Boiled Egg Noodles with Meat Sauce
Print This Recipe
INGREDIENTS GARNISHES
1 medium cucumber
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
3 scallions, including the green tops, cut in 2-inch lengths and finely shredded
3 tablespoons peanut oil or flavorless vegetable oil
1 pound boneless pork shoulder, freshly ground
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
¼ cup brown bean sauce
2 scallions, including green tops, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup chicken stock, fresh or canned
1 pound fresh Chinese egg noodles, or substitute narrow egg noodlesPREPARE AHEAD
With a small, sharp knife, peel the cucumber. The cut in half and scoop out the seeds by running the tip of a teaspoon down the center of each half. Now cut the cucumber into 1/8-inch slices, and cut the slices into strips 1/8-inch wide and 2 inches long.
Arrange the cucumber, garlic and scallions side by side on a small serving plate.
Have the garnishes, and the oil, pork, wine, bean sauce, scallions, sugar, chicken stock and noodles within easy reach.
TO COOK
Set a 12-inch wok or 10-inch skillet over high heat for 30 seconds. Pour in 2 tablespoons of the oil, swirl it about in the pan and heat for another 30 seconds, turning the heat down to moderate if the oil begins to smoke. Add the ground pork and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it browns lightly. Add the wine, brown bean sauce, chopped scallions and sugar, mix well and pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and cook rapidly over moderate heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until all the stock has evaporated. Turn off the heat and cover the wok or skillet to keep the meat sauce warm.
In a 3 to 4-quart heavy saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil over high heat. Drop in the noodles and boil them vigorously, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a large fork to prevent them from sticking. Drain the noodles through a colander.
Serve the noodles immediately in the following fashion: Place them on a large, deep, heated platter or in a deep serving bowl and toss them quickly with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Ladle the meat sauce into a serving bowl, and pass the sauce and the cucumber, garlic and scallion garnishes separately.
Serves 4