Spicy sesame garlic noodles
Heavily inspired by Esther Choi who, in Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, declared her dream of integrating kimchi in every dish she cooks. This noodle dish is salty, sweet and spicy with the umami richness that only fermented food can impart.
Servings 3 people
Ingredients
Sauce / dressing
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (I used Kikkoman)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons kimchi juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons grated garlic
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- ¼ to ⅓ cup finely sliced scallions
- ½ teaspoon sesame seed oil
Noodles
- 120 grams dried Asian noodles (ramen or stir fry noodles will both work)
Meat
- 150 grams ground pork (a little over 5 oz.) with at least 30% fat
- 1 shallot (or one small red onion) peeled and thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon sake
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients for the sauce / dressing. Taste and adjust the seasonings to suit yout taste. Set aside.
- Cook the noodles in plenty of boiling water until softened but still a bit undercooked.
- Drain the noodles well and toss with the sauce / dressing. Set aside.
- Spread the ground pork in a frying pan, set over high heat and cook until the underside if lightly browned. Stir and continue cooking until the coloring is even.
- Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the onion slices are softned.
- Pour in the soy sauce, sake and mirin. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is quite dry. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed (If you make adjustments and add more soy sauce, sake or mirin, you have to continue cooking the ground pork until the meat has soaked up all the liquid).
- Divide the noodles among three bowls. Spoon any remaining sauce / dressing over them.
- Top with the browned ground pork and serve.