No Ordinary Stir Fry - Pork Yaki Soba

 

 

Following on from last week's revelation that stir fries are both quick and good (I already knew this; I had just forgotten) I heartily recommend this recipe and so does Finn (albeit without the green bits). Lola also loved this dish too and for that reason it will certainly be a keeper.

 

We do eat a lot of mince in this house. I was watching 'Food and Drink' last week (I am beyond happy that this is back on the TV, not least because it's introduced Michel Roux Jr who, despite my disappointment in learning his football allegiance, I think is brilliant) and it was declared that we are eating more mince than ever. Well, yes, if this house is anything to go by. I do buy bigger joints of meat and chicken but the kids love mince and whilst it is cheaper to buy mince, I try to buy the best I can, particularly in the light of the doubt of what animal might have been minced for consumption. But, let's be honest, there is only so much bolognese, lasagne, meatballs, etc. that even my children want to eat, and so to cook something as fresh tasting and different as this, using the ingredients that Lola and Finn like is a fabulous prospect.

 

I happened upon this recipe on a bit of a google 'mooch' where I put in the words 'pork mince' and 'stir fry' to see if anything actually happened. Everything came together at the Independent website where Bill Granger in his column had published a recipe groovily called 'Pork Yaki Soba'. Firstly, I don't think I have ever cooked anything more exotically named and secondly apart from the carrots cut into matchsticks faff, this is a pretty simple recipe to make. Half an hour tops, and you have a meal on the table.

 

Lastly, I know little about noodles. I couldn't find ramen noodles in the supermarket but I found buckwheat soba noodles, and seeing as there was 'soba' in the title, I thought they would suffice. And they were heavily reduced, as was a lot of the Chinese/Japanese section of the 'world foods' aisle. Some things around here just don't sell. It maybe totally unauthentic and 'Unjapanese' (Is that even a word?) but some egg noodles would be really delish with this.

 

Anyway, here we are. Be amazed!

 

Pork Yaki Soba, adapted from Bill Granger's recipe in the Independent newspaper

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad

 

Ingredients:

 

400g dried ramen noodles (I used buckwheat soba noodles, see above)4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp mirin
4 tsp sesame oil
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of white pepper (I just used ground black pepper)4 tbsp light-flavoured oil, such as sunflower
2 cm piece ginger, shredded
2 large carrots, cut into matchsticks
500g minced pork
Stir fry veg (I used sugar snap peas)

Chopped coriander to garnish

 

To serve

 

Chilli sauce

 

Method:

 

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, drain, then rinse under cold water and set aside.

 

 

Mix the soy, mirin, sesame oil, sugar and pepper in a small bowl with a splash of water.

 

 

Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat, add the ginger and stir-fry for 10 seconds.

 

 

 

 Add the carrot and pork and stir-fry until the pork is browned.

 

 

 

Add the remaining vegetables and cook until just starting to soften, followed by the noodles and sauce. (I just served the pork on top of the noodles rather than mixing it all up).

 

Cook until the noodles are heated through and the sauce has thickened slightly.

 

 

 

 Serve immediately with chilli sauce to taste.