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Sekai Gohan
Meeshay: Mandalay Rice Noodles with Pork Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Medium-thick round rice noodles | 1 lb (454 g) | The base of the dish; their thickness carries the sauce |
| Cooking oil | ¼ cup | Takes on the star anise and forms the oily layer of the sauce |
| Star anise | 1 | Warm aroma in the sauce; removed before serving |
| Small onion, thinly sliced | 1 | Sweetness and body in the sauce |
| Garlic, finely minced | 3 cloves | Aroma in the sauce |
| Pork shoulder or butt, diced | 1 lb (454 g) | The meat of the sauce |
| Roma tomatoes, diced | 2 | Acidity and red color |
| Salt | ½ tsp, plus more to taste | Seasons the sauce |
| Water (for the sauce) | ¼ cup | Simmering liquid |
| Cornstarch | 5 tbsp | Sets the jelly |
| Water (for the jelly) | 1 cup | Jelly liquid |
| Bean sprouts, blanched | 2 cups | Crunch at the bottom of the plate; extra goes to the table |
| Fermented bean paste (tau cheo) | 4 tbsp | Deep, salty base under the noodles |
| Pickled mustard greens or pickled daikon, roughly chopped | 1 cup | Sourness against the pork fat |
| Roasted peanuts, chopped | ½ cup | Nutty base, crushed fine for each plate |
| Fish sauce | to taste | Salt and savor in the base and at the finish |
| Crispy fried garlic | to taste | Crunch and toasty aroma on top |
| Fresh coriander leaves | to taste | Fresh green top note |
| Green onion, finely chopped | 2 stalks | Sharp, fresh finish |
| Hard-boiled eggs | as needed | Halved or quartered, served alongside |
| Red chili flakes (optional) | to taste | Heat |
Steps
1Cook and rinse the noodles
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the rice noodles. Boil for a few minutes, as the package directs, until they are soft all the way through. Drain them in a colander and rinse under cold running water, lifting them with your hands so the water reaches every strand. Rinsing washes off the surface starch so the noodles stay separate when you toss them later. They are ready when they feel cool, slippery and loose.
2Fry the star anise, then the onion and garlic
Heat the ¼ cup oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the star anise and fry it for 2 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and stir-fry for about 5 minutes. They are ready when the onion is soft and translucent and the kitchen smells of garlic and anise.
3Add the pork, then the tomatoes
Add the diced pork and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, turning the cubes so every side meets the hot oil. Add the tomatoes and the ½ tsp salt and stir-fry for 1 minute more. Move on when the pork has turned pale on the outside and the tomato is just starting to slump into the oil.
4Simmer the pork sauce
Pour in the ¼ cup water and cover the wok. Simmer over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then. Taste and add salt, then lift out the star anise. Cut a cube of pork in half: the sauce is done when the center shows no pink and the sauce is thick, red-brown and glossy, with oil pooling on top.
5Make the cornstarch jelly
Put the 5 tbsp cornstarch and 1 cup water in a small saucepan and whisk until smooth. Set it over medium heat and stir constantly. Keep stirring as it bubbles and thickens, then take it off the heat and set it aside. It is ready when it has turned from milky white to glossy and translucent and lifts off the spatula in a soft, heavy ribbon.
6Blanch the bean sprouts
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop in the bean sprouts and blanch for 10 to 30 seconds. Lift them out with the wire strainer and spread them on a plate. They are ready when they have lost their raw edge but still snap when you bite one.
7Build the base and toss the noodles
On each plate, put 1 tbsp bean sprouts, 1 tsp bean paste, 1 to 2 tbsp pickles, ½ tsp fish sauce and 1 tsp crushed peanuts, keeping them in small piles. Add a portion of noodles on top. Toss with chopsticks so the base works up into the noodles. The plate is ready when the noodles are lightly flecked with bean paste and peanuts, with no dry clump left in the middle.
8Top with sauce, jelly and garnishes
Spoon 3 to 4 tbsp pork sauce over each plate of tossed noodles, then add 1 tbsp jelly beside it. Scatter coriander, green onion, fried garlic and chili flakes over the top. Finish with a little fish sauce, tasted first. The plate is ready when the red sauce and the clear jelly sit side by side under a green and gold scatter of herbs and garlic.
9Mix at the table and eat
Serve the plates as they are, with a halved or quartered hard-boiled egg on each. Each person stirs everything together right before eating. Lift from the bottom of the plate with chopsticks so the base comes up through the sauce. It is ready to eat when every strand is coated and the jelly has turned the sauce silky.