Moo shu pork with wood ear and day lily on rice
Shredded pork, soft scrambled egg, wood ear, day lily buds and cucumber tossed together in one wok — tender, crunchy and appetising, a much-loved northern Chinese home dish.
- 28 min
- Serves 2
- Stir-fry
- Easy
Why it suits you: Blood-stasis types have sluggish circulation, with a dull complexion and stabbing aches, and as yang draws inwards at Liqiu, keeping the blood moving matters more. Wood ear moves and cools the blood, day lily lifts the mood and eases the chest, and black vinegar disperses stasis and whets the appetite; pork and egg nourish blood and yin. Balanced and great with rice.
Method
Prep 20 min · Cook 8 min- 1Soak the wood ear and day lily separately until soft. Tear the wood ear into small pieces; trim the hard tips of the day lily and tie each into a knot. Marinate the pork with half the soy sauce and the cornflour for 10 minutes.
- 2Beat the eggs. Heat 1 tbsp oil, pour in the eggs and scramble quickly until just set, then lift out.
- 3Heat the remaining oil and fry the ginger and the white parts of the spring onion until fragrant. Add the pork and stir-fry over a high heat until it changes colour.
- 4Add the wood ear, day lily and cucumber and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Return the egg, add the remaining soy sauce, splash the vinegar around the edge of the wok, toss in the spring onion greens and serve with the rice.
Cautions
- Fresh day lily contains colchicine, so always use dried buds, soaked and cooked through; cut back on the wood ear during heavy periods.
Chef's tips
- Take the egg out while still soft so it doesn't toughen when it goes back in; knotting the day lily keeps it from falling apart and gives a better bite.
The TCM view
Wood ear is sweet and neutral, moving blood, unblocking the vessels and cooling the blood. Day lily is sweet and cool, clearing heat, relieving constraint and easing the chest; vinegar is sour, bitter and warm, dispersing stasis, easing pain and whetting the appetite; egg is sweet and neutral, nourishing yin and blood; pork moistens dryness; cucumber clears heat. It moves blood without depleting the body.
