Stir Fried Asian Mushrooms and Stir Fried Pork with Dried Chillies

Both of these recipes are from Kylie Kwong's fantastic cookbook, "My China; A Feast for all the Senses". This book has stories of Kylie's travels in China, beautiful pictures and some fantastic recipes.

The Asian Mushrooms used in this stir fry were fresh shiitake, oyster and enoki which I found in a local fruit shop but have also seen in supermarkets. You don't use the stems of the shiitake mushrooms as they are harder and take longer to cook. Shiitake mushrooms are quite "meaty" and hold together well when cooked. The oyster mushrooms are much more delicate with a milder taste and become a little like an oyster in texture when cooked (they are actually named oyster mushrooms because they look like an oyster shell not because of their taste or texture). Enoki mushrooms are quite beautiful and look like soft coral as they grow in clusters and have thin long stems, about 10cm in length, with tiny white caps. They were added right at the end as heat can toughen them and they have a mild flavour and an interesting slightly crisp texture. The mushrooms were stir fried with ginger, garlic, sea salt, shao hsing wine (Chinese rice wine), brown sugar, light soy sauce, brown rice vinegar and sesame oil. This dish was interesting and a nice side dish.

The stir fried pork was made using pork neck fillets, which are widely used in Chinese cooking as they have more  fat than other cuts which helps baste and flavour the meat as you cook it. The pork was stir fried in peanut oil with garlic, ginger, shao hsing wine, Chinese black vinegar, light soy sauce, dried chilli flakes and Sichuan pepper and salt. Sichuan peppercorns are the dried berries of the prickly ash tree. They have a unique flavour and aroma and leave the mouth feeling slightly numb and tingly. To make the salt and pepper mix you dry fry 1 tablespoon of sichuan peppercorns with 3 tablespoons of sea salt until the peppercorns start to "pop" and the aromatic oils are released. You then crush the mixture in a mortar and pestle. It is delicious sprinkled on all sorts of dishes. This simple stir fry had lots of flavour and the chilli was not over powering as I thought it may be.

As with much Asian cooking once you have the ingredients in your cupboard you can make many dishes using different combinations of those ingredients. I always think the main secret to Asian cooking is having all the ingredients measured and chopped in little bowls ready to go as the actual cooking time is quite quick and you don't want to have to stop and prepare the ingredients.

I would rate these 2 dishes 7-8 out of 10.