We cook a whole lot of noodles in our kitchen, but the dishes we prepare are almost exclusively Italian. The Mediterranean flavor profile is just more familiar to me, so it's what a gravitate towards. But the moment I stumbled on this recipe at Gourmet.com, I knew I had to cook it. It promised a harmonious blend of curry powder and fish sauce, a spicy and pungent combination that would gloriously coat the noodles and ground pork. I stashed it in the to-cook pile and promptly forgot about it. It languished there for more than two years before I pulled it out last week as part of my dehoarding.
The result was bold and flavorful, the noodles silky, the pepper slightly crunchy, all with an wonderful freshness from the basil and cilantro. I deviated from the recipe by adding extra fish sauce, some chili pepper, matchsticks, and some fried shallots to add a crunch to the top. I din't use reguar basil, instead I tossed in some Thai basil.
This came together wonderful quickly making it perfect for an evening meal after a hellish day of work. It tasked amazing - I don't know if I have had food from Singapore before but if this is any indication of how complex the flavours are - sign me up!
Curried Pork Noodles
8 ounces thin rice noodles (rice vermicelli)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound ground pork
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into strips
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
3/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
3/4 cup coarsely chopped basil
Salt, to taste - we added none, the fish sauce making it salty enough
Sriracha to taste
Cover the rice noodles in boiling water and soak until soft but not mushy, 7 to 10 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup of the soaking water, drain, and transfer to a bowl.
In the meantime, cook the pork, garlic, and chili in 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat in a wok or large skillet, breaking up any chunks, until just cooked through (a little pink is okay as it will cook through later). Remove with a slotted spoon to a small bowl.
Add the remaining oil in the skillet or wok over medium-high heat and add the pepper strips. Cook for 1 minute, then add the onion. Continue cooking until the pepper is almost tender but with a little crunch and the onion is golden, an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the reserved pork along with the curry powder. Cook, stirring often, for 1 minute then stir in the reserve noodle-soaking water. Add the drained noodles along with the fish sauce and herbs. Toss well to combine and serve with more fish sauce, if desired.
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