Chinese Egg Noodles with Five-Spice Pork

Serves four.

by Tony Rosenfeld
from Fine Cooking
Issue 104
Last Edit Date: 5/13/2010 11:05:36 AM

If you've never gone looking for them, you might be surprised to learn that fresh Chinese egg noodles are available in the produce area of most supermarkets. Here, they're paired with ground pork, peanuts, and heady spices for a quick riff on Sichuan dan dan noodles.

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1/3 cup salted peanuts
1/4 lb. bacon (3 to 4 thick slices), cut in thin strips
2 medium cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 2-inch piece ginger, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup canola or peanut oil
3/4 lb. ground pork
1/2 tsp. five-spice powder
3 scallions, trimmed and sliced (white and green parts kept separate)
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. Asian sesame oil
2 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. granulated sugar
3/4 lb. fresh Chinese-style egg noodles

Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, coarsely chop the peanuts in a food processor. Transfer to a small bowl. Put the bacon, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in the food processor and pulse to finely chop.

Heat the oil in a heavy-duty 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon mixture and cook, breaking it apart with a spoon until the bacon renders most of its fat and darkens somewhat, about 4 minutes. Raise the heat to medium high and add the pork, five-spice powder, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until it loses all of its raw color, about 3 minutes. Stir in the scallion whites, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, and sugar. Keep warm over low heat.

Cook the noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and put in a large bowl; toss in the pork mixture. Portion among 4 bowls, sprinkle with the peanuts and scallion greens, and serve.

Serving Suggestions

Complete the takeout-at-home theme with Chinese Restaurant-Style Green Beans.

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 820; Fat (g): 50; Fat Calories (kcal): 450; Saturated Fat (g): 11; Protein (g): 32; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 24; Carbohydrates (g): 61; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 10; Sodium (mg): 1560; Cholesterol (mg): 130; Fiber (g): 4;

Photo: Pernille Pedersen

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by sportsmom, 1/13/2013Mt teenagers love this so much I have to make a double recipe!

by RRobb, 2/28/2012This was delicious and we'll make it again! I used a nonstick skillet so I could leave out the 1/4 cup oil. I also used low sodium soy sauce and left out the additional 1/4 tsp. of salt and it was salty enough. I was only able to find egg noodles in a 9oz size, but that seemed to be fine.

by Sardini, 8/19/2010If you like PF Chang's "Dan Dan" noodle dish, you will like this! Ground chicken can be used instead of ground pork, if you prefer one protein to the other.

by Janelle2277, 7/12/2010I am only giving this 4 stars because it was a bit too salty for me. The next time I will not add the extra 1/4 tsp of salt. It probably would have been too oily as well, except I never used the 1/4 cup peanut oil that was called for, but rather just threw the ground bacon mix into a non-stick skillet as is....it worked out just fine with the fat from the bacon. Also, I used half regular soy sauce, half kecap manis, a sweetened soy sauce I have left over from a rib recipe that came out for this July 4th Holiday. This was such an easy, fast,and flavorful recipe. It will definitely be a staple in the future for quick weeknight dinners.

by minegg01, 3/29/2010Really enjoyed this dish. I added salt pickled cucumbers slices and served it cold the next day and it was just as delicious. I will make this again soon!

by Mrs7698, 3/15/2010This was very tasty and so easy! My whole family enjoyed it - even my picky, "no sauce on mine" 6 year old. I couldn't find Chinese egg noodles, so I used rice noodles and I doubled the meat and sauce. It tasted like pot sticker noodles - good stuff.

by MikeJones, 3/11/2010This recipe sounded really good. Lots of flavorful ingredients. Unfortunately, it fell flat. Little flavor and too greasy. One of few FC recipes that was not a "keeper".