Food Lust People Love: chili oil

Spicy Sichuan Noodles are a fragrant, spicy noodle dish with stir-fried ground pork. It's one of our favorite one-pot meals.

Have you ever seen the movie Eat Drink Man Woman? If you love foodie movies, this is one of the best. Shot in Taiwan and directed by Academy Award winning director, Ang Lee, Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) is the story of an aging chef who tries desperately to keep his family together by cooking elaborate feasts for his three daughters every Sunday. In the opening scene, he prepares dish after dish and you can’t help but think that he must have a crowd coming. With every plate that was finished, I wanted to be at that table! I counted at least 14 dishes and then the chef mentioned, as he rushed off to deal with an emergency at his restaurant, “The crab dumplings are still in the steamer!” Crab dumplings? Yes, please! (I read somewhere that the opening cooking scene actually took two weeks to film. I believe it!)

A screenshot from the movie of the LADEN #SundaySupper table, just as the chef rushes off to his restaurant.

This week’s #SundaySupper theme, hosted by the delightful Heather of GirliChef, is movie-inspired recipes. What could be better inspiration than Eat Drink Man Woman, where Sunday supper is the most special, unifying meal of the week? We love Chinese food of all kinds so it was hard for me to choose just one dish, but, finally, I decided that the Spicy Sichuan Noodles from Ken Hom's Chinese Cookery would be perfect. Noodles in Chinese culture symbolize long life (so you never cut noodles!) and anything spicy is a winner in our house. Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you. This comes together quickly and is sooooo tasty. Like many noodle dishes, it gets better and better and leftovers will be your favorite lunch ever, the next day. If you have any left over.

Ingredients

13 1/4 oz or 375g ground or minced pork

1 1/2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (sometimes called Special Soy in the grocery stores)

1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry

Cantonese-style egg noodles

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 lb + or 500g dried Cantonese egg noodles

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3-4 tablespoons peanut oil

2 tablespoons garlic

2 tablespoons fresh ginger

5 tablespoons green onions

2 tablespoons sesame paste (tahini) or smooth peanut butter (I used peanut butter.)

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

2 teaspoons light soy sauce

2 teaspoons chili bean sauce

2 tablespoon chili oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup or 250ml chicken stock

For the garnish:

2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns

Method

Mix the pork with the next four ingredients: the dark soy sauce, the rice wine or dry sherry, the salt and black pepper. Stir well, cover the bowl with cling film and set aside. (This can be done earlier in the day, in which case, refrigerate until needed.)

Put some water on to boil in a pot big enough for your egg noodles. Add a little salt to the water.

Peel and finely mince your garlic and ginger. Finely chop your green onions. Set aside.

When the water comes to a boil, drop in the noodles and cook about 3-5 minutes, until they are done.

Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse with hot water. Drain again.

Put the noodles in a bowl and pour over the tablespoon sesame oil. Toss to coat and cover. This can also be done early in the day and refrigerated until needed.)

Mix the sesame paste or smooth peanut butter, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, chili bean sauce, chili oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl, and set aside until you are ready to cook the dish.

Meanwhile, toast your Sichuan peppercorns in a small skillet for a few minutes, and then grind them up with a mortar and pestle.

Okay, are you ready to cook and eat?

Heat your wok or large skillet until screaming hot and then add the peanut oil.

Yeah, I didn't measure too carefully. Sorry.

When it is really hot too, stirfry the garlic, ginger and green onions for a couple of minutes.

Add in the seasoned pork and break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Cook until all the pink is gone.

Now add in the bowl of seasonings you mixed together (with the peanut butter) along with the chicken stock.

Let it bubble along for a few minutes, and then add in the noodles.

Stir well so the noodles are well-coated with the liquid seasonings and cook until they are hot through again. I find it most effective to use two spoons and toss the noodles as you would a salad.

Pour the noodles into a serving dish and sprinkle with the ground Sichuan peppercorns (and a few random chopped green onions for color, if desired) and serve immediately.