Pork Chow Shu Food

AUTHENTIC CHINESE PORK CHOW MEIN

Steps:

• Cut meat into thin strips.
• Combine 2 tbsp cornstarch with sugar, blend in 1 tbsp soy sauce and 2 tbsp oil; mix to blend.
• Pour over pork strips; toss well to coat, marinade in mixture for 20 minutes.
• In a wok or large saute pan heat 2 tablespoons shortening; brown the meat lightly on all sides in hot shortening (after browning the pork you may add in chopped garlic and saute for 2 minutes if desired).
• Add remaining 4 tbsp soy sauce and 1-1/2 cups water; simmer, covered on low heat for 45 minutes.
• Add in the celery and onions; simmer for 15 minutes more.
• In a small bowl, blend in remaining cornstarch with 1/4 cup water; stir into meat mixture.
• Add molasses, water chestnuts, bean sprouts and mushrooms; heat thoroughly.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Garnish with chopped green onions and toasted almonds.

MOO SHU PORK

Steps:

• Whisk the hoisin sauce, vinegar, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the pork and marinate 10 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat. Remove the pork from the marinade using tongs (reserve the marinade) and stir-fry until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons water to the skillet, then pour the pan juices over the pork on the plate.
• Add the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to the skillet; when hot, add the mushrooms and stir-fry until slightly golden, about 2 minutes. Add the coleslaw mix and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the pork, the reserved marinade and half of the scallions; stir-fry 2 more minutes. Season with salt and sprinkle with the remaining scallions. Serve the stir-fry in the lettuce leaves with more hoisin sauce.

CHINESE PORK BUNS (CHA SIU BAO)

Steps:

• Dissolve 1/4 cup sugar in 1 3/4 cups warm water, and then add the yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until mixture is frothy. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons shortening and the yeast mixture; mix well.
• Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a greased bowl, and cover it with a sheet of cling wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until it has tripled in bulk.
• Cut the pork into 2 inch thick strips. Use fork to prick it all over. Marinate for 5 hours in a mixture made with 1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, and 1 teaspoon sweet soy sauce. Grill the pork until cooked and charred. Cut roasted port into 1/2 inch cubes.
• Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, oyster sauce, and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil. Mix cornstarch with 2 1/2 tablespoons water; add to the saucepan, and stir until thickened. Mix in 2 tablespoons lard or shortening, sesame oil, and white pepper. Cool, and mix in the roasted pork.
• Remove the dough from the bowl, and knead it on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth and elastic. Roll the dough into a long roll, and divide it into 24 pieces. Flatten each piece with the palm of the hand to form a thin circle. The center of the circle should be thicker than the edge. Place one portion of the pork filling in the center of each dough circle. Wrap the dough to enclose the filling. Pinch edges to form the bun. Let the buns stand for 10 minutes.
• Steam buns for 12 minutes. Serve.

CHAR SIU (CHINESE BBQ PORK)

Steps:

• Cut pork with the grain into strips 1 1/2- to 2-inches long; put into a large resealable plastic bag.
• Stir soy sauce, honey, ketchup, brown sugar, rice wine, hoisin sauce, red food coloring or red bean curd (see Cook's Note), and Chinese five-spice powder together in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook and stir until just combined and slightly warm, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the marinade into the bag with the pork, squeeze air from the bag, and seal. Turn bag a few times to coat all pork pieces in marinade.
• Marinate pork in refrigerator, 2 hours to overnight.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Remove pork from marinade and shake to remove excess liquid. Discard remaining marinade.
• Cook pork on preheated grill for 20 minutes. Put a small container of water onto the grill and continue cooking, turning the pork regularly, until cooked through, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

MOO SHU PORK

Steps:

• Rehydrate the wood ears and lily buds a day ahead of time. I usually keep them in a tupperware container in the fridge.
• In a wok filled with 3 tbsp oil, bring to high temperature and add the pork. Using a strainer, quickly move around the pork and cook until medium rare, only 1 minute. Remove, strain pork and set aside.
• Leave 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok and return to high heat. Add eggs to hot oil and scramble. Set them aside with cooked pork.
• With remaining oil in wok, stir fry the garlic, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms until soft, about 2-3 minutes and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Add the cabbage, bamboo shoots, and wood ear mushrooms and continue stir frying 2-3 minutes.
• Add half of the hoisin-lime and check for flavor.
• Meanwhile, in a steamer, heat the pancakes until hot.
• Lay individual pancakes on plates and paint on hoisin-lime sauce with the scallion brushes. Top with Moo-Shu, lay on 2 scallion brushes and roll up.
• How to make the pancakes.
• 2 cups unsifted flour.
• 3/4 cup water.
• Kadoya sesame oil.
• Place the flour in a mixing bowl, making a well in the center. Bring water to a boil, then add to the flour. Add additional flour or water as needed to produce a non-sticky dough which can be kneaded. Place the dough on a very lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Cover the dough and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
• At the end of 30 minutes, briefly knead the dough for an additional minute or two. Then, roll the dough into a sausage shape, about 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Measure the cylinder into 16 equal size pieces. Cut and roll each piece into a smooth ball. Moisten fingers with a bit of sesame oil. Flatten each ball out to make a round, biscuit shaped disc. Place the disc on a flat surface and brush top with sesame oil. Similarly, flatten out another ball into a disc of similar diameter and place it atop the first. Roll out this double biscuit into a circle about 6 or 7 inches in diameter. Complete this procedure using the rest of the dough.
• Heat a skillet, brushing the inside bottom with sesame oil. Add one of the double pancakes and cook 30 seconds. Flip and cook another half minute, taking care that they do not brown. Quickly lift the pancake away from the hot surface and slap it down on the work surface. While the pancake is still warm, peel the double cake apart into two pancakes. Reserve. Repeat until all of the cakes have been completed. Stack in a sheet of foil. Carefully seal the foil with pancakes into a packet and steam 20-30 minutes before use. Serve warm.

