Chinese Recipes | Cooking Tips | Good Eats

I wanted to post this before I gave birth, but I went into labor a week before my estimated due date and the freaking labor started at 2am 6th June and lasted 32 hours until I delivered on 7th June, 7:50am to a healthy baby boy: J Junior. After that, life became a frenzy and a cycle of smelling poop, spraying pee, changing diapers, baby crying (bloody murder), me trying to nurse (and boy I did try real hard!!!) .. and in the blink of an eye, 6 weeks passed.

I finally got used to expecting the unexpected and manage to have some time for myself to blog. I probably have thousands of blog entries I am keen to catch up on and see what my online friends have been up to. I would like to thank all the kind people who have sent me sweet notes when I disappeared from blogosphere. I am still alive. *phew*

Here’s the entry that I wanted to post 6 weeks ago :)

Stir Fried Pork With Button Mushrooms

For best flavor and tenderness, meat should have a small amount of marbling. This applies to beef, it also applies to pork.

Pork shoulder butt is the primal cut for pork and that includes the front leg and the section at the top of the leg. Meat from this section is relatively fatty, which makes for juicy, tender, and flavorful roasts.

You can find pork shoulder butts sold in strips and they can be used for kabobs, stir-frying or stewing. The shoulder is one of the most flavorful and economical cuts and they are a better cut than the picnic. Reference The Cook’s Thesaurus for a picture of the various cuts of pork.

Pork shoulder butt is mom’s favorite cut of pork. Well, since she came to visit, I figured I better make use of her cooking skills and learn to make some more home-cooked meals before I lose that source of knowledge when she goes home.

For this Stir Fried Pork With Button Mushrooms dish, she simply asked me what other ingredients I have in the fridge and with that, she was able to whip up something delicious, that could go with plain white rice, porridge, bao skin or simply a piece of bread.

For convenience, mom usually just add the garlic and ginger to the pork together with the pork seasoning, then add them to the hot oil to stir fry, instead of stir frying the garlic and ginger first.

Ingredients (Serves 3):

- 1/2 lb pork shoulder butt
- 4 button mushrooms, sliced
- 3 stalks of scallions, cut into 2″ diagonals
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced

Seasoning for pork:
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp corn starch (to give pork a smoother texture)
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 3 slices ginger, julienned

Seasoning:
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce (for color)

Cooking Method:

1. Add salt, pepper, cornstarch, garlic and ginger to pork and mix well.

2. Heat up 2 tbsp oil. When oil is hot enough add pork and stir fry until fragrant.

3. Add button mushrooms and mix well. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes, then add light soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, scallions and yellow onions and mix well. Cook till onions soften to desired texture.