If you've read this little blog for any amount of time over the past year you have probably noticed that I mention China a lot. That's mostly because it seems like Jesse is always there. In 2011 he was there for a grand total of almost 6 months. That's a lot of time apart. Of course I was happy to get to spend time in China with him last summer but it still seemed like we were apart so much. Now that we know he is going to spend a significant amount of time there again this year, I'm headed back!
This trip is going to be almost 2 months and I couldn't be more excited. There are only a few weeks before I leave and I have been so busy getting ready for the trip.
With traveling to another country and living out of a hotel for 2 months I probably won't be cooking much but don't worry. Part of my getting ready for the trip has been making a plan and building a nice back-log of recipes and pictures so I can continue to post while I'm gone. I'm still deciding exactly how I want spread things out, but I will have recipes to post and I'll also probably be doing a weekly recap of foodie finds and exciting sites in China. I may have other tricks up my sleeve, but you'll just have to wait and see. :)
I know the food is what really makes a food blog, but I hope you'll stick with me as I work my way through this craziness. In the meantime I bring you Shanghai Style Stir-Fried Pork and Cabbage to celebrate my traveling to Shanghai.
This recipe jumped right out at me as I was flipping through last months Food & Wine Magazine. Of course I was immediately drawn to the name and the picture sealed the deal for me. The ingredient list might not look that exciting and you may wonder if you should tweak it and make some additions. Trust me, it doesn't need a load of garlic or dash of ginger. It's one of those "less is more" kind of things. The pork is juicy, the mushrooms are savory, the cabbage is a little tangy, and it's all brought together nicely with a simple sauce.
Shanghai Stir-Fried Pork and Cabbage
Ingredients
3/4 pound boneless pork loin, trimmed of fat
8 dried shitake mushrooms
2 tsp corn starch
1 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 cup peanut oil
Kosher salt
1 pound Napa cabbage, halved lengthwise, cored, and cut into thin strips
Cooked rice and Red Chile Sauce for serving
Directions
Place the pork loin in the freezer for 15 minutes to make cutting easier.
While the pork is in the freezer, reconstitute the shitake mushrooms by covering with boiling water and letting stand for 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the water and press out the water. Remove stems and cut mushroom caps into strips. Set aside on a paper towel.
In a small bowl whisk together the corn starch, rice vinegar, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil, pepper and sugar. Remove the pork from the freezer and cut into 1/4" slices. Stack the slices on top of each other and cut into 1/4" strips. Place the strips of pork in the sauce and stir to evenly coat.
Heat 2 tablespoons of peanut oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until the oil just starts to smoke. Using tongs, carefully add the pork strips to the hot oil. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the pork is no longer pink and the edges just start to turn golden brown, using tongs to stir the pork to evenly cook . Remove the pork from the wok and set aside on a paper towel.
Add another tablespoon of oil and a pinch of kosher salt to the wok and allow to heat for about a minute. To the wok, add the shitake mushrooms and half of the cabbage. Stir-fry over high heat until the cabbage has wilted. Return the pork to the pan and add the other half of the cabbage. Cook just until the cabbage is tender, but not completely wilted.
Serve with rice and red chile sauce (I was so hungry I forgot to add the sauce and get a picture, don't be like me, don't forget the red chile sauce!).
Source: Food & Wine Magazine, January 2012