Sauteed Minced Pork Sauce

This a simple recipe which my husband likes so much. It is actually our Chinese version of meat sauce and it acts just like the ground beef sauce for spaghetti. You can serve it with a bowl of hot noodle soup or a plate of plain noodle. Stir fry some with a block of tofu and it will be another dish on your dining table.


Ingredients:

A
500 g ground pork
Salt
Pepper
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Chinese cooking wine (Shao Xing wine)

B
8 dried Shiitake/Chinese mushrooms (soaked and cut into small cubes)
1/2 bowl frozen peas (mine come with carrots)
6 shallots (halved and sliced) - You may also add onion to increase volume of your meat sauce
5 cloves garlic (chopped)

C
2 tablespoons cornflour (dissolved in some water)
Soaking water of your dried Shiitake mushrooms
Water (enough to cover your meat, peas and mushrooms)
Dark soy sauce
Chicken stock
Salt
Pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
Oyster sauce (optional)


Method:

1. Marinate your meat with salt, pepper, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine and sesame oil.
2. Saute your chopped garlic, shallots and Shiitake mushrooms until fragrance in a hot wok with a bit of oil.
3. Add your minced meat to the wok and stir fry until it is cooked.
4. Add the water from Shiitake mushrooms to your meat. Add more water until it is slightly over the meat.
5. Pour in your frozen peas and bring the whole wok of meat sauce to boil.
6. Meanwhile, season your meat sauce with salt, pepper, dark soy sauce and chicken stock.
7. Keep on stirring the meat sauce while adding your cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce.
8. Bring it to boil and turn off the heat.


When marinating your meat, you may want to be generous in using your salt, pepper, soy sauce, cooking wine and sesame oil. Surprisingly, it uses quite a big amount of the mentioned ingredients to marinate a large bowl of meat. I added more cooking wine to my meat as I personally like the meat sauce with a stronger taste of wine.

Cook your meat sauce in big batch and store in different containers. Keep them in freezer for further usage.


Additional readings:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/tour/food/chinese-cooking/minced-pork-noodles.htm
http://www.chubbyhubby.net/blog/?p=162