(Spicy Pork with Bean-Thread Noodles)
In this classic Chinese preparation, delicate, clear bean-thread noodles are dressed with a spicy sauce and flecked with bits of pork — the "ants" of the dish's curious name.
Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.
Ingredients
Serves 4 to 6
For marinating the pork
Marinate the pork:
Step 1
In a small bowl combine the pork gently with the vinegar, the soy sauce, and the sesame oil and let it marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Step 2
In a bowl soak the noodles in warm water to cover for 15 minutes, drain them, and cut them into 3- to 4-inch lengths.
Step 3
In a wok or large heavy skillet heat the vegetable oil over moderately high heat until it just begins to smoke and in it stir-fry 1/4 cup of the scallion, the garlic, and the gingerroot for 30 seconds. Add the pork and the chili paste and stir-fry the mixture, breaking up the lumps, until the meat is no longer pink. Add the noodles, the broth, the Scotch, the soy sauce, the vinegar, and the sugar and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the noodles have absorbed the liquid. Transfer the mixture to a platter, drizzle it with the sesame oil, and sprinkle it with the coriander and the remaining 1/4 cup scallion.
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Reviews (36)
Back to TopMade the recipe using ground chicken breast and rice noodles since I would have had to drived 25 minutes in rush hour for the bean threads i love. Folowed the remainder to the word and its wonderful. Not greasy and oh so tasty. i added additional scallions as well as cilantro at the end. Deicious and oh so fast and easy.
stephgwen
Carpinteria CA
2/27/2016
This recipe is part of my regular rotation; I make it exactly as written and my whole family - kid included - really likes it. My housemate almost never eats leftovers, but will cheerfully help eat this up, if there is any left!
richenza
2/25/2016
I've made this dish many times, and it's straight up delicious. Thanks to the reader who said her mother used Chinese Xiao-xing wine instead of Scotch - more authentic. I add extra Sambal Olek to give it more heat. For those who think the noodles are mushy, they must not be used to bean threads. And if you want to make a low carb dish, I've found that Japanese shiratake are a PERFECT substitute, and have no carbs!
smugdoug
Sewickley, PA
3/30/2014
This was a huge hit with my family, although I did make some modifications. My kids (ages 5 & 7) loved it -- they didn't think the bean noodles were gross at all. I added 1/3 head green cabbage shredded, sauteed 6 shiitakes, and increased the sauce ingredients by 50% to accommodate the extra ingredients. I also added some Japanese soy sauce (don't know the name but it has bonito - yes, I'm getting in to fusion here). In short the base recipe is good, 3 stars, but it's easy to add a bit to make it 4 stars and my kids raved.
jrbman
Austin, TX
12/22/2012
I looked at many recipes for this dish after having it in a restaurant, and I put sliced shiitake mushrooms and shredded black fungus mushrooms when I made it and it made the dish extra delicious. The bean thread noodles are key, they make it so yummy.
Anonymous
London
5/25/2012
Also used ramen as I knew it would be less of a fight with the kids. Thank you to the reviewer who suggested adding cabbage.
lortmann
Madison, WI
6/28/2011
This is delicious! I added half a head of shredded green cabbage that I needed to use up, stir-fried in the same pan after the pork was done, and upped the sauce ingredients proportionally for the extra bulk of cabbage. For me, the cabbage was a nice addition of texture and crunch, since glass noodles do creep me out just a little. Really yummy though!
Johanna25
Boston, MA
11/24/2009
This is a good solid recipe that can take embellishments like the addition of vegetables. You need to be very careful when preparing bean thread noodles though, as they are delicate and can easily overcook. When soaking in warm water, remove the noodles when they are still a little underdone - they'll finish cooking in a flash with the rest of the ingredients in the hot wok/pan
sashamol
Tucson, AZ
8/7/2009
EASY! And really good. great for subs, too. Change the meat, noodles, alcohol... it all works. A little spicy for little kids - mine liked it but did a fair amount of complaining and drank lots of water! My husband and I? Yum.
leefrommelt
melt from kansas city
6/29/2009
This was so boring. I can't believe it got good reviews. I made it with Ramen noodles and would prefer Oodles of Noodles to this. Blah
Anonymous
Metairie
3/19/2009
Looks kinda weird, but tastes great! Kids (9 and 6) loved it. Hubby put more chili paste on his and gobbled it up. I made it because it was in the "Gourmet" cookbook (the source of all good recipes!), and it calls for Sake, not scotch.
cefranzwa
1/22/2009
My mom made this dish for me as a child and the recipe was eventually lost so when I found it I couldn't wait to make it. I have now made this exact recipe for years and love it. My husband who is not as much of a asian food lover as me likes this dish much better when made with ramen noodles, I didn't have enough cellophane noodles and tore into a few ramen noodle packages instead. So if you find that the noodles recommended aren't to your liking try ramen, they're sturdier and do soak up the sauce.
miapark
Lilburn, Ga
8/13/2008
This is my new favorite recipe. Fast, easy, tasty. Since I'm a honky, I'd never heard of anything like this, and I'm really glad I tried it out. I double the Sri Racha, minus the scallions, Scotch, and sometimes don't marinate because I'm lazy and hungry!
Allison
Dayton, OH
1/7/2007
This was a great starting point for me. My husband and I both had parents who cooked this specific dish for us when we were kids. We both had a different variation, though. It was served on fried rice noodles rather than cooking bean thread noodles in the sauce. I decreased the amount of chicken broth by a decent amount and skipped the scotch just because I didn't have any. It was as good as I'd remembered.
Anonymous
MA
7/1/2005
We loved this dish. The bean-thread noodles (aka glass noodles, or cellophane noodles) are important in this recipe. It wouldn't be the same with substitutions. The slippery nature of the noodles are intrinsic to its unique deliciousness. When I first tried these noodles I was a kid, and I didn't like it, it seemed to slip down my throat, but now I love it. It's probably pretty exotic to most Americans.
kimnt
Freeport, ME
4/13/2005
