Rice Noodles With Spicy Pork and Herbs

Recipe from Simone Tong

Adapted by Tejal Rao

Rice Noodles With Spicy Pork and Herbs
Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Hadas Smirnoff. Prop stylist: Rebecca Bartoshesky.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(1,700)
Comments
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This cold rice-noodle dish, dressed in vinegar and chile oil and topped with spicy pork, herbs and peanuts, has roots in Yunnan, a southwestern Chinese province, where the garnish may vary according to the kitchen and season. The dish is quick to put together but can be served at a leisurely pace: Plate it, or set all of the components on the table and let people put together their own bowls the way they like, to their taste. The chef Simone Tong, who runs a Yunnan-inspired noodle restaurant in Manhattan, makes her version with ground pork, peanuts and a mix of fresh herbs but adds raw breakfast radishes and lacto-fermented pickles as well, for extra crunch and flavor. Feel free to do the same, or not; it’s in the spirit of the dish to improvise with what’s in season and what’s on hand. —Tejal Rao

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4
  • 1pound thin, round rice noodles
  • 2tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1tablespoon black vinegar
  • 1tablespoon chile oil (like Lao Gan Ma brand)
  • 1teaspoon sugar
  • 1tablespoon canola or other neutral oil
  • ½pound ground pork
  • 1teaspoon salt
  • 2garlic cloves, sliced
  • 11-inch piece ginger, chopped
  • 2scallions, light parts chopped, green parts reserved for garnish
  • 1tablespoon yacai (Sichuan preserved vegetables, optional)
  • Handful of herbs like mint, basil and cilantro leaves, washed
  • ¼cup salted, roasted peanuts, chopped
  • 4breakfast radishes, sliced (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

702 calories; 24 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 98 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 20 grams protein; 539 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of water to boil, and cook noodles according to instructions. Drain noodles while running under cold water, until they are cool to the touch. Set aside. Mix dressing by whisking rice vinegar, soy sauce, black vinegar, chile oil and sugar until sugar dissolves. Set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Cook the pork topping: Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat, and add ground pork and salt. Pan-fry, breaking meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until no pink parts and no liquid remain in the pan, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and scallion whites, and stir occasionally until the raw smell has disappeared and the meat is starting to brown in places, about 5 minutes. Add the vegetables, if using, along with a tablespoon of water, and cook for 2 or 3 minutes more, or until mixture is darkened and thick. Set aside.

  3. Step 3

    When you’re ready to serve, divide cool, drained noodles into four individual bowls, and top each with a tablespoon of vinegar dressing followed by a pile of ground pork, herbs, peanuts and radishes, to taste. Serve with any remaining garnish, and additional chile oil and chile-oil solids, on the side.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,700 user ratings
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Comments

Bon V

Amy, I wasn't familiar with black vinegar either. I found online that you can make an approximation using 1 part rice vinegar, 1 part balsamic vinegar, and 1-3 parts water (to taste--I used 1). So to get 1 TBSP, I used 1tsp each of rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar and water. The result was excellent, so you may want to try that rather than look for an ingredient you may not use much.

Great, easy, quick recipe!

David

I have been cooking from the NYT collection of food writers since 2003, almost half my life. This dish is in the pantheon of the top 2 or 3 most satisfying recipes I have ever cooked. The last time I posted a comment was when Mark Bittman penned his final Minimalist column. If he taught me how to cook, Tanis, Sifton, Moskin, Fabricant, and Clark guide me to greater sophistication today. But this dish takes it all and says, just find the ingredients, cook, and devour forever. Cheers to Tejal Rao.

Jill W

Make double sauce. Sauce is delish. Add a portion to the pork. Pork is too plain with just garlic, ginger and scallions - add more sauce and some of the herbs to pork. Cooked pork in flatter le crueset and then broiled to make the bits crunchy. Then added poblano and red peppers cause could not find Yacai. Crunchy pork is much better! Add sauce to noodles and then to final product. Added cucumber and shredded carrots to radishes.

Cheryl

Triple the pork recipe and double the sauce. The current recipe says to serve 'four' but it really serves two. Otherwise, it's delicious. Yacai is NOT optional; it adds a complex flavor that works to pull all the flavors together.

Carter

Seriously lacking in... everything. Not worth the effort. I added chilli oil and soya sauce to the just before finishing, but it was still quite bland and unimaginative.

Susan

Add chopped onion and red pepper to meat mixture. Top with pickled onions, carrots, radishes and herbs

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Credits

Adapted from Simone Tong.

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