A taste of Shanghai, a smell of feet

I found this recipe in a food magazine last week for Shanghai stir-fry pork & cabbage.  The chef Cecilia Chiang, who is now 91,  offered this recipe as an authentic everyday dish made in the homes of the Shanghai region of China.  I am always drawn to certain types of recipes.  They are not very fussy, the ingredients are hearty and flavorful, and it’s healthy enough to go into the weekly rotation.  This had all that, plus it gave me a chance to cook with some new stuff that I haven’t cooked with before.  For example, dry sherry, dried mushrooms, cabbage and cornstarch (I think I may be able to skip the starch, but I will try it first with it).       

When I finally got home after grocery shopping and PT with Amanda, I was dead, and in no mood to cook.  It was only 5:45 pm and I was done for the day.  This was last night.  However, I could not justify having bought this huge head of cabbage and not use it.  So...I simplified things a little.  I didn’t make the seasoning, I just made the mushrooms and stir fried them with the pork & cabbage in some olive oil until cooked. 

First, I have to say it was delicious and I can’t wait to make the full recipe!  Second, I want to say that dried mushrooms are awesome.  I have only used fresh mushrooms up until this point, and could not imagine that they would be any better dry.  The look of them always remindeds me of shrooms, trying to choke back those moldy little bits of dried hallucinogenic fungus that tasted like a combination of stale popcorn, notebook paper, and moldy croutons.  Anyway, these were not like that, the dried shiitake mushrooms made a delicious broth with the water they were soaked in, and the mushrooms themselves were so much more flavorful, and had a different, meatier, texture than fresh shitakes.  I have to look into it and see if they add anything to them when they dry them...hopefully not.            

Finally, I come to the topic of cabbage.  Before this, I have only experienced cabbage as a boiled, limp, wet side dish with corned beef, or occasionally in a soup.  Stir fried cabbage is soooo much better than that.  I was surprised at how flavorful the stir fried cabbage was.  It tastes and smells like it could take the place of onions in a recipe.  But man does that shit stink.  The woes of cooking in a studio apartment with no exhaust fan.  Now my whole apartment smells like big foot’s jock strap.  I have made some stinky shit in my day, but this…this made me into the stinky ethnic neighbor in the apartment building no one wants to live next to come dinner time.  Oh, well.  It was too good not to repeat, but I will definitely not make it as frequently as something like broccoli or asparagus.  See full recipe below.  I will post a picture when I finally make the real thing.   

Shanghai Stir-fried Pork & Cabbage

3/4 lb.   boneless pork loin, trimmed of fat
8              dried shitake mushrooms
2 tsp      cornstarch
1 ½ tsp  dry sherry
1 tbsp    soy sauce
¼ tsp     freshly ground white pepper
¼ cup    peanut oil (I will use canola, but any light oil will work – never use extra virgin or virgin oil of any kind on high heat)
1 lb         napa cabbage – halved lengthwise, cored and thinly sliced crosswise
Kosher salt
Cooked rice & Chinese chile sauce for serving

1.        Freeze the pork for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a microwave safe bowl, cover the shiitake mushrooms with hot water and a paper towel.  Microwave on high for 3 minutes.  Let the shiitakes stand until softened, about 15 minutes.  Drain and press out the water. Cut off and discard the stems.  Thinly slice the caps.    

2.       Slice the pork ¼ inch thick.  Stack the slices and cut them into ¼ inch wide strips.  Transfer the pork to a medium bowl and toss with the cornstarch, sherry, soy sauce, white pepper and 1 tbsp of the oil. 

3.       Heat a large skillet until almost smoking.  Add 1 ½ tbsp of the oil and heat small puffs of smoke appear around the edges.  Add the pork and stir fry over high heat until nearly cooked, 30 seconds; transfer to a plate.  Add the remaining 1 ½ tbsp to the skillet, then add 1 tsp of salt and swirl to combine.  When the oil is simmering, add the shiitake caps and ½ of the cabbage and stir fry over high heat until just wilted.  Add the remaining cabbage and stir fry until crisp tender, about 1 ½ minutes longer.  Return the pork to the skillet and cook until just heated through, 1 minute.  Serve right away, with rice and chile sauce.  Wine pairing suggestion: a dark peppery syrah.