Similar dishes at Chinese-style restaurants often goop up the mixture or make it too sweet. This one has a nice savory balance.
Pork is the ground meat here, because we like its fat content for flavor (typically 20 to 25 percent). We tested this with ground dark-meat turkey and the mixture was a bit drier.
This is the kind of dish that comes together quickly, so that's why we're doing all the prep upfront.
Serve with steamed rice
Pork and Mushroom San Choy Bau
3/4-inch piece ginger root
1 clove garlic
1 red chile pepper
2 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
2 ounces fresh oyster mushrooms
2 green onions
1 tablespoon safflower oil, divided use
1/2 pound lean ground pork
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
Low-sodium soy sauce or dark soy sauce
1 head gem lettuce, "artisan" small-head lettuce or 1/2 small head iceberg lettuce
Peel the ginger, then mince it. Crush the garlic. Stem and seed the chile (to taste), then mince.
Stem the shiitakes; coarsely chop all the mushrooms or cut them into very thin slices. Cut the white and light-green parts of the green onions on the diagonal into thin slices.
Heat half the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, stir in the ginger, garlic and chiles. Stir-fry 20 to 30 seconds. Add the remaining oil and the mushrooms. Stir-fry 3 minutes or until they have released their moisture, then discard the garlic. Add the ground pork; stir-fry 3 to 5 minutes, breaking up any large clumps, until it loses its raw look.
Add the Chinese rice wine and season with the soy sauce (to taste); reduce the heat to low and cook 5 minutes. The meat should be cooked through.
Meanwhile, separate the lettuce leaves, rinse, pat dry and place on a platter.
Transfer the pork mixture to a serving bowl. Sprinkle the green onions on top and serve right away, with the lettuce leaves.
Makes 2 servings.
Recipe adapted from Harvest: 180 Recipes Through the Seasons by Emilie Guelpa (Hardie Grant, 2017)
Food on 05/24/2017