 David Rubel'sWhat's For Dinner?5/10/06
The Mandarin Sauce
1. Combine the ingredients for the sauce and mix well. (The sauce can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for weeks.) 2. Slice the pork into short, thin strips. Combine with the soy sauce, rice wine, and cornstarch. Let stand. 3. Using a wooden spoon, mix the flour with the boiling water to form a dough ball. Knead with your lightly floured hands until smooth. Cover with a dishtowel and let rest for at least 30 minutes. 4. After the dough has rested, shape it into a foot-long cylinder and cut the cylinder into 12 rounds. Shape each into a flat disk about 2 inches across. Brush the top of each disk liberally with sesame oil, then stack the disks in pairs with the oiled sides touching. Flatten each pair with the palm of your hand, then roll each into a thin circle about 6 inches wide. 5. Heat an ungreased cast-iron pan over a medium-high flame. Fry each pair of pancakes for about 45 seconds on the first side and about 20 seconds on the flip. Remove from the pan, peel apart, and keep warm wrapped in foil while the others are cooked. 6. Meanwhile, add 2 Tbs of the peanut oil to a wok (or large, heavy skillet) that you have heated over a medium flame. Once the oil has come up to temperature, add the ginger rounds and cook them until they become fragrant and flavor the oil, about 1-2 minutes. Remove and discard. Then add the eggs, tossing occasionally until they set, about 1 minute. Chop the scrambled egg into small pieces and set aside. 7. Increase the flame under the wok to high and add the final tablespoon of peanut oil. Add the pork (with the marinade) and stir fry until halfway cooked, about 90 seconds. Add the cabbage and stir fry until it begins to wilt, about 90 seconds. Finally, add the mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and scallions. Cook until all the ingredients have heated thoroughly. Return the scrambled egg to the wok and cook briefly until it has reheated as well. 8. To serve, spread some sauce onto a pancake and add the pork filling. Fold three sides of the pancake toward the center and eat with your hands. Tips * You’ll need to experiment a little with heat and time before you get the pancakes just right, but once you do, they’re easy. They should be cooked through but not browned (although a few brown spots are okay). They should also be pliable. If they turn out stiff, you’ve overcooked them. If they taste floury, they’re undercooked.
Back to the Top If you have tried one of these recipes and have an improvement or tip or variation to suggest, please e-mail David at dinner@wamc.org. Also feel free to send along your own family cuisine recipes. You can even request dishes that you'd like David to present in the future. David Rubel is president of Agincourt Press, a book production company in Chatham, New York. He spends his days writing American history, then heads home after work to cook for his wife and two young children. His most recent book is The Story of America (DK, 2002). |
