Muxi Rou Chinese Mushu Pork Recipes

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

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.

EASY MU SHU PORK

Steps:

• Place 1/2 of the coleslaw mix and 1/2 of the carrots in a slow cooker. Add mushrooms; toss to combine. Stir in garlic. Add 1/2 cup hoisin sauce and soy sauce and stir to combine. Place pork on top of vegetables. Cover and cook on Low until pork is fork-tender, 4 to 5 hours.
• Shred pork using 2 forks. Add remaining coleslaw mix, carrots, and 1/4 cup hoisin sauce to the slow cooker; stir to combine.
• Heat tortillas on a skillet over medium-high heat, about 10 seconds per side. Divide pork mixture among tortillas. Top with green onions and sesame oil.