In article . com>,
"aem" > wrote:

> Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> > I challenge every single person who has participated in Those Threads
> > to post one recipe, to try to get the newsgroup at least partially
> > back on track.
>
> Pea Soup (aka Ground Pork and Peas)
>
> A typical ABC (american-born-chinese) family recipe. No surprises, but
> care with the details will give you a "comfort food" rewarding dish.
> -aem
>
> Ingredients
>
> 1 lb. ground pork
> 2 TB garlic, chopped
> 2 TB ginger, chopped
> 4 scallions
> 11 medium-size dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water until soft
> 1 small can water chestnuts or 11 fresh, peeled and sliced
> 1 cup frozen peas (regular size work better than petite)
> soy sauce
> rice wine or dry sherry or dry vermouth
> fresh ground black pepper
> sesame oil
> 1 TB cornstarch mixed with 1 TB cold water
>
> Mise en place
>
> 1. Chop garlic and ginger. Set half of it aside.
> 2. Mix pork with remaining garlic and ginger and 1 TB each soy sauce
> and wine. Set aside.
> 3. Slice mushrooms, squeeze excess water from them. Set aside.
> Reserve soaking water.
> 4. Drain, rinse and drain water chestnuts. Set aside.
> 5. Microwave frozen peas for 2 minutes. Set aside.
> 6. Slice scallions including as much green as still crisp. Set aside.
> 7. Mix cornstarch slurry. Set aside.
>
> Process
>
> 1. Heat a wok or other heavy pan over high heat. Add 1 or 2 TB peanut
> oil. When the oil begins to produce wisps of smoke, add the reserved
> garlic and ginger, then the pork and the mushrooms and stirfry. Add a
> pinch of salt and a generous number of grinds of black pepper. The pan
> must stay very hot to fry, not steam, the meat.
>
> 2. When the pork has all browned (2 or 3 minutes) add the peas.
> Season with salt and pepper (and an optional pinch of sugar), then stir
> in. Keep the heat high.
>
> 3. Stir in the water chestnuts and scallions. Add the reserved
> mushroom water (but not the debris that settled to the bottom). Let it
> come to a boil. If there is less than at least 1 cup of liquid add
> more water or chicken broth. You want a soupy consistency at this
> point.
>
> 4. Make a well in center of wok and add 1/4 tsp sesame oil and the
> cornstarch slurry. Stir until it begins to thicken and glaze, then
> give it all another stir, lower heat to simmer for a couple of minutes,
> just until peas are fully cooked.
>
> 5. Serve over steamed white rice.
> --------------
> Notes: 1. For this recipe, the fattier pork you can find, the
> better. If you grind your own, use pork butt or shoulder and extra
> fat.
> 2. Canned water chestnuts are okay. Drain and rinse
> them well in fresh cold water, then drain again. Fresh water chestnuts
> are tedious to peel and slice but very much worth the effort. If you
> are lucky enough to see them at an Asian market, grab about eleven of
> them for this dish.
> 3. A few snowpeas, sliced in half diagonally if large,
> make a nice garnish. If using, fry them before step 1 for 20 - 30
> seconds, then remove from wok.
>

Never considered adding Shitake to peas. :-)

Thanks for the idea!

IME, I always make pork stock in advance so that I can de-fat it.
It makes for a better texture, but that's just my personal taste......
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson