Rain, and Capital Sauce Pork Ribbons

Today a bunch of rain and hail fell from the sky, so activities were limited to shoe shopping, Race for the Galaxy, and cooking up delicious Capital Sauce Pork Ribbons, a recipe from our favorite cookbook, The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking by Barbara Tropp. This time, we used beef instead of pork and added onions; this is the original recipe:

Capital Sauce Pork Ribbons

1 pound boneless pork loin
peanut oil for stir frying

Capital Beef

To marinate the pork:
2 T soy sauce
2 T Chinese rice wine
1 T water
4 t cornstarch
1/2 t sugar
1/4 t sesame oil
8 scallions

Sauce ingredients:
3 T hoisin sauce
2 T Chinese rice wine
1.5 T soy sauce
5 t sugar
1/4 t sesame oil

Cut the pork (against the grain) into thin slices 1/8 inch thick. In a large bowl, mix the soy sauce, rice wine, water, cornstarch, sugar, and sesame oil until thoroughly blended, then add the pork slices and allow to marinate for 1 to 3 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before frying.
Cut the scallions into 2-inch lengths a scant 1/4 inch wide, trimming off the root ends. In a small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce, rice wine, soy, sugar, and sesame oil , stir well to dissolve everything. Add 2 T of peanut oil to a very hot wok, swirl to coat the pan, add the pork slices, and stir fry until opaque. Add the sauce ingredients and continue cooking until the pork is cooked through. Serve with Mandarin pancakes (microwaved for 10 seconds to heat them) and sliced scallions.

The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking: Techniques and Recipes