Mu Shu Pork

1/3 cup dried lily buds (also called golden needles)
4 dried black fungus or 4 medium sized dried mushrooms
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon of each soy sauce and dry sherry
½ pound boneless lean pork, cut in match stick pieces
3½ tablespoons salad oil

Cooking Sauce (follow directions below)

5 whole green onions
4 eggs, lightly beaten with 1/4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger
½ cup sliced bamboo shoots, cut into match stick pieces
1 small carrot, shredded
2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
Hoisin Sauce
Green onion brushes (directions follow)
About 18 Mandarin Pancakes
Cover lily buds with warn water, let stand for 30 minutes, then drain, Cut off and discard hard tips of buds, then cut in half. Cover black fungus or dried mushrooms with warm water, let stand for 30 minutes, then drain. Cut off and discard knobby parts of fungus or cut off and discard mushroom stems; thinly slice.
In a bowl, combine cornstarch, soy, sherry. Add pork and stir to coat. Stir in 1½ teaspoons of the oil. Let stand for 15 minutes to marinate.

Prepare cooking sauce and set it aside. Cut onions in 1½-inch lengths; then cut lengthwise in thin shreds. Reserve half the green onions to pass at the table; use other half for cooking.

Heat a wok or a wide frying pan over a medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon of the oil. When oil is hot, add eggs and cook, stirring, until softly set; then turn eggs out of pan.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in pan and increase heat to high. When oil begins to heat, and ginger and stir once. Add pork and stir-fry until meat is lightly browned (about 4 minutes). Add lily buds and black fungus or mushrooms and stir-fry for 1 minute, adding 1 tablespoon water if pan appears dry. Add bamboo shoots, carrot, lettuce, ½ of the green onion, and cooking sauce and cook, stirring, until lettuce is crisp-tender (about 2 minutes) Add scrambled eggs to pan and break into bite size pieces as you stir them into the meat mixture. When eggs are hot, turn into serving dish and serve at once.

Have on the table containers of hoisin sauce, the remaining shredded green onion, the green onion brushes. To eat, paint a little hoisin sauce on a mandarin pancake with a green onion brush, spoon on some meat mixture, garnish with shredded green onion, then wrap to enclose filling. Makes 4 to 6 servings.




Cooking Sauce
In a bowl, combine 1 tablespoon each soy sauce, dry sherry, and water; 1 tablespoon each sugar, cornstarch, and sesame oil; and 1/4 teaspoon salt.



Green Onion Brushes
Cut the white part of the green onions in 1½-inch lengths. Use scissors or a sharp knife, slash each end of onion 3 or 4 times, cutting lengthwise into onion 1/2 inch. Cover onions with ice water and chill for 1 hour so edges curl



Mu Shu Beef
Follow directions for Mu Shu Pork, but substitute 1/2 pound bone less lean beef for the pork. Stir-fry beef until browned on the outside but still pink within (about 1 1/2 minutes). Remove beef from pan before stir-frying vegetables, then return to pan when you stir in the scrambled eggs.




Mandarin Pancakes
2 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
3/4 cup boiling water
About 2 tablespoons sesame oil or salad oil

Measure flower in a bowl and mix in water with fork or chop sticks. Work dough several minutes until it holds together, then kneed on a lightly floured board until smooth and satiny (about 10 minutes) Cover and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Roll dough into a 12-inch long log. Cut into 12 equal pieces and keep covered.

To make each pancake, cut 1 piece of dough exactly in half. Roll each half into a ball and flatten slightly. Roll each ball on a very lightly floured board to a round 3 inches in diameter. Brush sesame oil lightly on top of one round and cover with another round . Press the two rounds lightly but firmly together.

Place the double round on a lightly floured board and roll out, from center to edges, until 7 or 8 inches in diameter (do not worry if rounds are not perfect). Turn frequently, brushing board lightly with flour as needed. Repeat procedure until you have 2 or 3 pancakes; then cook before making more.

Heat a wide frying pan over medium-high heat, then place a pancake on the ungreased surface. Turn about every 15 seconds until cake is blistered by air pockets, turns parchment color, and feels dry. Cake should not be brown, but a few golden spots won't hurt. If over cooked, cake becomes brittle.

Remove this pan and carefully pull the two halves apart and stack them on a plate. Keep covered as you cook remaining cakes. Serve warm; or let cool, wrap airtight, and refrigerate or freeze for later use.

To heat for serving, thaw if frozen. Line a flat-bottomed steamer with a towel dipped in water and wrung dry; stack pancakes inside and fold towel over pancakes. Cover and steam over simmering water for 5 minutes. Fold hot pancake in half, then half again in a serving basket.Since they dry out quickly serve a few at a time while keeping the remainder covered. Makes 24 pancakes