Moo Shu Pork

I hardly ever make Chinese food, so I had to ask myself why? I thought the answer might lie at the Asian grocery store, so off I went. I felt utterly lost and instantly realized my problem. It's the Chinese characters, they're impossible for my pea brain to comprehend! I can muddle through Spanish or Italian, but that Chinese is Greek to me. So I just shut down and stood there, totally intimidated and frozen. Determined to press on, a mere hour and a half later, I left feeling victorious with my one bag of groceries (probably some kind of record at that store). 

I've always loved moo shu, so that was an easy choice. And I totally planned on making the pancakes from scratch. But while at the store, I came across these pre-made moo shu pancakes and figured I'd better buy a package (merely as a backup in case things didn't go according to plan). And just like you're already thinking...I had them, so I used them. Call me a lame food blogger. It's okay, because like I told myself in the mirror this morning...I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggone it, people like me.

MOO SHU PORK

Makes 5-6 servings

12 oz. pork butt, trimmed and thinly sliced across grain

4 tablespoons light soy sauce

4 tablespoons Shaoshing rice wine

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 oz. (2/3 cup) dried Chinese black mushrooms (aka black fungus or wood ear mushrooms)

3 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon Asian toasted sesame oil or peanut oil

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

stir-fry:

1/4 cup Asian toasted sesame oil or peanut oil (or combination)

1 (1/4-inch) piece fresh ginger, grated or finely minced (about 1 teaspoon)

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced on diagonal

8 oz. Napa cabbage, thinly sliced (about 5 cups)

4 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 small English cucumber, cut crosswise into 2” lengths, then thinly sliced lengthwise (about 1 cup)

1 teaspoon Asian toasted sesame oil or peanut oil

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

10-12 moo shu pancakes/shells/wrappers (if it's flat, round and says moo shu, buy it)

1.      In large nonreactive bowl, toss together pork, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice wine, white pepper, and cornstarch. Let marinate 30 minutes.

2.      Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine dried black mushrooms and boiling water to cover. Let stand until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, squeezing out excess liquid, rinse to remove any grit, discard stems, and coarsely chop caps. Set aside.

3.      In small bowl, stir together remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 1 tablespoon rice wine, oyster sauce, and sugar. Set aside.

4.      In small sauté pan over moderate heat, heat sesame oil until hot but not smoking. Add eggs and scramble until softly set, about 1 minute. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.

5.      In wok or heavy large sauté pan over moderately high heat, heat sesame oil until hot but not smoking. Add ginger, garlic, half of scallions (reserve remainder for garnish), and pork and stir-fry until pork is cooked through and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add black mushrooms, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, and cucumber and stir-fry until vegetables are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs and soy sauce/rice wine/oyster sauce mixture and stir-fry until heated through, about 1 minute.

6.      Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with remaining scallions. To serve, divide pork mixture among pancakes and roll up to enclose mixture.

barely adapted from Chef Shirley Cheng

pork with soy sauce, rice wine, white pepper & cornstarch
(I couldn't find pork butt, so I used tenderloin.)

mixed

dried wood ear mushrooms

wood ears soaking in hot water

soaked wood ears

soy sauce mixture (set aside for later)

napa cabbage

sliced napa cabbage

sliced English cucumber

grated ginger

cabbage, cucumber, shiitakes and wood ears

scrambling the eggs

sesame oil, pork, garlic, ginger and scallions in the wok

adding the chopped vegetables

mixed and cooked down a little

adding the scrambled eggs and soy sauce mixture

moo shu pork in wok

moo shu pork, garnished with scallions

Turns out there was no reason to be nervous, it came out great!
And not as oily as moo shu from a restaurant. Fresh and yummy.

moo shu pancakes

Brilliant or the loser's way out?
(I think you know which way I'm voting.)

moo shu on a pancake (I warmed the
pancakes a little first to make them softer).

The pancakes are like flour tortillas, only thinner (as a
matter of fact, you could probably use tortillas in a pinch).

folding up the bottom

folding in the sides

folding down the top (it looks a little
awkward because I'm also taking the picture)

rolled
It's like a Chinese burrito. Or maybe burritos are like
Mexican moo shu? I have no idea which came first.

Here is the recipe for the moo shu pancakes that I didn't make (for anyone out there, less lame I am, who wants to try making them). If you make these, let me know how they turned out.

