Gan Bian Zhu Rou Si (Dry Fried Pork Shreds)

Gan Bian Zhu Rou Si (Dry Fried Pork Shreds)
This dish is in the popular tradition of “dry frying” (gan bian), which really means presented with very little liquid sauce. This makes for an intensely flavored and visually rich dish, since the flavorings become reduced through evaporation and cling to the stir-fry

ingredients. But perhaps the main appeal of dry-frying is textural. The meat is sauteed until dry, a thing usually avoided in Western cooking. This method provides a nice contrast with steamed and poached dishes. I have suggested sweet red peppers for this, whereas in Sichuan, where this dish is from, fresh chili peppers are used and the effect is extremely intense--possibly too intense for most Westerners.

11 –12 oz pork shoulder, boneless rib, or loin, sliced into shreds, 1/8” x 2” x 1/8” 
1 or 2 fresh red chilis, seeded and slivered
4 spring onion, white portion 2” segments, and quartered lengthwise, green portion shredded 2” long for garnish.
1 or 2 large sweet red peppers, shred same as pork
3 Chinese dried mushrooms, soaked in hot water, squeezed, marinated in soy, sugar, wine.
3 large garlic cloves, sliced
1”by 1 “ pc ginger, sliced thin

Sauce:

2 Tab soy
2 tsp Sugar
2 Tab Shao Xing Wine or dry sherry
2 tsp Rice wine vinegar

Marinate pork in a splash of soy sauce, dry sherry, and cornstarch.  On medium high heat, stir-fry the meat in about 4 Tab peanut oil for several minutes--as much as 6 to 10 minutes, depending on the cut size of the meat--until well-browned; remove with slotted spoon or strainer and set aside. Add more oil if necessary, and stir-fry the ginger, light sections of green onion (reserve dark green sections) and slivered chilis until 1 or 2 minutes, then add the sweet red pepper, garlic slices and stir-fry until all ingredients are browned; toss in mushroom and dark green onion segments. Add sauce and stir-fry all ingredients until it no longer puddles in the bottom of the wok.

Platter and garnish with sesame oil and carrot slivers.