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.