Living in Northwest Montana you will come to realize very quickly that there is a limited amount of ethnic food and ethnic restaurants to choose from. And if you are like me and just can’t live without a good Asian fix a few times a month then it pays to have a couple of good dishes that you can easily put together at home. We all have probably tossed together decent stir fry in our lifetime, but for me nothing satisfies my craving like a hearty bowl of noodles with a good spicy broth. Asian noodle bowls are great with or without meat and can be made with a wide variety of vegetables, some of which you may have in your refrigerator right now. We will be using pork for this dish but you may substitute chicken, beef, shrimp or even tofu for several different versions of this simple meal.
For this recipe you will need to gather together the following ingredients…
1 lb. pork sirloin, cut into thin strips
1 lb. ramen noodles, cooked (you may substitute angel hair if you can’t find ramen)
2 T. fresh ginger, minced
1 T. garlic, minced
1 serrano chili, sliced thin (Optional)
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 red onion, julienned
2 scallions, sliced thin
4 oz. fresh bean sprouts
2 T. sesame oil
3 T. Sriracha sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cups chicken stock
Black sesame seeds (for garnish)
Once you have cooked the noodles you will only need one pan to complete this recipe, either a well-seasoned wok or a large sauté pan. Place your pan over medium heat with the sesame oil and heat until just smoking. Next, add the ginger, garlic, half of the scallions and the pork and stir fry two to three minutes. At this point, add the red pepper, red onion, bean sprouts and the rest of the scallions. Sauté for about three to four minutes, then add your noodles, followed by the Sriracha, soy sauce and chicken stock. Bring this to a boil and serve in pasta bowls, garnished with some additional scallions and the black sesame seeds … Enjoy!