Ginger Pork Noodle Bowls

Once again, thanks to a plethora of frozen foods, the Man and I plus our friend Aaron had a decent meal regardless of the hours I had spent and still needed to spend sitting at a computer busting out MAED papers and such.

So, with a bag of thawed pork and a few fresh ingredients including: ginger, bok choy, bean sprouts and green onions, I set to work on these Ginger Pork Noodle Bowls

Ingredients/Directions:

(from Everyday with Rachel Ray - September 2011)

Soak rice noodles in warm water.  In a large pot bring 1qt. of beef or pork broth, 4 cups water and a 1 inch sliced piece of ginger to a boil.  Divide 1 cup (or two if you want more meat) pork, 6 baby bok choy, 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts, and 1/4 cup sliced green onions among 4 large soup bowls. Divide soaked noodles into four equal portions.  Using a mesh strainer lower one portion of noodles at a time into the boiling broth for 1-2 minutes. Transfer noodles to soup bowls, continue until all noodles are cooked.  Ladle hot broth into bowls serve with fresh cilantro, lime and hot chili oil.

Not Quite Pad Thai

Living in the land of Kimchi I have gotten quite phenomenal at the task of substitutions. Sometimes, it is out of absolute necessity like in my New Years Eve Tortiall Roll-Ups but othertimes, substitutions are necessary only because I'm too lazy to walk to a nearby (or far away) grocer as was the case for ROKin Clam Chowder- and for this dish. In Daejeon there are a couple of International Grocers where one can buy lime juice, fish sauce, etc. Korea also has some stellar delivery options for these types of ingredients, but for this dish I took advantage of Daejeon's International Food Mart only for Rice Noodles and Cilantro, the rest I winged using this recipe as my starting point.

Ingredients:

10 oz Pkg. Rice Noodles (can use a few less or more)

Fish Sauce Substitute: 2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce + 1 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar

Lime Juice Substitute: 2 Shots Soju (Korean Rice Wine, think Vodka)

1 Tbsp. Sugar

2 Tbsp. Oyster Sauce

11/2 Tbsp. Chili Pepper Sauce, divided

1/4 cup Broth or Tea

Oil for Skillet sauteing

3 cloves Garlic, minced

2 Eggs

3 cups Bean Sprouts

1 cup Mushrooms, diced

1 Green Onion, sliced

1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Soak noodles in hot tap water approximately 20 minutes, should be quite tender when being added to the skillet. Stir together: soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce, 2tsp. pepper sauce and broth or tea. Heat skillet and add oil  to saute garlic and mushrooms. Move ingredients to edge of skillet pour in whisked eggs, cook until firm and break into bite size pieces. Add noodles (make sure they are relatively tender) and sauce, stir constantly until noodles are completely tender (may add additional broth, water, etc.) Add bean sprouts and green onions mix and remove from heat. Top with cilantro and serve alongside Sesame Leaf Beef Sandwiches.