Mo shu Pork

Cut the meat against the grain into slices a little thinnner than 1/4 inch thick, then into julienne shreds about 1-1/2 inches long. Toss them in a mixing bowl with your fingers, separating the shreds. Add the marinade, mix well, and let the meat marinate for 30 minutes. These steps may be done in advance and the meat refrigerated. Cover the Golden Needles and mo-er mushrooms separately with hot water and soak for 30 minutes. Rinse them well and drain. Cut off and discard the knobby ends of the Golden Needles; then cut them in half. Tear the mo-er mushrooms into small pieces, discarding the hard 'eyes' if any. Rinse and drain the shredded bamboo shoots. Place all the vegetables on your working platter. Beat the eggs with the salt. Heat a wok or large, heavy skillet over high heat until very hot; add 1-1/2 tablespoons oil, swirl, and heat for 30 seconds. Pour in the eggs and swirl the pan quickly. The instant the eggs puff up around the edges push them away from you with a spatula as you tilt the pan toward you, so that the liquid eggs on top slide down into the hot pan. Repeat this pushing and tilting a few times with lightning speed until the eggs are no longer running but have become soft and fluffy, then poke and shake them rapidly with the tip of the spatula to break them into tiny pieces. Scrape them immediately into a dish. The actions should be extremely fast, so the eggs won't have any time to toughen. Wipe the pan and add the last 2 Tablespoons oil, swirl, and heat until hot. Scatter in the meat and stir, shake, and toss rapidly for about 1 minute until all the pinkness is gone. Add the stock or water, even out the contents, cover and let the meat steam-cook vigorously for about 1-1/2 minutes. Add the vegetables, then the soy sauce, sherry, and sugar, and stir rapidly for 30 seconds to mingle them. Scatter in the scrambled eggs and stir them in fast tossing and turning motions for another 30 seconds. Sprinkle the top with the sesame oil, give the contents a few sweeping folds, and pour into a hot serving dish. Swerve with Chinese Pancakes or rice. Variations. Omit the scrambled eggs and you have a delicious meat and vegetable dish. And instead of bamboo shoots you could use shredded peeled broccoli stems, Chinese celery or green cabbage. In that case increase the stir frying by 1 minute or longer until the vegetables are soft but not completely limp. Chinese Pancakes 2 cups flour 1 cup boiling water 3 Tablespoons oil for brushing Measure the flour into a large bowl and add the boiling water gradually as you stir with chopsticks or a wooden spoon until the mixture resembles lumpy meal. Press the mass into a large ball. Dust your work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Knead it, pushing with the heels of your hands and turning it, for 5 minutes, until it is no longer sticky. Dust lightly with flour whenever necessary. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes. Flour the work surface again and knead the dough another 5 minutes until it is soft and smooth, dusting with flour when necessary. Shape the dough into a log, cut it in half lengthwise, and then roll each half back and forth with your palms to form a sausage shape about 15 inches long. Cut each sausage into 1-inch pieces and stand them up on their edges on a floured surface. Brush 1 side of a piece of dough with oil and press this side onto another piece; then roll into a double pancake measuring about 6 inches in diameter. Repeat until you have made 15 double pancakes. Doubling is to cut the pan baking time and effort in half. Heat a heavy skillet over low heat until hot. Place a pancake in the center and "bake" it for about 1-1/2 minutes, until the surface puffs into a bubble and the bottom is speckled with small light brown spots. Flip and bake the other side about 45 seconds. These pancakes should be soft and slightly chewy. The crucial point in making them is the heat level; if the pan is too hot the pancakes will be covered with large burned spots and if it is not hot enough the pancake will dry out in cooking. Be careful to bake only 1-1/2 minutes and test for light brown spots, and you'll have a perfect pancake. ake. Remove the double pancake to a plate while you put another one into the skillet; then peel off the finished top one to give you 2 individual pancakes. Fold each one to make a half moon and place on a plate. Repeat the baking, peeling and folding until all 30 pancakes are made, lowering heat if pancakes are browning too fast. Steam the folded pancakes on a heatproof plate for 5 minutes before serving them. You may make them hours or days in advance, and you can freeze them. Wrap tightly in plastic for refrigerating or freezing. Reheat by steaming 10 to 15 minutes until soft and resilient. In Chinese Mo-shu means yellow cassia blossoms. They are symbolized here by the tiny pieces of scrambled eggs that are mingled into this shredded meat and vegetable dish. It is northern in origin, traditionally served with steamed pancakes into which one rolls the meat, but it's just as good with rice. It's both fluffy and full of crunch. There is enough filling for 12 pancakes, and they make a nice meal for 4 with appetizers and dessert.