Pork and Mushrooms

This is a dish I’ve had at two different Chinese restaurants, and I loved it the first time I ever tried it. One reason is that it uses pork instead of the more popular beef or chicken, and I love the spicy effects of the garlic and hot red pepper in the savory sauce. But when looking for a recipe for it, I came up with nothing after much searching. So I decided to wing it and make it up myself, based on what I know I‘m tasting in it at the restaurants. This is the result. Everyone in the family loved it, and I hope you will too.

So, let’s get cooking!

Wash and slice the mushrooms, celery stalk, and scallions. Peel and mince the garlic and ginger root. Open the cans of water chestnuts and bamboo shoots, then drain and rinse each well with fresh water.

Slice the pork loin into ¼” thick strips, removing fat as needed.

In a skillet, with 1 Tbl of the oil, sauté the mushrooms about 7-8 minutes, until tender. Set aside with the liquid.

Now in the skillet over medium heat, sauté the pork in the other 1 Tbl of the oil, about 5-6 minutes, until just cooked on both sides. Set aside, with any liquid included.

And in the same skillet, this time with the toasted sesame oil, sauté the celery, scallions, minced garlic, and minced ginger root for about 2 minutes.

Add the beef stock, soy sauce, brown sugar, and the red pepper flakes, plus any liquid from both the mushrooms and pork, bringing to a simmer.

In a small bowl, scoop out about 2 Tbl of the liquid from the skillet. Mix in the corn starch.

Add to the liquid in the skillet, whisking until thickened, about 3-4 minutes or so.

Add the previously cooked mushrooms and pork, heating through for about 2 minutes. Serve over rice if desired. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Chinese Pork with Mushrooms

1 lb pork loin
1 lb mushrooms
5 scallions
1 lg stalk celery
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbl minced ginger root
1 sm can sliced water chestnuts
1 sm can bamboo shoots
2 Tbl oil, divided
1 Tbl toasted sesame oil
1 to 1 ½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 c beef stock
1/3 c soy sauce
1 ½ Tbl brown sugar
2 Tbl corn starch