SERVES 2 TO 3 AS A MAIN COURSE, 4 TO 5 AS PART OF A MULTICOURSE MEAL
If you love Chinese sausage, then this is a particularly good way to eat it—set off by the earthiness of wild mushrooms and the tang of sun-dried tomatoes. You could, of course, use fresh tomatoes or Oven-Dried Plum Tomatoes (page 36), but this is mostly a dish about concentrated tastes.
The brown, very rich-tasting duck liver sausage found in many Chinese markets makes the dish more interesting still. If you cannot find it, use double the amount of Chinese pork sausage. You can also use andouille sausage instead of Chinese links; its flavor is terrific in Chinese dishes.
Good Chinese sausages are hard to find; they are typically made in this country with an overdose of sugar and chemicals. The best brand I have been able to locate is Venus, made in Los Angeles.
There is no ready substitute for Chinese sausage. However, you can make a fabulous, spicy version of this dish and many others using andouille sausage!
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
3 tablespoons green and white scallion rings
¼ to ½ teaspoon dried red chili flakes
Finely minced zest of ½ small scrubbed orange
SAUCE:
1½ cups China Moon Infusion (page 72), China Moon Double Stock (page 72), or unsalted chicken stock
1 tablespoon mushroom soy sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ pound each of Chinese pork and duck liver sausage, diagonally sliced into coins ¼ inch thick
2 to 3 tablespoons corn or peanut oil, for stir-frying
1 small yellow onion, cut into ¾-inch squares
1 red bell pepper, cut into ¾-inch squares
2 fat scallions, cut into 1-inch nuggets
1 small carrot, cut into julienne
6 ounces wild and domestic mushrooms, trimmed and cut, if large
3 to 4 pieces sun-dried tomatoes, cut into fine julienne
¼ pound baby bok choy or baby Chinese celery cabbage, separated into individual ribs
¼ pound Napa cabbage, cut into 1-inch squares
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold stock or water
Diagonally cut green and white scallion rings, for garnish
1. Combine the aromatics in a small dish; cover until ready to use.
2. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir to blend, leaving the spoon in the bowl.
3. Steam the Chinese sausage slices over high heat until the fat is translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain well; reserve 1 tablespoon of the fat. (If you are using andouille sausage, it doesn’t require pre-cooking.)
All of the above, including cutting the vegetables, may be done a day ahead. Seal and refrigerate the ingredients; let come to room temperature before cooking.
4. About 15 minutes before serving, heat a wok or large heavy skillet over high heat until hot enough to evaporate a bead of water on contact. Add the reserved sausage fat plus 1 tablespoon of the oil and swirl to glaze the pan. (If you are using andouille, add 2 tablespoons oil.) When the oil is hot enough to sizzle a scallion ring, reduce the heat to moderate. Add the aromatics and stir gently until fully fragrant, 20 to 30 seconds, adjusting the heat so they foam without browning. Add the onion and bell pepper, and toss briskly until slightly softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the scallions, carrot, and sausage, and toss until seared, 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and toss until hot, about 2 minutes more. Adjust the heat to maintain a merry sizzle and drizzle a bit more oil down the side of the pan, if needed to prevent sticking. Don’t worry if the vegetables and sausage brown a bit; they will be yummy. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, baby cabbage, and Napa cabbage, and toss until the Napa is slightly wilted.
5. Stir the sauce and add it to the pan. Raise the heat to high, cover the pan, and bring the sauce to a simmer. When the sauce simmers, stir the cornstarch mixture to recombine and add it to the pan. Stir until the sauce turns glossy and slightly thick, 10 to 20 seconds.
6. Serve immediately on heated plates or a platter of contrasting color. Garnish with a sprinkling of the scallion rings.
I have historically been an apartment-dweller and a family of one, so I have joyfully made the kitchen the center of my life. Each of the places in which I have lived has had a kitchen big enough to hold a huge butcher block table for chopping and eating, as well as a space large enough to install a propane-fueled wok.
My wok burner is nothing fancy. It was made by an old buddy named Rex from the burner of a discarded hot water tank and a piece of metal tubing that anchors the burner in its middle. This is hooked up to a propane tank. The propane provides a fabulously high heat, and the jerry-rigged burner unit provides an appropriately deep nesting place for my wok.
I wish I could say that I have a kitchen hung with copper pots, a professional wok burner, a garbage disposal, and a dishwasher, and a covey of admiring cook’s helpers to do my chopping and washing. But that’s not me. My kitchen is a simple place built around one big fire and one big table, and I suppose I need nothing fancier.
MENU SUGGESTIONS: This is a fine dish to ladle over a simple bowl of hot rice or noodles. A platter of Wok-Seared Spinach Relish (page 438) and steamed corn would be terrific complements to the sausage.