Ants Climbing Trees Noodles

Yes, strange name, but its meant to reflect the way the little bits of mince pork coat the shiny lustrous bean thread noodles… if you like Chinese food you can’t miss this dish. It’s certainly got a spot on my fave noodles list.

This is a super delicious and relatively quick and easy recipe. You just soak the noodles in hot water, marinate the pork mince for ten minutes, while you chop some spring onions, ginger and garlic, mix up the sauces and are ready to toss it all into your wok and start cooking. A very quick meal in minutes which is so tasty and satisfying, also very authentic and you won’t find it in Chinese restaurants. If you have you basic Chinese pantry ingredients you will have the meal ready to devour in a big bowl in front of a good movie in 20 minutes.

I love the ready chopped ginger and garlic in the freezer section of supermarkets here in France, it makes life extremely easy! Picard, the French frozen food supermarket which I am a little obsessed with since I moved here even stock  giant bags of ready chopped garlic which are very handy if you cook a lot like me. They even do frozen chopped french shallots/ red and yellow onions and all the fresh herbs you could need in these mini cardboard boxes with pour out lids… absolutely brilliant and time saving. Because they are freeze dried they retain all the flavor and make cooking a breeze.

I usually double the pork and add a bit more noodles so I have left overs for the next day.

(for marinading meat)

125 g or 4.5 oz minced ground pork or beef

1/2 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp Shaoxing rice wine

1/2 tsp roasted sesame oil

 

125 g bean thread noodles

1 tbsp oil (flavorless)

2 spring onions finely chopped

1 Tbsp finely chopped ginger

1 garlic clove chopped

1 teaspoon to ban jiang chili bean paste

2 spring onions finely chopped (for garnish)

 

Sauce: (mix together all ingredients in a bowl)

1 Tbsp light soy sauce

1 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1.2 teaspoon roasted sesame oil

250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock

Soak mung bean noodles in hot water. Mix the minced meat with marinade ingredients and let sit for 10 minutes). Chop all vegetable and keep ready.

Heat the wok over high heat, add oil till very hot. Stir-fry the minced meat mashing and separating it, till it changes colour and starts to brown. Push the meat to the side of the wok, add the spring onion, ginger, garlic and chili paste and stir fry for 5 seconds, or till fragrant. Return meat to centre of pan.

Add the sauce to your meat mixture and toss lightly. Add the noodles and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Sprinkle with remaining spring onions to garnish and tuck in!