MOO SHU PANCAKES

3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

water (1 cup boiling water, 1/2 cup cold)

3 tablespoons Asian toasted sesame oil or peanut oil

1.      In large bowl, stir together flour and 1 cup boiling water until water is absorbed. Add 1/2 cup cold water and knead until smooth dough forms. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rest 1 hour.

2.      On lightly floured work surface, roll dough into long, even cylinder 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Using sharp knife, cut cylinder crosswise into about 30 (3/4- to 1-inch) slices. Using rolling pin, roll each slice out to 3 1/2-inch-diameter circle (about 1/8 inch thick). Brush 1 circle with sesame oil and top with 2nd circle. Repeat with remaining circles to form 15 "sandwiches." Roll each "sandwich" out to 6-inch diameter. (Pancakes can be made ahead up to this point and frozen, layered between parchment or waxed paper, up to 1 month.)

3.      Heat wok or heavy large sauté pan over moderate heat. Brush pan lightly with sesame oil and cook pancake "sandwiches" in batches until lightly golden, about 3 minutes per side, brushing pan with oil between each batch. Transfer each "sandwich" as done to large plate and immediately peel apart 2 halves. Cover with moist towel while cooking remaining pancakes. Keep warm until ready to serve.

from Chef Shirley Cheng

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Tres Leche Cake with Dulce de Leche Sauce

Not one, not two, but three types of milk soaked into delicious sponge cake until it couldn't possibly take any more! It's like eating and drinking at the same time. Not really, but obviously it's extremely wet. A very unique and surprisingly enjoyable flavor and texture. I topped mine with a dulce de leche sauce, which I'm willing to admit was originally intended to be thick and creamy dulce de leche that I didn't cook long enough. So I went with it.

TRES LECHE CAKE

Yield: 1 (13 by 9-inch) cake

cake:

vegetable oil (for greasing pan)

6 3/4 oz. cake flour (plus extra for pan)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

8 oz. sugar

5 whole eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

glaze:

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup half-and-half

topping:

2 cups heavy cream

8 oz. sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

_____________________________________________________________________

Cake:

1.      Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly oil and flour a 13- by 9-inch metal pan and set aside.

2.      Whisk together cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

3.      Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix to thoroughly combine. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. This will appear to be a very small amount of batter. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200º F.

4.      Remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow cake to cool completely then prepare the glaze.

Glaze:

Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and half-and-half in a 4-cup measuring cup. Once combined, pour the glaze over the cake. Refrigerate the cake overnight.

Topping:

Place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk together on low until stiff peaks are formed. Change to medium speed and whisk until thick. Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

from Alton Brown

oiled and floured pan

King Arthur cake flour is my favorite (it's the
only unbleached cake flour I've ever found)

creaming the butter

adding eggs one by one (sugar already mixed in)

adding vanilla extract

adding dry ingredients

batter

batter in pan

baked

adding condensed milk to evaporated milk and half 'n half

poking holes in the cake

pouring the tres milks over the cake

whipped cream topping

Some tres leche cakes use a meringue topping,
but whipped cream toppings are common too.

whipped cream blob on cake, getting ready to spread

spreading the whipped cream

finito

It's normal for some milk to ooze out once the cake has been
sliced. So if you have a small puddle on your plate, you did it
right (if you have a gigantic puddle, you did something wrong).

If you look closely, you can see some milk oozing out of this piece.

DULCE DE LECHE SAUCE

Yield: about 2 cups

1 quart whole milk

12 oz. sugar

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

_______________________________________________________________________

1.      Combine the milk, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds in a large, 4-quart saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.

2.      Once the sugar has dissolved, add the baking soda and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered at a bare simmer. Stir occasionally, but do not re-incorporate the foam that appears on the top of the mixture. Continue to cook for 1 hour.

3.      Remove the vanilla bean after 1 hour and continue to cook until the mixture is a dark caramel color and has reduced to about 2 cups, approximately 1 1/2 hours (or longer if you want it thicker).

4.      Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a month.

adapted from Alton Brown

vanilla bean

sliced vanilla bean
(see the luscious seeds on the knife)

milk, sugar and vanilla

foamy and turning light brown

removing the vanilla bean (it's much darker brown now)

much darker and thicker

If you keep going until the mixture is reduced to
about 1 cup, you'll have a nice thick dulce de leche
instead of a pourable sauce.

straining into a bowl

jar of dulce de leche sauce

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