Mu Shu Pork: An authentic combination of textures and tastes

For some reason, I had the taste for Mu Shu--you know, those lovely pancakes filled with a tangy, slightly sweet, combination of vegetables, eggs, and meat.  Problem?  This is a dish that has been changed so much from its Chinese origins, I don't know what real Mu Shu is.  To this end, I went on a mission.  I spent several hours looking up recipes for authentic Mu Shu online.  I also searched a few "authentic" Chinese cookbooks.  I found some similarities, that in general, found that recipes from China used more fungus, and recipes from America, more vegetables than different fungi.  I used some ideas from Ming Tsai, when I added lime to the Hoisin sauce, to cut the sweetness.
This hybrid is authentic to the taste of some traditional Chinese recipes, with the addition of more vegetables.


I made this with homemade mu shu wrappers, which were amazing. I will put that recipe on line soon.  You can use frozen mu shu wrappers, but homemade are much better.

Serves 4-6

1 pound pork loin, finely julienned


2 t. minced garlic


2 t. minced ginger


1 cup soaked, sliced shiitake mushrooms


½ cup soaked, sliced black mushrooms or other dried mushrooms

20 dried Lily buds, hard part removed, torn in half, lengthwise and soaked

3 cups shredded Napa cabbage


1 carrot, thinly julienned into matchstick sized pieces

3/4 cup bamboo shoots, julienned (may use canned that have been rinsed well in cold water)


2 cups bean sprouts

1 bunch green onions, cut into ½ inch pieces

4 eggs, beaten

Sauce:

1/2 cup hoisin sauce (I like Lee Kum Kee)

juice of 1 lime

1 t. ginger

1 t. garlic

2 T. oil

For serving: 12-16 Chinese Pancakes (Mu Shu Wrappers--Recipe to come)

Directions

1.            Bring 1/2 cup oil to about 350 degrees (almost smoking) in a wok or deep, large frying pan,  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.

2.            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.

3.            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.

4.            Add the cabbage, bamboo shoots, and wood ear mushrooms and continue stir frying 2-3 minutes.

5.            Add back the pork and eggs.

6.            Add half of the hoisin-lime and check for flavor.

7.            Meanwhile, in a steamer or wrapped in plastic in the microwave, heat the pancakes until hot.

8.            Lay individual pancakes on plates and paint on hoisin-lime sauce Top with Mu-Shu and roll up to serve.

Roasted Pork Loin, carmelized onion, and escarole sandwich: Cornhole Extravaganza!

A group of my friends gathered last night to play some cornhole.  It's a weird name for a game, isn't it?  Almost feel dirty saying it.  Anyways, this is a game normally played outside as it involves lofting bean bags about 20 feet in the air and into a hole on a slanted board. Perhaps you've seen it being played. It's loads of fun, but I'm not very good at it.  The weather has been remarkably warm (thanks global climate change), so we decided to break out the boards at Mark's shop, which is in a quansit hut. 

Of course, this was an opportunity for me to cook.  And, as we were going to be in a woodworking shop, I decided to make something that could be eaten over a long period of time without need for heating or refrigeration.  Sandwiches!  Oh, my opportunity was here to make that lovely sandwich I had at Olympic Provisions back in December.  Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!

I made 2 batches of focaccia dough and made just one huge sandwich for folks to cut into hunks as they saw fit.  I actually made two parts to the sandwich.  2/3rds was the roasted pork loin with homemade mayonaise, escarole, and carmelized onions (YUM!), and 1/3 was hummus, feta cheese, calamata olives, cucumbers, red onions and tomatoes, for my vegetarian friends.  I layed the sandwich out on a big cutting board and left a knife there for folks to cut off their own hunks.  It was a huge success.  This sheet pan sized sandwich was enough to feed at least 12 folks. 

Also on our makeshift table was homemade onion dip (thin onion sliced dried out and browned in the oven mixed with 1 pt. sour cream, 1/2 cup homemade mayonaise, 1 t. "Better than Boullion" Vegetable base, salt and pepper),

I have copied parts of this recipe from my previous sandwich recipe in which I used chicken.  Trust me, the pork is where it is at (if you eat pork, that is).  This sandwich was not as good as the one I had in Portland, but was amazing all the same. I am guessing it was the pork I can have access to here in Central Illinois.  The pork in Portland was much more juicy. I hope you will enjoy it.


