Wednesday, March 19, 2014

WW: Barbecued Pork Lo Mein

Wok Wednesdays wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young




This recipe takes a little advanced planning, for the pork needs to marinate overnight. After that, it goes rather quickly; the pork itself only needs to cook for about 14 minutes - during this time, you can be getting the rest of your ingredients together, if you did not make the pork in advance.


The recipe calls for fresh Chinese egg noodles (these can be purchased at your Asian grocery store). I chose to make the noodles myself. Making your own noodles is really very easy (and fun!) - especially if you have a KitchenAid mixer with the pasta attachment.

This is the second time I have made these noodles. The first time was for the Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger and Mushrooms, we made last year. I have to say I haven't made them since! And why not? Fresh pasta is so much better than the dried boxed stuff.

If you are unable to find the correct noodles, and you don't want to make your own, Grace recommends fresh Italian tagliarini; and if all else fails - regular spaghetti (as a last resort). 


The barbecued pork is  d e l i c i o u s ! !  Sliced up, this would make for a great appetizer at your next backyard get-together. Served as is or with a dipping sauce - sweet-hot mustard comes to mind.

Pork shoulder or butt is called for in the recipe - I used a boneless pork rib (my butcher tells me it is the same thing..). The pork is marinated overnight in a mixture of sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine (I used dry sherry), bean sauce, sesame oil, white pepper (I used black), and drizzled with honey just before broiling; yes, this is actually cooked in the oven under the broiler, not on the barbecue - though I'm sure it would turn out just as fabulously cooked on the grill, as it did in the oven. After all, the broiler is just an upside down grill, is it not?

Alternately, if you have access to a Chinatown in your area, you can purchase it already made - one drawback - it usually includes red dye - and fresh is always better anyway! This is so easy to make, there really is no reason not to make it yourself. 


Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Barbecued pork, ginger, garlic

Bowl 2: Bean sprouts

Bowl 3: Rice wine

Bowl 4: Soy sauce, oyster sauce, (I omitted the salt)

Bowl 5: Chinese egg noodles (homemade)

Bowl 6: Scallions


As I noted above, I omitted the 1/2 teaspoon salt called for in the recipe. When I tasted the mixture, it was extremely salty - I tossed it, and made it again sans salt - still, I felt it was a tad too salty. In the end however, the finished product could have used a bit of salt...  I should have known better, Grace knows her stuff; she would not steer us wrong.

As you can see from this photo, a few of my noodles stuck together - being they were fresh, they were still very soft and tender - not at all chewy like dried pasta feels, when they clump together.

This dish was well received. My husband asked if there was more. I had replied, yes there is plenty, also some broccoli. His response: I'm not interested in the broccoli, I'm interested in this - filling his plate with more noodles. :)



We are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 273 & 285 of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed. 

Wok Wednesdays is an online cooking group. If you would like information about joining us, click here, or visit us on Facebook. Would love for you to wok along with us!



14 comments:

  1. Your barbecued pork looks exceptionally good. And of course, I'm so impressed you made your own pasta.

    ReplyDelete
  2. sooo delicious looking! I love that pasta hanging set-up you have there and I'm sure the fresh noodles were wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was a little worried about the salt too, but went with it! I absolutely love your photos of the pasta drying. I have that Kitchenaid attachment and have never used it! I need to justify my purchase =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish I had! Next time. I had my pasta attachment for over ten years before I finally got around to using it! I really need to use it more. :)

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Thank you! I need to work on getting them all the same size though. :)

      Delete
  5. Cathleen, I have never prepared homemade Asian noodles - I am quite impressed. And I love the fact that you hung them up on coat hangers to dry! The recipe sounds amazingly delicious and like something that I would be more than eager to devour. I always enjoy your Wok Wednesday posts so much! Everything always looks so wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Andrea. Homemade pasta is really very easy to do, if you have a pasta machine. And fresh noodles are really so much better than the dried. I am thoroughly enjoying cooking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge. The recipes have been phenomenal.

      Delete
  6. Cathleen, A lovely dish…I’m really impressed with your home made noodles. Great photo of them hanging by the stove! I made pasta once with my kitchen aid mixer and pasta attachment…I have to pull it out again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kathy. You should pull it out again! And I need to use mine more often. There is just no comparison of fresh to dried noodles.

      Delete
  7. What a feast Cathleen! Great idea with the pasta drying above the stove:)
    J+C

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting! Would love to hear from you - feel free to comment.