It’s just so beautiful: shiny, shapely, smooth. It deserved more than an occasional vegetable stir fry or a batch of fried rice, which I’ll admit is the closest I ever get to Asian cooking and I’m not sure anyone would even call those items Asian. Usually to get our fix we visit our local favorite, Bahn’s, which serves the cheapest, freshest, and most delicious Chinese and Vietnamese food. But in an attempt to do justice to my wok, I decided to try this recipe, although I knew I’d have to make some questionable substitutions. Then, of course, I read the accompanying article and the author said they much prefer to use a cast-iron skillet than a wok for more even heat conduction. Bah! But I figured with all those omissions/substitutions, I might as well throw caution to the wind and ignore the skillet suggestion. I was very pleased with the results, though I will say that I’d probably try a different combination of vegetables next time to see if I can incorporate more of our favorites.
There are too many changes to list up here, so I’ve put them in bold in the recipe itself.
Pork Stir-Fry with Noodles (Lo Mein)
Serves 4
3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. oyster sauce (omitted – used 1 extra tbsp. of soy sauce)
2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp. five-spice powder
1 lb. boneless country-style pork ribs, trimmed of surface fat and excess gristle and sliced crosswise into 1/8-inch pieces
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke (optional) (omitted)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. cornstarch
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tsp.)
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
4 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil
4 tbsp. Chinese rice cooking wine (Shao-Xing) or dry sherry (used sherry)
1/2 lb. shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed, caps cut in halves or thirds (about 3 cups)
2 bunches scallions, whites thinly sliced and greens cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 small head Napa cabbage, halved, cored, and sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch strips (about 4 cups)
12 oz. fresh Chinese noodles or 8 oz. dried linguine (found dry noodles labeled “lo mein noodles” so I used those. Thought the taste and texture were fine)
1 tbsp. Asian garlic-chili sauce (omitted)
Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven over high heat.
Whisk soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and five-spice powder together in medium bowl. Place 3 tablespoons soy sauce mixture in large zipper-lock bag; add pork and liquid smoke, if using. Press out as much air as possible and seal bag, making sure that all pieces are coated with marinade. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour. Whisk broth and cornstarch into remaining soy sauce mixture in medium bowl. In separate small bowl, mix garlic and ginger with 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil; set aside.
Heat 1 tsp. vegetable oil in 12-inch cast-iron or nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of pork in single layer, breaking up clumps with wooden spoon. Cook, without stirring, 1 minute. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons wine to skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until liquid is reduced and pork is well coated, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer pork to medium bowl and repeat with remaining pork, 1 tsp. oil, and remaining 2 tbsp. wine. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels.
Return skillet to high heat, add 1 tsp. vegetable oil, and heat until just smoking. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until scallions are wilted, 2 to 3 minutes longer; transfer vegetables to bowl with pork.
Add remaining teaspoon vegetable oil and cabbage to now-empty skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until spotty brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Clear center of skillet; add garlic-ginger mixture and cook, mashing mixture with spoon, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir garlic mixture into cabbage; return pork-vegetable mixture and chicken broth-soy mixture to skillet; simmer until thickened and ingredients are well incorporated 1 to 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
While cabbage is cooking, stir noodles into boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender, 3 to 4 minutes for fresh Chinese noodles and transfer back to Dutch oven; add cooked-stir fry mixture and garlic-chili sauce, tossing noodles constantly, until sauce coats noodles. Serve immediately.
From Cook’s Illustrated
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