Stir-Fried Pork and Greens With Noodles

- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1large bunch or 2 smaller bunches greens, such as Swiss chard, beet greens, turnip greens or kale (about 1½ pounds), stemmed and washed well in several changes of water
- Salt to taste
- 8ounces Japanese somen noodles, soba or wide rice vermicelli
- 1teaspoon dark sesame oil
- ½pound lean pork, cut in ¼- by 2-inch strips
- 2tablespoons vegetable, canola or peanut oil
- 2large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 1tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger
- 2tablespoons soy sauce
- ¼cup chicken stock or water
Preparation
- Step 1
Fill a large pot with water, and bring to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the greens. Cook the greens 1 to 2 minutes, until just tender, and transfer with a slotted spoon or deep-fry skimmer to the ice water. Drain and squeeze out the water (you don’t have to squeeze them completely dry). Chop coarsely.
- Step 2
Cook the noodles. Bring the water in the pot back to a boil, add the noodles, and stir to separate the strands. Add a couple of tablespoons cold water, just so the water doesn’t boil over. Boil somen noodles for two minutes, rice vermicelli for five to seven minutes, until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place in a bowl of cold water, then drain and toss with the sesame oil. Set aside.
- Step 3
Heat a large, heavy skillet or wok over high heat until hot enough to evaporate a drop of water on contact. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil, swirl to coat the pan, and reduce the heat to medium-high. Add the pork, and stir-fry for two to three minutes, until the meat is cooked through and there are no longer any traces of pink.
- Step 4
Add the remaining oil, ginger and garlic, and stir-fry until fragrant and beginning to color, about 20 to 30 seconds. Stir in the greens, noodles, soy sauce and stock or water. Stir together until heated through, and serve.
- Advance preparation: The noodles can be cooked a day ahead, and kept in the refrigerator. The cooked greens will keep for three or four days in a covered bowl in the refrigerator.Variation: Vegetarian Noodles With Tofu and Greens Substitute ½ to ¾ pound firm tofu for the pork. Cut the tofu in small dice or dominoes, and stir-fry in place of the pork for three to four minutes until beginning to color before proceeding with the recipe.
Private Notes
Comments
Great combination of ingredients and flavors, and takes just a very little time to prepare. Why cook the greens in water first, when you can just add them to the stir fry at the end.
For cooking rice noodles, I just found out about a Japanese noodle strainer used for cooking noodles. The strainer is deep, about 5" across with a long handle that hooks onto the side of the cooking pot. Noodles are placed in the strainer to cook, and lifted out after they are done. Rinse and return to heat up.
For one thing, blanching the greens retains their color.
I think there is a mistake. Boil rice vermicelli for 5-7 minutes? Really? It will disintegrate. Typically you just pour boiling water over it off heat. And soba noodles for only 2 minutes? Hmm?
I used sweet potato noodles and Swiss chard. marinaded the pork in cornstarch and water. Nevertheless I found this dish a bit bland. Sprinkle with sesame seeds? Next time I will Add another vegetable like a mushroom or celery to add another texture
This was delicious. Quick-boiling the greens and blanching them makes it so easy to throw together at the end after mixing the cooked noodles into them. I added a little dry sherry in place of the broth and doubled the garlic and ginger.
This is good recipe for packaged presteamed noodles. No boilng.stir fry noodles in oil and set aside.stir fry other ingredients add noodles and sauce and stir
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