Pickled Mustard and Pork Noodle Soup (Zha Cai Rou Si Mian)

Adapted from Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation by Clarissa Wei and Ivy Chen.

READ: “Taiwanese and Taiwanese American culinary traditions shine in three exciting cookbooks”

Preserved mustard stem (zha cai) can be found in the refrigerated section of well stocked Asian supermarkets. The original recipe calls for fresh or dried wheat noodles; we tested it using fresh Taiwanese wheat noodles. For the broth, it called for either pork bone broth made from a recipe in the book (adapted below) or low-sodium chicken broth. We tasted it using both, and felt it was wonderful made with the bone broth but pretty wan made with the low-sodium chicken broth.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

1/2 pound / 225 grams pork tenderloin, cut into matchsticks

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons Taiwanese rice wine (michiu) or cooking sake

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 pound / 225 grams preserved mustard stem (zha cai)

1 pound / 450 grams fresh wheat noodles or 7 ounces / 200 grams dried wheat noodles

2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 scallion, white and green parts minced and separated

1 fresh bird’s eye chile, thinly sliced (optional)

Fine sea salt

4 cups / 1 liter Pork Bone Broth (recipe below)

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the pork tenderloin with the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and white pepper, and mix thoroughly so the pork is evenly coated with sauce. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.

2. Rinse the preserved mustard stems under running water. Slice them into thin matchsticks, put them in a small bowl, cover them with cold water and let them soak 10 minutes. Taste them, and if they’re saltier than the ocean, let them soak a little longer.

3. Meanwhile, cook the noodles: Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat, add the noodles and cook about 3 minutes (if using fresh), or until al dente, if you’re using dried. Drain in a colander and divide the noodles into four bowls. Set aside (they’ll warm up again with hot broth).

4. Drain the pickled mustard slices, discarding the soaking liquid. Squeeze out the excess water and pat dry with paper towels.

5. Heat a wok set over medium-high heat, then swirl in the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 20 secondds. Add the marinated pork and cook until the edges of the pork turn opaque, about 30 seconds. Quickly toss in the mustard stems, sugar, the white part of the scallions and the bird’s eye chile, if using. Cook, stirring, until the pork is no longer pink and is fully cooked through, about 3 minutes. Taste and season with a pinch of salt, if needed. Turn off the heat and divide the toppings evenly over the noodles in the four bowls.

6. In a medium pot, heat the bone broth over high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn off the heat, taste, and add a little salt — the mustard green will add some salt, so go easy. Ladle the hot broth into the bowls, and garnish with the green parts of the scallion. Enjoy immediately.

Pork Bone Broth

Blanching the pork then draining it results in a clean broth.

Makes about 8 to 9 cups (2 liters).

Ingredients

4 pounds / 2 kg chopped pork bones with meat on them, cut into 2-inch / 5-cm pieces

1 yellow onion, peeled and cut in half

2 tablespoons Taiwanese rice wine (michiu) or cooking sake

1 1-inch / 2.5 cm / 10 grams piece fresh ginger, unpeeled and sliced

2 scallions, tied together in a knot

Instructions

1. Put the pork bones in large pot and cover them with water. Set it over high heat, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and briskly simmer for 5 minutes. Set a colander in the sink, remove from the pot from the heat and drain the contents into the colander. Rinse the bones quickly to get rid of excess scum.

2. Clean the pot, add 12 cups / 2.8 liters water and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the pork bones, onion, rice wine, ginger and scallions and bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, and simmer, uncovered for about 3 hours. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large pot. You should have 8 or 9 cups /2 liters of liquid.