Chinese Pork & Shrimp Rice Noodles in Broth

Yield: 6 Servings
4 Oriental mushrooms; dried
. * OR *
. 6 fresh mushrooms
6 Leaves of Napa cabbage
1/2 lb Pork chop meat; thinly
. sliced into 1/4" strips
1 T Soy sauce
1 t Hoisin sauce
3 T Water
2 t Cornstarch
4 T Vegetable oil
3 Green onions; cut into 2"
. slivers
1 c Small shrimp; peeled &
. deveined
8 c Chicken stock
1/2 lb Rice stick noodles (may
. substitute egg noodles
. or vermicelli)
1 t Salt
1/4 t Black pepper
Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes. Remove the stems
and slice the caps into strips. (Just slice the fresh mushrooms, if
using fresh). Set aside.
Stack the cabbage leaves; then cut across into strips 2 inches wide.
Cut each strip across the width into slivers 2 inches in length. Set aside.
Place the pork strips in a bowl with the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, water
and cornstarch. Mix until the pork is thoroughly coated. set aside to
marinate for 20 minutes.
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat and stir-fry the
pork for 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, drain the pork and remove
to a paper-towel-lined plate.
Bring the oil back up to high heat and stir-fry the mushrooms and
onions for 2 minutes. Add the shredded cabbage and shrimp and fry
until the shrimp becomes pink and the cabbage becomes limp.
Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the rice noodles and boil for
one minute. Return the pork to the wok just to heat through and season
with the salt and pepper.
NOTE: Some ingredients may be available only at Asian grocers.
Vietnamese variation: Omit the mushrooms. Stir-fry the onions with the
pork. Substitute 3 large tomatoes, each cut into 6 segments, for the
cabbage. Serve the soup in individual bowls, first placing a lettuce
leaf torn into a few pieces, a few bean sprouts, 4 or 5 narrow strips
of cucumber, 3 mint leaves and a scattering of chopped cilantro leaves
in the bottom of each bowl before pouring the soup in. Garnish with a
sprinkling of crushed peanuts. This version may also be made with
chicken instead of pork.
Nutritional Information per serving: 411 calories, 20g fat, 122mg
cholesterol, 1753mg sodium