Chinese Pork with Mushrooms, Onion, Bok Chou, Water Chestnuts and Bell Peppers

This an amalgamation of Chinese Spices and Flavors, and some of my favorite vegetables. It is really delicious, but uses many ingredients, any one of which may be omitted.

It is served with  unseasoned-jasmine rice,  steamed.

2 1/2 lb. pork shoulder, sliced 3/16” then pounded with a mallet until 1/8th thick

1/3 cup Shaoxing rice wine + extra for marinating meat, and splash for mushrooms 

2 tablespoons Chinese Oyster Sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese hoisin sauced

1 tablespoon dark soy

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small thumb of ginger, smashed, then chopped 

2 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar

3 tablespoons peanut oil, + more for marinating pork + some for vegetables and mushrooms 

1 large onion, chopped to 1 inch squares.

1 small can water chestnuts, drained

1 tablespoon of honey

1 lb. Sliced Cremini Button Mushrooms 

1 lb. Asst. small bell peppers, chopped and seeded

1 green bell pepper chopped the same as other peppers

6 scallions - green and white section cut to one inch long, green sliced diagonally and held sperately.

2 tablespoons corn starch to which you add equal amount of chicken stock as thickener

1 tablespoon corn starch for marinade

1 teaspoon sugar for cooking mushrooms 

1/2 teaspoon salt for cooking mushrooms 

4 bok choy (optional) if need more green color

In a small bowl, crease a slurry by adding two tablespoons corn starch, adding a  equal amount of chicken stock. Side aside.

In a measuring cup, add soy, hosin sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine, black vinegar, and honey. Set aside

Cut up peppers. Use as many colored peppers as you have. Cut the onion to 1 inch squares. Add water chestnuts and then whites of the scallions. Cut the root end of baby boy chou, cut them in half lengthwise. Put these vegetables in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, add sliced mushrooms.

In a small bowl, add ginger and garlic

In a medium bowl, add the cut up pork shoulder. Sprinkle pork with corn starch. Add a small amount of oil and two splashes of Shaoxing wine. Allow to marinate at least 20 minutes.

In a large Teflon skillet, pre heat the pan to when a drop of water dances on the surface. Add 3 tablespoons peanut oil, wait a minute, add over high heat, cook the pork with the garlic and ginger, turning as you go until the meat is cooked. Turn out the contents of the drained pan, retaining just the pork and herbs into a very large bowl.

Drain out the oil. Drop in salt, sugar and the mushrooms. Cook on medium until the mushrooms have taken on color and wet. Pour out over bowl with the meat and mushrooms.

Heat a large wok, until it begins to smoke. Add retained oil from the drained pork. Make sure wok is well coated with oil by swirling or use the wok spoon. Add all the vegetables from their bowl. Stir fry vegetables until onions are done, stir fry contents of wok with wok spoon.

Add the pork and mushrooms. Stir in the liquid contents of measuring cup, coating everything well. Cook another two minutes, the add cornstarch slurry. Cook until thicken. Add sliced scallion-greens and optional chopped cilantro.

Serve over Rice.