油泼面
I had 油泼面 for the first time when I ate at 三好拉面 a couple of years ago, and I absolutely loved the dish. Thick, chewy noodles combined with savory, spicy, and salty, created an incredibly delicious yet simple dish. This dish literally takes 15 minutes max to make, and I'd highly recommend giving it a try.
Active Time: 15 min
Total Time: 15 min
Ingredients
> noodles (ideally very wide and thick)
> pork (optional, I typically use belly)
> garlic
> vegetables (optional)
> oil, soy sauce, vinegar
> chili pepper, salt, potato starch
Instructions
1. Prep: Chop pork into thin slices/slivers. Thoroughly coat with potato starch. Peel and roughly chop a few cloves of garlic.
2. In a wok/pan, heat up oil on high heat and stir-fry the pork for a minute or two until cooked through and lightly browned. Season with a little bit of soy sauce and chili pepper. Remove and reserve.
3. Bring some water up to a boil in a pot. Blanch the vegetables (I typically like to use bok choy) for a minute or so. Afterwards, use the same water to cook the noodles, which will typically take around 3-5 minutes.
4. Once the noodles are cooked, place them in a bowl. Arrange over the top: vegetables, pork, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, chili pepper, and salt.
5. In the meantime, heat some oil up until very hot. Slowly pour/ladle the oil over the noodles.
6. Before eating, make sure to mix thoroughly. Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> The pork is entirely optional and most traditional preparations don't include it, but I find that it adds a nice touch to the dish.
> Be somewhat generous with the amount of seasoning, and especially chili pepper (if your chili pepper isn't particularly strong). There isn't really any other form of salt to go with the noodles and oil.
> You definitely want to use a very wide and thick noodle for this. I have a personal bias for thick/chewy noodles, but for this dish especially thin noodles simply won't adhere the oil/sauce very well.