Pork laurel (mu-shu pork)

Some explanation is needed for the name of this dish. In China we have a tree called gui. According to my dictionary, gui is called ‘laurel’ in English, and it is a shrub rather than a tree; but the laurels we have in the garden of our London home never flower at all, while the Chinese laurel is a large tree which produces bright yellow, fragrant flowers in the autumn. The pork in this recipe is cooked with eggs, which give a yellow colour to the dish – hence the name. But to add to the confusion, the Chinese name of this dish is ‘mu-shu pork’, mu-shu being the classical name for laurel (are you still with me?). So you might say that calling it pork laurel is taking poetic licence!

1/4 lb (100 g) pork
2 spring onions
3 tbsp oil
3-4 eggs
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine or sherry
1/4 tsp salt

Method

Choose a piece of pork that is not too lean (sparerib chops would be ideal) and cut it into shreds the size of matchsticks. Cut up the spring onions into shreds the same size.

Heat up about 2 tablespoons of oil in a hot wok or pan, and while waiting for it to smoke, beat up the eggs. Now reduce the heat and lightly scramble the eggs; dish them out before they set too hard.

Now increase the heat to high again, add more oil, and stir-fry the spring onions and pork shreds together for about 1 minute or until the colour of the pork changes. Add the soy sauce and wine, stir for a few more times, then add the scrambled eggs and salt. Continue stirring and add a little stock or water if necessary. Let all the ingredients blend well and serve hot.

Traditionally this dish is used as a filling for thin pancakes or as a topping on a bed of plain rice. Try using a crisp Webb’s lettuce leaf instead of pancake as a wrapper – the contrast in textures is quite sensational!

© Deh-Ta Hsiung and reproduced with his kind permission.