Chinese noodle sauce (炸酱面)

300 gr. ground pork (10 oz.)
hot peppers, finely chopped
4 shiitake mushrooms, minced
1 chopped onion
1 chopped tomato
4 (?) finely chopped celery stalks
4 pieces extra firm "dry tofu" (豆干) sliced into 1/3 thickness, then tiny cubes
sweet bean sauce 甜麵醬
sesame oil

Heat pan until very hot, add 3-4 Tablespoons oil, drop in peppers to sizzle, turn off heat and fry until fragrant (“爆香”: “sauté until aromatic” )
Turn on heat, add ground pork, break it up and stir-fry, adding salt & pepper and cook until browned. Oil will be pretty much absorbed. Remove hot pepper & pork to bowl.
Heat pan until very hot, add 3 Tablespoons oil, drop in shiitake mushrooms, turn off heat and fry until fragrant, adding salt and pepper, fry until oil absorbed. You may actually need to add oil. Remove mushrooms.

Heat pan until very hot, add 3 Tablespoons oil, drop in chopped onion, stir fry, add salt.
Add "dry tofu", continuing to stir fry.
Add chopped tomato, continuing to stir fry.
Add chopped celery, fry, add salt & pepper.
Continue frying until liquid is absorbed; may need to add oil.

The fried "dry tofu" & vegetables will be about twice the quantity of meat and mushrooms.

Add several Tablespoons of 甜麵醬; enough to darken.
麻油 to flavor.

Serve a small amount (with julienned persian cucumbers) over noodles

Shiitake mushrooms with snow peas

Snap both ends off snow peas, slice about equal quantity of fresh shiitake mushroom caps (discard the stem) into thin slices. Heat oil, first dump in the mushrooms, then the snow peas, stir fry adding water whenever the liquid dries up. Don't overcook!

Chinese meatloaf

OK, it's not really a loaf, but it's meat.

½ lb. ground pork

Mix in a couple of teaspoons of:
soy sauce
rice wine
sesame oil

salt and pepper to taste.

Mince:
2 scallions
1½ teaspoon ginger
1 cup shiitake mushrooms (3 or 4)

Microwave the mushrooms a minute or so; they'll shrink to about half.

Mix all ingredients together in a low bowl, then put the trivet in the rice cooker, two cups of filtered water, put a plate on the trivet (in case of spills) and the bowl on the plate. Click it on and take it out when it's done. Eat with rice.

Chicken with shiitake mushrooms

• 1 lb. boned chicken thighs 
• 1 T Chinese rice wine
• 1 T soy sauce
• 2-3 minced garlic cloves
• 1 T hot broad bean paste (辣豆瓣醬)
• 15-20 shiitake mushrooms
• 1 cup fresh cilantro, washed and drained
• salt to taste
• 1 t sesame oil

Remove the fat from boned chicken thighs, and cut into small ¼-½" pieces. Steep in a little Chinese rice wine and soy sauce for 1/2-1 hr.
Wash 15-20 mushrooms, cut off and discard stems, cube caps into ¼-½" pieces.
Heat oil in frying pan, drop in minced garlic cloves, then add hot broad bean paste, stir-fry briefly, then add chicken and stir-fry until nearly cooked through, then remove from pan, leaving the liquid.
Dump in mushrooms, stir, add a little water, then cover for a few minutes (they'll suck up the liquid at first, then soften), then add chicken and when almost done, sprinkle with salt and add cilantro and sesame oil.

Shiitake mushrooms with mung bean sprouts

Wash 7 or 8 mushrooms, cut off and discard stems, cut caps into ¼ strips, stir-fry in oil about a minute then add the washed and drained sprouts (12 oz. package), continue frying, then add a splash of balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of salt and stir fry for 7 or 8 minutes until the mushroom flesh is no longer white but the sprouts aren't soft.