch, sugar, and ground black pepper. Set the mixture aside.
• Heat vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil in a wok over medium-high heat, and cook and stir the marinated pork until cooked through, no longer pink, and the edges have begun to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove the pork to a bowl.
• Pour the beaten eggs into the hot wok, adding more vegetable oil if necessary, and cook and stir until the eggs are scrambled, firm, and well-broken up, about 2 minutes. Stir in the mushroom mixture, and cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes; then stir in the Napa cabbage stem pieces. Cook and stir until the stem pieces are hot but still crunchy, about 1 minute, and then add the chopped cabbage leaves. Pour in 2 tablespoons of white wine, cook and stir the mixture until hot, about 1 more minute, then mix in the cooked pork and the reserved cornstarch mixture. Stir everything together until slightly thickened and hot, about 2 minutes.
• Mix the hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. To serve, spread about 1 tablespoon of hoisin mixture on each pancake, top with about 1/2 cup of the pork mixture, roll, and serve.