Stir Fried Mustard Greens with Pork and Liver

A ten course Foochow Wedding feast would not miss out the vegetable dish. And it would be a delightful change from having so much meat.

If I remember correctly, at that time, cauliflower and brocoli were not on the list of imported vegetables yet. The round cabbage and the Chinese long cabbage, carrots , leeks and different kinds of potatoes were imported. And furthermore, most of the restaurants would serve locally produced vegetables and tinned vegetables like bamboo shoots. I remember an excellent Foochow banquet would cost around 80 Straits Dollars at the Lok Huen Restaurant on the ground floor of the Palace Cinema. That included sharks' fin soup of the best quality, fried noodles, steamed white pomfret,mixed vegetables,steamed kampong chicken, bamboo and mushroom with pork, stir fried beef!!!! And a beautiful dessert of ice cold tinned peaches.

Fresh from the garden would come the mustard green or Kua Chai for this dish. Today, supermarkets sell only the stalks of this wonderful vegetable, imported mainly from China.

Ingredients

2 stalks of greens, cleaned and cut
6 pips of garlic, sliced finely
l Tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 Tbsp of water
1/2 Tbsp white pepper
salt to taste
100 gm liver sliced thinly
100 gm pork sliced thinly
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp Foochow red wine

Method
1. Marinade the liver and pork with a little salt and pepper, separately. Leave aside for half an hour.
2. Clean and cut the vegetables and par boil them with some salted water.
3. Dish up.
4. Heat up the wok and pour in the rest of the cooking oil and sesame oil. Stir fry the garlic, add the liver and pork slices. Cook until well done. Add cornflour mixture and stir well. Add the wine if you like. Bring to the boil
5. Finally add the vegetables and cover the wok quickly. Allow steam to come up. This takes about 2-3 minutes. Do not over cook the vegetables.
6. Serve immediately.

Chinese stir fried vegetables are usually difficult to cook. The oil has to be hot, the fire just nice and the hand fast. Sometimes a good nose helps. And watch out for the steam which comes out when the cover of the wok is on.

Be observant at all times. Our five senses help us in our cooking.