Focaccia (single recipe)

5 cups bread flour (I like King Arthur unbleached bread flour)
1 t.  salt  (not kosher here, but rather fine grained salt)
2 t. instant yeast
6 T.  olive oil
1 3/4 cups (8 oz.) water, at room temperature
1/4 cup olive oil
1 t. rosemary (dried is fine)

Directions
Using the stand mixer, stir together the flour, salt, and yeast using the paddle attachment.  Add 6T. olive oil and water and stir until combined.  Change over to the dough hook.  Knead on medium low speed for 7 minutes or until you form a smooth, sticky dough that clears the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom.

Sprinkle a 6 inch square of flour on your counter.  Place your dough on the square.  Stretch it out to this size.  Lift each side and fold over in thirds, like an envelope.  Walk away for 5 minutes to let the gluten in the dough relax.  

Stretch the dough to be twice its size and fold over as before, in thirds.  Mist with spray oil, sprinkle with flour, cover with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, repeat.

Let the dough ferment for one hour on your counter.  It should swell.  If your counters are stone, and it is winter, and if your house is cold like mine, this may take up to 3 or more hours depending on the temperature.  You will see pockets of bubbles on the surface of the dough when it is ready for the next step.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Drizzle with 2 T. olive oil. Lift the dough and place it on the parchment paper.  Put 2 T. olive oil on top of the rectangular dough.  Use your fingers to stretch it out until it is about 1/2 inch thickness.  Heavily dimple the surface with your fingers.  Sprinkle on the remaining 2 T. olive oil, 1 t. crushed dried rosemary, and 1/2 t. coarse sea salt.  Cover with plastic, or place in a plastic bag and let rest in the refrigerator (or on your cold porch) for at least 8 hours to retard the dough (this makes for a much more complexly flavored dough).  

3 hours before baking (or 6 if your kitchen is cold), redimple your dough and add more oil if desired.  Proof at room temperature for 3 hours or until about 1 inch thick.  Preheat your oven to 500 degrees with the oven in the middle position.  When the oven gets to temperature, put your focaccia in, lowering the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Turn the pan 180 degrees and continue to bake until browned, about 5 minutes.

Immediately transfer the dough to a cooling rack.  Allow to cool for 20 minutes before slicing or serving.

Mayonnaise
1 egg
2 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. salt
1 t. white wine vinegar
1 t. Dijon mustard
2 cups canola oil

Directions
For this recipe, you'll need either a food processor, blender, or bowl and whisk.  It is almost foolproof with a food processor, but I've had some difficulty with my mayonnaise breaking when using a blender. I made this last week with the food processor after failing with the blender. It was super easy!  Place your egg and lemon juice in the processor.  Process for 5 seconds.  Add the salt, vinegar and mustard.  Process 5 more seconds.  Next, fill a 2 cup glass measuring cup.  If you have a small hole in the bottom of your plunger mechanism of the food processor, start the processor and begin to pour in the oil into the plunger. It will stream in the oil at the perfect speed.  Do this until all of the oil has been emulsified.  To do this with  the blender or in a bowl, follow the first set of instructions up to when you add the oil.  Then, very slowly, in a very thin stream, whisk or blend in the oil until emulsified. Homemade mayonnaise is amazing.  There is no replacement, particularly in something simple like this sandwich.

Pork Loin
1 t. canola oil
3 lbs. pork loin (whole loin, not tenderloin)
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper (fresh ground)

Directions
Turn your oven on to 300 degrees.  Heat up a roasting pan until it is smoking.  While pan is heating, rub the loin with oil, salt and pepper.  Tie every 1 1/2 inches for even cooking.
Place the loin in the hot pan.  Brown on all sides. Place browned loin in the oven and bake until it reaches 140 degrees internally.  Remove from oven and let it rest for at least 20 minutes.

Sandwich
3 medium onions, sliced to about 1/4 inch thick
2 t. olive oil
pinch of salt
Escarole
Mayonnaise
Focaccia

Directions
Carmelize your onions in the 2 t. olive oil until medium brown. 


Slice the pork into 1/3 inch slices. Shingle the pork onto the sandwich.  Put mayonaise on the bottom of the leftover piece of foccacia.  Put a generous amount of pepper on the meat, and add a sprinkling of good sea salt.  Top the sandwich with the bread and enjoy.

Note:  you can also make this sandwich in individual portions.  Just cut your foccacia into pieces that are about 4 x 5 inches then proceed as listed above. 


Put your foccacia in the oven to crisp it up on the outside (about 5 minutes).  For one huge sandwich, lay one (or 1/2 for a smaller sandwich) flat side up on a board.  Spoon on a nice coating of mayonaise.  Top with a full layer of escarole, carmelized onions.

Hatch Green Chile Stew: Community Dinner Fiesta

For the last 15 years, I have been holding what I call, "Community Dinner".  It started out in my apartment, every Sunday. I would cook for whomever would come.  Sometimes that would be 8 people, others, 30.  I loved doing this, but weekly was a bit much.  Nowadays, being a student keeps me from doing these as much as I'd like. But, with the addition of a small cast iron pan, people now pitch in to help pay for food, which is really nice.

Here's how they work. Perhaps you'd like to start doing this too.  I started with a core of my friends.  I send out an invitation stating what the meal will be, and the deal, which is....come, bring a beverage for yourself, and bring a few bucks to help with food costs. Be prepared to meet new people.  If you like the experience, bring someone new the next time you come. You can imagine that over the years, I've met many new people this way, and have made many friends.  Old, young, graduate students, carpenters, house cleaners, artists, musicians.  Folks of all shapes, sizes, walks of life. It is wonderful.

Boone is often my co chef for these affairs.  Nowadays, I invite people to come cook with me if they want. This week was no exception.  With the help of Peter, Scotland, and Jan, Boone and I were able to make a feast for 20 on Saturday night.

We made the stuffed poblanos that are listed on this blog, a jicama salad, homemade corn as well as flour tortillas, and this lovely green chile stew.  I also made a pound cake with lime zest and candied ginger, which was delicious, but a disaster in some ways (it didn't cook evenly so when I unmolded it, part fell off....) I did a lot of searching for a recipe for this stew and found some variation.  Together, Boone and I decided to use as the base, the recipe from the Santa Fe School of cooking.  We adapted this a bit, and the result was lovely.

Now, I have to admit that what makes this simple stew so amazing is an ingredient that is difficult to come by. It is Hatch Green Chiles.  These are some amazing chiles with a flavor that cannot be replicated by "green chiles" in a can, or California (Anaheim) chiles.  The flavor of these Hatch chiles is something ethereal. They are a bit smoky, but not overwhelmingly.  My sister graciously sent me 10 pounds of the chiles this summer, which I happily roasted and froze in small batches of 8 chiles each.

The most difficult part of this stew is the chiles themselves.  With this batch, I just roasted, cooled and then froze them, seeds, stems and skins in tact.  This left Boone with the daunting and time consuming task of peeling and then deseeding the chiles (it is vital to deseed these, as they are HOT! even though these were the medium heat chiles.)  When you do this, do your skin and eyes (or other precious parts) a favor, and wear gloves.  If I get another batch this summer, I will split them after roasting, then deseed them while they are still warm. I will keep the skins on for protection in the freezer.

The recipe we used from the Santa Fe cooking school called for pork shoulder.  We opted not to use the shoulder for health reasons and opted to use a pork loin. I  know!  You would think it would be tough when stewed, but trust me, with the double cooking method described below, you will have pork so tender it will fall apart with the touch of a fork.  This recipe makes enough stew to feed about 15-20 hungry people.  I recommend serving it with warmed corn tortillas.

If you make this stew, or any of the recipes on this blog, for that matter, please comment upon them for others and for me too!  Perhaps you will do something that will make these ideas even better.

Hatch Green Chile Stew
5 lbs. pork loin (whole loin)
salt
pepper
olive oil
4 cups white onion, 1/4-1/2 inch dice
1 T. vegetable oil (I like to use Canola oil for my neutral oil)
3 T. garlic, crushed
8 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade)
3 lbs. russett potatoes, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup flour mixed with 1/2 cup water or broth
salt to taste
3 cups Hatch green chiles, peeled, seeded and chopped in 1/2 inch pieces (or more to taste)
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, 1/4 inch dice
cilantro (optional)

Directions
Turn oven to 300 degrees.  Rub the loin with the oil and season well with salt and pepper.  Tie the roast at 1 inch intervals to tighten up the roast so it will cook evenly.

Heat a roasting pan on the stove top.  Place the roast in the pan and sear on all sides for about 3 minutes per side until browned.  Place the pan in the oven and roast until a thermometer reads 140 degrees.  This will take approximately an hour. 

While the roast cooks, prepare the chiles.  Saute the onions in the vegetable oil until golden, about 8 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.  Add the chicken broth.  Let this simmer on low until the roast has cooked and rested.  When the roast has rested for at least 20 minutes, remove the string and cut it into 1 inch cubes.  Put the pork in the broth.  Add the flour slurry and stir well.  Let this cook on a low simmer for 3 or more hours, adding broth if it gets too low. 

20 minutes before serving, add the potatoes and the chiles.  When the potatoes are nearly done (al dente), add the colored peppers and taste for salt and add more chiles if it is not hot enough for you.  Add cilantro if you choose (we left it out and had it on the side).  Serve when the potatoes are just cooked through.

Serve with queso fresco (Mexican fresh cheese), and sour cream.

Hot!