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

CHAR SIU (叉燒) - CHINESE BBQ PORK

Steps:

• We'll cut our pork shoulder into long slices, roughly about 1 inch thick.
• To a bowl, we'll add:
• Place the meat into a ziploc bag, pour the sauce in, and massage the pork for about 2 minutes so that the sauce is able to finesse its way into the meat. Afterwards, we'll push all the air out of the bag and seal it.
• Preheat the oven to 425° F or 218° C.
• Now, we'll be placing the pork into the oven and taking it out periodically to lather it again with either our leftover pork marinade, or honey diluted with water.
• Once the char siu has finished its last cycle in the oven, we'll lather each side with our diluted honey.

CHAR SIU (CHINESE BBQ PORK)

Steps:

• Cut the pork into long strips or chunks about 2 to 3 inches thick. Don't trim any excess fat, as it will render off and add flavor.
• Combine the sugar, salt, five spice powder, white pepper, sesame oil, wine, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, molasses, food coloring (if using), and garlic in a bowl to make the marinade (i.e. the BBQ sauce).
• Reserve about 2 tablespoons of marinade and set it aside. Rub the pork with the rest of the marinade in a large bowl or baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours. Cover and store the reserved marinade in the fridge as well.
• Preheat your oven to 'bake' at 475 F (246 C) with a rack positioned in the upper third of the oven. (If you only have a convection oven, keep in mind the oven not only heats more quickly, your char siu will roast faster than what we have described here). It's amazing how oven temperatures can vary-from model to model, in different spots in the oven, and in how ovens pre-heat and maintain heat. Using an oven thermometer to double-check the actual oven temperature is a great safeguard to monitor your food (I say double-check because even oven thermostat calibrations vary and can sometimes be incorrect). Regardless, be sure to check your char siu every 10 minutes, reducing or increasing the temperature as needed.
• Line a sheet pan with foil and place a metal rack on top. Using the metal rack keeps the pork off of the pan and allows it to roast more evenly, like it does in commercial ovens described above. Place the pork on the rack, leaving as much space as possible between pieces. Pour 1 ½ cups water into the pan below the rack. This prevents any drippings from burning or smoking.
• Transfer the pork to your preheated oven. Roast for 25 minutes, keeping the oven setting at 475 F for the first 10 minutes of roasting, and then reduce your oven temperature to 375 F (190 C). After 25 minutes, flip the pork. If the bottom of the pan is dry, add another cup of water. Turn the pan 180 degrees to ensure even roasting. Roast another 15 minutes. Throughout the roasting time, check your char siu often (every 10 minutes) and reduce the oven temperature if it looks like it is burning!
• Meanwhile, combine the reserved marinade with the maltose or honey (maltose is very viscous--you can heat it up in the microwave to make it easier to work with) and 1 tablespoon hot water. This will be the sauce you'll use for basting the pork.
• After 40 minutes of total roasting time, baste the pork, flip it, and baste the other side as well. Roast for a final 10 minutes.
• By now, the pork has cooked for 50 minutes total. It should be cooked through and caramelized on top. If it's not caramelized to your liking, you can turn the broiler on for a couple minutes to crisp the outside and add some color/flavor. Be sure not to walk away during this process, since the sweet char siu BBQ sauce can burn if left unattended. You can also use a meat thermometer to check if the internal temperature of the pork has reached 160 degrees F. (Update: USDA recommends that pork should be cooked to 145 degrees F with a 3 minute resting time)
• Remove from the oven and baste with the last bit of reserved BBQ sauce. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing, and enjoy!

PORK CHOP SUEY

Steps:

• In a skillet over medium heat, brown pork in oil. Add onion and saute for 10 minutes. Add water, celery, mushrooms, bouillon and ginger; cover and cook for 30-40 minutes or until pork is tender., Combine cornstarch and soy sauce until smooth; stir into skillet and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.