Day 36: Hoisin China Noodles with Four Flavors

The obvious key to any good sauce is usually the high fructose corn syrup present in whatever base you are using. Store bought Hoisin Sauce's number one ingredient? High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Hoisin China Noodles with Four Flavors

We were having a dinner guest so I wanted to make something a little fancier. This comes off very well and it is high maintenance with the prep work and makes a lot of dirty dishes, but the cooking part couldn't be easier.

First you prep the four "flavors"--this are raw ingredients that you serve at table so this part is easy. Prepare 1 and 1/2 cups each: thin-sliced radishes, bean sprouts, peeled, seeded, and diced cucumbers, and thin-sliced spinach leaves. These look very nice if served in their own separate bowls.

Next you need to cook 3/4 pound of Chinese Egg Noodles. Now the recipe calls for the thin noodles, substituting egg spaghetti if nec, but I used the wider noodles because that is what I had and they worked great because they held the sauce so well. When noodles are done, rinse in cold water. It is best if this is all done before you start cooking the pork and sauce. When I cook this again, I will start the noodles before prepping the veggies.

Marinate 1 lb ground pork butt with 3 T dry sherry, chopped garlic, and 1 teas sugar. Set aside for now.

In another small bowl blend 2 T hoisin sauce with 2 T soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon hot chile paste. (Another thing to admit, I doubled the hoisin and soy sauce and quadrupled the chile paste. You can never have enough hot spicy yummy sauce.) Set this aside as well.

In a large skillet or wok, warm up 3 T canola oil. Add the pork mixture and cook for a few minutes, breaking it into smaller bits and cooking until most of the moisture is gone and the pork is no longer pink. Add 1/2 cup sliced green onions and 1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts. (I also add a sliced red pepper since we had one from our farm share.)

Cook for no more than a minute and add in you soy sauce mix. Heat that for another minute and then add 3/4 cup chicken broth and cook, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes over high heat. Add your drained noodles and cook long enough for the sauce to get all over the noodles and to heat them up a little, just a couple of minutes. Serve immediately in a nice large bowl with your four flavors on the side for your guests to select what they want.

Trevor and his friend Tony both liked the dish a lot. At least their plates were empty by the end of dinner! The only thing I might try differently is to add raw carrots to the flavors and actually throw the spinach in with the noodles to wilt them a little.

Very delicious. Drink with cold beer.

61 recipes down in How to Eat Supper.