Chow Mien

Chow Mien with Pork Shoulder-mushrooms, onions, & celery

Ingredients:
1 pound of Pork shoulder, cubed into bite size pieces
8 mushrooms
3 stalks celery
1 whole sweet onion
2-6 ounce packages of chow mien noodles (I like the Sun Luck brand)


Sauce:
3 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp brown sugar mixed with 3 tbsp hot water
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp sherry
1 tsp dill
5 tsp honey
1/4 tsp salt
Pepper-few turns of a mill

Sprinkle garlic powder on each batch as you cook it, see below

2 tsp corn starch mixed with 4 tsp cold water to thicken remaining sauce at the end-see below

After washing your meat and vegetables, chop up your celery and onion  into bite size pieces.  I like to cut the celery at an angle to give visual appeal. 

Use a brush to clean your mushrooms.  If you don't have one, you can in this case, wash them with water since you'll be using them immediately.

Cut the ends off the mushroom stems.

Everything is chopped, you're ready to stir fry.  Start a pot of boiling water for the noodles.  Add 1 tbsp Kosher salt, or regular salt to the water

Mix the brown sugar and the hot water in a bowl, dissolve the sugar, add the rest of the ingredients.

Now your sauce is ready.

    I've been cooking stir fry a long time, and this is the definitive best way to cook it from a lot of tries.

Heat your wok or large fry pan over medium to high heat.  Add olive oil to coat the pan-2 tbsp approximately.  Get a large bowl with a lid (metal preferably) and do each batch of vegetables and meat separately.  I usually cook the meat first.  You want to cook pork to a done safe degree.  If you think it is done, usually 4-6 minutes, cut one in half, if white, safe to eat, if still red, cook a little longer.  When almost done, add some of the sauce mixture to it while still in the pan.  When done, pour off into your waiting bowl, recover with lid to keep warm.  Do the same with the rest of the ingredients, and don't be afraid to use a wooden spoon or spatula to get up the browned bits from the meat and previous stir-frying into the next batch.  It all adds flavor. 

When you're on your last set of stir frying of vegetables, you can start your noodles.

 At this point, your water should be boiling.  Take the noodles, and break them with your hands into about 4-5 pieces, and drop into the water.  Boil 5 minutes.  Immediately  drain and rinse in cold water.

Take any remaining sauce and any liquid that has accumulated in the bowl of done ingredients, and add back to the wok.  Add the mixture of cold water and corn starch a little at a time until of the desired thickness.

Add back all the done ingredients from the bowl.  Mix up, add the noodles, mix up and serve.