Chinese Braised Noodles with Vegetables and Pork 青菜豬肉煨麵

Do you sometimes find it a bit more work to cook the noodles with another pot and taking over another stove? I do actually, especially when it means there are more stuff to wash. So this Chinese noodles recipe definitely hit the spot for me, not just about the cleaning part, but the flavor is really enjoyable. 

Chinese braised noodles with vegetables and pork 青菜豬肉煨麵 - 

Ingredients (about 5 portions)?

• 5 portions fresh Asian flour noodles
• 1 small bundle pak choi or bok choy
• 8 shiitake mushrooms
• 4 loosely packed cups trimmed bean sprouts
• 1/2 medium carrot
• 2 stalks scallion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

For the pork:

• 275 grams pork threads
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon aged Shaoxing wine

For the soup:

• 3 cups chicken stock
• 3 cups drinkable hot water
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons black vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoons white pepper powder

How?

Make sure to use the flour kind, the white color Asian noodles. Definitely not the yellow ones or the dried Hong Kong crispy noodles. 

Use threaded pork but smaller pieces of matsuzaka pork can be a good substitute. Transfer the pork to a bowl and add in 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of aged Shaoxing wine. Massage the meat with the seasonings and let it marinate while prepping other ingredients.

Destem the pak choi or bok choy. I like to cut it in half for a shorter length, sometimes also slice lengthwise for thinner strips. 

Remove the mushroom stems then slice the cap. Trim the bean sprouts by picking out the skinny ends. Peel and julienne the carrot. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Destem and section the scallion stalks.

Bring out a big wok and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Use medium or medium high heat. Add in garlic and scallion, stir-fry till the scallion turns slightly charred, but make sure not to burn the garlic bits. 

Add in the pork and all the marinade. Stir-fry and cook till the meat changes to whiter color. 

Add in carrot and cook for couple minutes. I like to cook the carrot first in order to get a softer texture in the end. If you prefer a crunchier bite, just give it a quick stir-fry instead.

Add in the leafy greens, bean sprouts, and shiitake mushrooms. Cook till the greens have been wilted. 

Add in 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of black vinegar, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper powder. Give it a few mixes.

Pour in 3 cups of chicken stock along with 3 cups of hot water. Bring the entire thing to a boil.

Add in fresh Asian noodles.

Spread out the noodles. Adjust the heat to keep these ingredients at a light bubbling stage. Cover the wok with a lid and cook for about 8 more minutes. Note that the actual time varies depending on the type of noodles you use. Basic idea is to cook the noodles till about 70% done here.

Remove the lid. Mix up the ingredients a bit, also make sure the noodles are not sticking or lumping. Continue to cook till the noodles reach desired texture.

The flour on the noodles will help thicken all the liquid inside the wok, creating a thick soup like consistency. It's also like mixing in corn starch water in the end, but turned out much more flavorful since we've been cooking the noodles with flavored soupy ingredients right from the start. 

Also because we added so many vegetables, on top of that there're pork and chicken stock, you can definitely get that natural sweetness, that umami taste throughout.

The noodles are so tasty, I didn't even add chili sauce while eating it, which I normally do for an extra spicy kick. But of course you can still pump it up with any kind of Asian chili sauce. It'll only make the already good stuff even better.

Extended reading:

• Scallion oil noodles for one 蔥油拌麵
• Chili garlic noodles for one
• Taiwanese curry and beef stir-fry noodles 咖哩牛肉炒麵