One of my favourite things about growing up and living in Toronto has been the incredible array of Asian food that I have been able to enjoy. My family has been regulars at numerous Chinese restaurants in Toronto’s downtown Chinatown since I was kid, and those flavours have shaped my palate and understanding of Chinese cuisine as much as my travels in Asia.

With culinary historian Shirley Lum talking about some the history and food of Toronto’s Chinatowns, I thought I would take the opportunity to recreate one of my favourite dishes as a child, Mu Xu (aka Mu Shu) Pork. Its roots in the cuisine of Shandong in Northern China make it stand out on the more Cantonese-influenced menus typical of Canadian-Chinese food. Almost like a Chinese “taco”, Mu Xu pork features a flavourful stir-fry of pork, wood ear and shiitake mushrooms, eggs and vegetables like napa cabbage, day lily buds and bamboo shoots that are wrapped in a thin flour pancake dabbed with sweet hoisin sauce. Served with a Northern Chinese-style smashed cucumber & sesame salad.
$12 +HST

#vegan & GF options available

7pm TABLE TALK: Shirley Lum
talks about the history of Chinatowns and Chinese food in Toronto.

—–
Len Senater is the founder and proprietor of The Depanneur, who happily cooks for his friends and neighbours every Tuesday night.