Dan Dan Noodles with Shiitakes, Pork, Pickled Mustard Greens, & Spicy Chili Oil
April 29, 2015
My husband bought me this cookbook for my birthday called Shroom: Mind-bendingly Good Recipes for Cultivated and Wild Mushrooms. I made these noodles, which were delicious. I used Swiss chard instead of mustard greens.
- Prep: 30 mins
- Cook: 15 mins
- Yields: 4 Servings
Ingredients
Pickled Mustard Greens
Pork-Shiitake Mixture
½ pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and halved (about 1 ounce dried shiitakes from rehydrated)
2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, julienned
1 bunch scallions, greens cut into 1-inch pieces and then julienned, whites sliced into thin rounds
1 cup mushroom stock (I used soaking liquid from soaking my dried shiitakes)
1 Tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
¼ cup chili oil, plus more for garnish
1 pound fresh wheat noodles (Korean, Chinese, or dried spaghetti)
Directions
Pickled Mustard Greens
1Bring a large pot of water to a boil (you can use it for the pasta afterward). Add the kosher salt. Blanch the mustard greens in the water for 2 minutes. Get a bowl of cold water ready. Plunge the mustard greens into the cold water to stop the cooking. Once cool, drain the greens, squeezing out all the water with your hands. Bunch of the greens and chop into bite-size strips. Put back in the empty bowl, pour the rice vinegar over the top, mix well, and let it sit for 30 minutes while you work on the rest of the dish.
Pork-Shiitake Mixture
1Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoons of the oil. Add the shiitakes and salt. Panfry the shiitakes until they kick off their moisture and start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoons of the soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine and simmer until all the liquid evaporates. Transfer the shiitakes to a bowl (you may want to reheat these again right before serving).
2Add another 2 tablespoons oil to the pan and then the pork, breaking it up as you fry it. Once all the pink is gone, add the ginger, garlic, the sliced white part of the scallions, and the fermented flour paste. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, mushrooms stock, black vinegar, and chili oil. Simmer for 5 minutes, and then keep warm.
3Squeeze all of the rice vinegar out of the mustard greens and set aside (you can reuse the rice vinegar for salad dressings; just refrigerate it for up to 3 weeks).
Noodles
1Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain the water from the noodles when they are al dente. Pour the pork sauce over the noodles and mix well. Serve each person a portion of the noodles, and top with the shiitakes, some pickled mustard greens, and julienned scallions. Drizzle some more chili oil on and around the noodles and serve more at the table.
Adapted from Shroom: Mind-bendingly Good Recipes for Cultivated and Wild Mushrooms by Selengut, Becky Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing (2014-09-09)
Adam J. Holland
April 29, 2015
Call me weird, but I typically prefer rice vinegar (or even rice wine vinegar) over Chinese black vinegar in Asian-inspired dishes. They are just brighter tasting and really come through better in the end, as far as my taste buds are concerned. And Swiss Chard vs. mustard greens? I like mustard greens, but I love Swiss Chard. — You’ve created a winner here, Chef. Excellent!