Recipe ingredients and directions:
1/2 pound boneless pork loin or butt
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dry sherry
2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tablespoon water
1-1/2 Tablespooons oil
2 eggs, well beaten with 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Golden Needles (about 30)
2 Tablespoons mo-er mushrooms
1/2 cup shredded bamboo shoots
4 Tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chicken stock or water
2 to 3 teaspoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
chinese pancakes
Cut the meat against the grain into slices a little thinnner than
1/4 inch thick, then into julienne shreds about 1-1/2 inches long.
Toss them in a mixing bowl with your fingers, separating the shreds.
Add the marinade, mix well, and let the meat marinate for 30 minutes.
These steps may be done in advance and the meat refrigerated.
Cover the Golden Needles and mo-er mushrooms separately with hot
water and soak for 30 minutes. Rinse them well and drain. Cut
off and discard the knobby ends of the Golden Needles; then cut
them in half. Tear the mo-er mushrooms into small pieces, discarding
the hard ‘eyes’ if any. Rinse and drain the shredded bamboo shoots.
Place all the vegetables on your working platter. Beat the eggs
with the salt.
Heat a wok or large, heavy skillet over high heat until very hot;
add 1-1/2 tablespoons oil, swirl, and heat for 30 seconds. Pour
in the eggs and swirl the pan quickly. The instant the eggs puff
up around the edges push them away from you with a spatula as you
tilt the pan toward you, so that the liquid eggs on top slide down
into the hot pan.
Repeat this pushing and tilting a few times with lightning speed
until the eggs are no longer running but have become soft and
fluffy, then poke and shake them rapidly with the tip of the spatula
to break them into tiny pieces. Scrape them immediately into a
dish. The actions should be extremely fast, so the eggs won’t have
any time to toughen.
Wipe the pan and add the last 2 Tablespoons oil, swirl, and heat
until hot. Scatter in the meat and stir, shake, and toss rapidly
for about 1 minute until all the pinkness is gone. Add the stock
or water, even out the contents, cover and let the meat steam-cook
vigorously for about 1-1/2 minutes. Add the vegetables, then the
soy sauce, sherry, and sugar, and stir rapidly for 30 seconds to
mingle them. Scatter in the scrambled eggs and stir them in fast
tossing and turning motions for another 30 seconds. Sprinkle the
top with the sesame oil, give the contents a few sweeping folds,
and pour into a hot serving dish. Swerve with Chinese Pancakes or
rice.
Variations.
Omit the scrambled eggs and you have a delicious meat and vegetable
dish. And instead of bamboo shoots you could use shredded peeled
broccoli stems, Chinese celery or green cabbage. In that case
increase the stir frying by 1 minute or longer until the vegetables
are soft but not completely limp.
Chinese Pancakes
2 cups flour
1 cup boiling water
3 Tablespoons oil for brushing
Measure the flour into a large bowl and add the boiling water
gradually as you stir with chopsticks or a wooden spoon until the
mixture resembles lumpy meal. Press the mass into a large ball.
Dust your work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it.
Knead it, pushing with the heels of your hands and turning it, for
5 minutes, until it is no longer sticky. Dust lightly with flour
whenever necessary. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for
30 minutes.
Flour the work surface again and knead the dough another 5 minutes
until it is soft and smooth, dusting with flour when necessary.
Shape the dough into a log, cut it in half lengthwise, and then
roll each half back and forth with your palms to form a sausage
shape about 15 inches long. Cut each sausage into 1-inch pieces
and stand them up on their edges on a floured surface.
Brush 1 side of a piece of dough with oil and press this side onto
another piece; then roll into a double pancake measuring about 6
inches in diameter. Repeat until you have made 15 double pancakes.
Doubling is to cut the pan baking time and effort in half.
Heat a heavy skillet over low heat until hot. Place a pancake in
the center and "bake" it for about 1-1/2 minutes, until the surface
puffs into a bubble and the bottom is speckled with small light
brown spots. Flip and bake the other side about 45 seconds. These
pancakes should be soft and slightly chewy. The crucial point in
making them is the heat level; if the pan is too hot the pancakes
will be covered with large burned spots and if it is not hot enough
the pancake will dry out in cooking. Be careful to bake only 1-1/2
minutes and test for light brown spots, and you’ll have a perfect
pancake. ake.
Remove the double pancake to a plate while you put another one into
the skillet; then peel off the finished top one to give you 2
individual pancakes. Fold each one to make a half moon and place
on a plate. Repeat the baking, peeling and folding until all 30
pancakes are made, lowering heat if pancakes are browning too fast.
Steam the folded pancakes on a heatproof plate for 5 minutes before
serving them. You may make them hours or days in advance, and you
can freeze them. Wrap tightly in plastic for refrigerating or
freezing. Reheat by steaming 10 to 15 minutes until soft and
resilient.
In Chinese Mo-shu means yellow cassia blossoms. They are symbolized
here by the tiny pieces of scrambled eggs that are mingled into
this shredded meat and vegetable dish. It is northern in origin,
traditionally served with steamed pancakes into which one rolls
the meat, but it’s just as good with rice. It’s both fluffy and
full of crunch. There is enough filling for 12 pancakes, and they
make a nice meal for 4 with appetizers and dessert.
Category: Asian Recipes
