Spicy Chinese Noodles
This surprise snow day (yes, people who live in actual snow country…a dusting on the grass with the potential of freezing rain in the forecast results in a “snow day” in Maryland and we are not complaining–yet!) Anyway, this lazy start to the morning has me reminiscing about this past summer when I read an entire book in one day. Oh, the joy!
It was the perfect confluence of events. End-of-summer day at the beach, but too windy to be on the sand, ocean closed due to rip tides, sequestered to the screened-in porch. Just remembering these conditions makes me happy. Book in hand, Ruth Reichl’s Save Me the Plums. I’ve read other Reichl books and enjoyed them all; this one was a memoir recounting her tenure as Editor-in-Chief of Gourmet magazine.
If you aren’t familiar with Ruth Reichl, I think she’d consider herself a foodie, first and a writer, second. She’s a native New Yorker who spent some formative years in Northern California. Reichl rose to notoriety as the food critic at The New York Times who famously donned a wide variety of disguises to ensure that she wasn’t recognized at the restaurants she reviewed during her tenure. In the early 2000’s she was a somewhat unlikely pick for the top job at what was arguably the top food magazine in the country. What she did during her time at Gourmet was nothing short of brilliant–she modernized the old standard, took risks, mastered the delicate relationship between advertising and editorial, and elevated the people that were her team. Despite Reichl’s best efforts, after close to 70 years of publication, in 2009 the magazine closed its doors. A changing media industry, coupled with tough economic times were to blame but the story is nonetheless riveting. Especially for me, who also spent some colorful years at Conde Nast, Gourmet‘s parent company.
Therein lies the catch. Was this book such a compelling page turner because I was familiar with the cast of characters (high level “corporates” most of whom I had only heard colorful stories about, some of whom I had an occasional brush) and intimately understood the work environment (black sedans idling outside the office, flush expense accounts, exciting brainstorming sessions, frenetic pace)? Or is it that Reichl’s writing style is so appealing, you want to be sitting at her table, hearing her stories and tasting her food?
Regardless, this book sang to me and as you can imagine I was all too eager to cook one of the several recipes that she scattered throughout the book. There weren’t many, so I figured they had to be worthy of inclusion. I started with the first recipe which was for Spicy Chinese Noodles. Reichl made this dish as a late night snack for her teenage son, I made it for my family the night we returned home from the beach. I doubled the ingredients and because I didn’t have two types of black bean sauce, I improvised a bit. My adaption appears below but in the recipe notes I’ll reference the original. Of course I think that they are better than any takeout Chinese, especially outside of NYC, and you don’t have to feel guilty because there’s none of the grease. Enjoy!
Spicy Chinese Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chinese noodles, dried egg noodles or spaghetti I used linguini
- 1 Tbls sesame oil
- 2 Tbls peanut or vegetable oil
- 1 inch-long piece of ginger or scant 1/4 c grated ginger
- 4 scallions
- 2 tsp sugar
- 6 Tbls Chinese black bean paste with garlic
- 1 tsp chili garlic sauce (sambal olek) plus more to taste
- 1 lb ground pork
Instructions
- Cook the noodles in boiling water until al dente (the time will vary with the type of noodle). Drain, toss with the sesame oil and set aside.
- Peel and mince the ginger (you should have about 1/4 cup).
- Chop the white parts and slice the green parts of the scallion.
- Mix the sugar with the bean paste and chili garlic sauce (sambal olek) and set aside. Note: If your family likes things spicy add more chili sauce, to taste (up to a tablespoon, I would say).
- Heat a wok until a drop of water skitters across the surface. Add the peanut of vegetable oil, toss in the ginger and stir-fry for about a minute, until fragrant.
- Add the pork and white scallions and stir-fry until all traces of pink have disappeared, breaking up the pork as it cooks.
- Add the bean paste mixture and cook and stir for about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the green scallions and noodles and quickly toss. Add a drop more sesame oil if it looks like the noodles are a little dry. Serve.