CIA Mus Shu Vegetables

CIA Mus Shu Vegetables - not TNT 4 large eggs, lightly beaten 2 tsp sesame oil Salt and pepper as needed 1 tbsp peanut oil 1/2 oz dried wood ears (black fungus) 1/2 oz golden lily buds 3 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry wine 1 tbsp minced garlic 1 tbsp minced gingerroot 2 tbsp dark soy sauce 1/2 cup julienned celery 1 medium carrot, julienned 1/2 cup julienned fennel 1 cup shredded napa cabbage 1 1/2 cups julienned red peppers 1/2 cup minced scallions 1 cup bean sprouts, rinsed and drained 12 Mandarin pancakes Hoisin sauce as needed Plum sauce as needed 4 scallion fans, optional

To make the Manadarin pancakes (egg cr�pe), combine the beaten eggs with 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Heat a frying pan or wok over moderate heat and add 1 teaspoon of the peanut oil. Pour in the egg mixture and spread it quickly over the surface of the pan until it forms a thin cr�pe-like pancake.

There is no need to turn it over. Remove from the heat; and when cool shred the egg pancake and set aside.

To make the filling: Soak the dried wood ears and lily buds in warm water for about 20 minutes until soft. Squeeze the excess liquid from the wood ears and lily buds. Finely shred the wood ears, discarding the stem, and snap off the hard ends of the lily buds.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat and add the remaining peanut oil. When almost smoking, add the wood ears, lily buds, and rice wine and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the garlic, gingerroot, and dark soy sauce and stir fry for another minute.

Add the celery, carrot, and fennel and stir fry until very hot, about 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and stir fry until hot, another 2 minutes.

Then put in the shredded egg, red peppers, scallions, and bean sprouts and continue to stir fry for 3 minutes until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Stir in the remaining sesame oil, and turn onto a large platter.

Serve with the Mandarin pancakes, hoisin sauce, and plum sauce.

Serves 4

Source: The Culinary Institute of America's Vegetables Cookbook Formatted by Chupa Babi: 11.25.07

At a restaurant you may find Mu Shu served with scallion brushes-slices of scallion with slits into the white portion so that they open up like bristles- that are used to spread on the hoisin sauce. The mu shu-filled pancake is rolled up like a cigar, and then dipped in plum or hoisin sauce. One of the elements in this mu shu dish is a shredded egg omelet, cooked like a thin cr�pe.

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog...... Dwight D. Eisenhower

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