Sichuan fare

Ma yi shang shu, known in English as ants in a tree, is a Sichuan dish I recently discovered. The history of the dish was tough to find but the name comes from the way the bits of ground pork stick to the clumps of glass noodles as you eat it. I've modified the recipe very slightly according to my flavor preference and will note where that has happened. 

Soak a package of glass noodle in cold water for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, mix the following together:

1 lb ground pork

2 Tbsp gochujang (my modification!)

3 Tbsp soy sauce

1Tbsp flour or corn starch

1Tbsp rice wine vinegar

You can use your choice of spicy chili paste in lieu of gochujang, I just really like the sweet and tangy flavor. 

Marinate this mixture at room temperature for up to an hour. 

In olive oil, briefly sautée:

3-4 cloves minced garlic

1-2 tsp minced ginger

Add the pork mixture and sautée until nearly cooked through, stirring to break the grind into pieces. Add 1 cup of chicken stock and bring to a simmer. At this point I like to drain the glass noodles and lay them on top to steam finish. 

When the meat is done and noodles are clear, serve alongside scallions, pickled carrots/onions, kimchee, sesame seeds, Napa cabbage, etc. 

I recently made scallion kimchee using my regular recipe (with some Korean chili powder) and you can see the delicious result garnishing my dinner. 

Thai red curry pumpkin soup

Fall is soup season, hooray!! I adore soups any time of year but the cool weather gives me an excuse to cook it several times a week. The base of this soup is a simple Thai red curry and chicken soup but after making it several times I began matching other flavors to it. We have the most beautiful squash coming into season right now and I decided to go for it. There's not a big history for this dish since it's about as ubiquitous as chicken soup and because I'm modifying it, so let's get down to it. 

Roast approximately 2 cups of chopped, oiled squash (sweet pumpkin, butternut, buttercup, acorn, etc) at 350 until soft and lightly golden on the bottom. 

When finished add squash to a blender with 1-2 inches of peeled ginger, 3-4 cloves of garlic, 2-3 Tbsp Thai red curry paste, and enough oil to help it blend smooth. 

Sautée for 2 minutes on medium high then add 1 can of high quality coconut milk and about 3 cups (2 cans) chicken broth (make it as thick or thin as you like; the squash really thickens things up). Salt to taste. It's ready when hot!

Serve with rice or glass noodles, and your choice of condiments: chicken, tofu, mushrooms, scallions, chilies, and fresh herbs. I used whole sage leaves during the broth heating stage and it was wonderful.