I made this twice in a month, because it was quite good. So I figured I'd share it with my faithful 15 readers, because that's what I do-- I'm so nice, right? And there is a decidedly Asian slant to so many of my recipes when I go through them, but what can I say? Living on the West Coast has a pretty predominant Asian-cuisine influence on a person. I assure you, though, I also had Swedish meatballs with red potatoes and lingon-berries, just a few days later. It was just like a trip to the cafeteria at IKEA, only homemade.
So since I didn't blog this immediately, and only took photos the second time, I had to scribble down notes from memory, and it turned out roughly the same both times. I guess that's the thing about most recipes-- they don't always turn out identical, but you're going for a basic effect and that's usually good enough. It's "Off The Cuff Cooking" after all.
INGREDIENTS:
Main ingredients:
1/2 package of Stir Fry style Rice Noodles -- soak in hot water according to package directions
1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms -- soak in the same water as the rice noodles, at the same time
3/4 - 1 pound thinly sliced pork (I had 4 pork cutlets that I cut into strips)
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, (red or white) thinly sliced
2 small eggplant (or one medium sized one) unpeeled, and cut into 1/4" thick "half moons"
Marinade for meat:
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 whole lime (half of it for the marinade and half of it cut into wedges for garnish)
2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tbsp Sriracha Sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 clove minced garlic
DIRECTIONS:
First, cut up the eggplant about half an hour ahead of time, and soak it in a bowl of salty water.
Secondly, whisk together the marinade in a small bowl.
Cut the
pork into strips. Let the meat marinade at room temperature in the
sauce while you prepare other ingredients. Reserve a small amount of
marinade to drizzle over the finished dish.
Then, start soaking
your rice noodles and shiitake in a pot, according to package
directions. Some instructions vary, so definitely follow those, and
take the timing into account.
Prepare your
other vegetables, and when the eggplant has soaked in salt water for a
while, preheat a wok or skillet at medium heat, and put in 1 tbsp each
of the coconut and sesame oil, and reserve the rest for frying the
meat.
Place the eggplant half-moons evenly in your skillet and fry
them on each side until they're tender, and somewhat browned. Don't
crowd them, and set the finished ones aside in a bowl or on a plate, to
add to the finished stir fry later on. Cook the eggplant in batches
until all done.
Use the same skillet and turn up the heat to
medium high now, and add the rest of the oil. Stir fry the meat in
small batches until browned and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. Set
aside the cooked meat in the same bowl as the eggplant.
Now
stir fry the onion, and bell pepper in the skillet few minutes until
they're tender and browned. Add in the rice noodles, and shiitake,
along with a few table spoons of water to deglaze the skillet. This
adds a nice savory flavor to the noodles.
Add in all the meat, and
eggplant, and pour over any marinade that's still left over, and stir
rapidly to prevent sticking. When everything is reheated through,
remove the skillet from the burner, and serve up a piping hot and tasty
noodle dish.
Add more lime juice and sriracha if desired.
