The order of this stew is fixed by the ingredients themselves. Already cooked pork belly only needs to give up its fat, the cabbage needs just enough time to soften, and the wide noodles need their soak done beforehand so the final simmer can be short. Ten minutes in the pot is all the noodles take; longer and they dissolve into the broth.
Northeastern · Main
Pork Belly and Cabbage Stew With Wide Glass Noodles
Rendered pork belly slices start the broth, wide noodles go in after a ten minute soak, and the pot simmers just long enough for the starch to drink the seasoning.
- Prep40 min
- Cook25 min
- Serves4
- LevelEasy
Ingredients
| 6 leaves | napa cabbage , torn into pieces |
| 1 chunk | cooked pork belly , sliced |
| 1 handful | wide sweet potato noodles , soaked |
| 1 clove | garlic , plus an extra pinch of minced garlic for finishing |
| 1 | scallion , chopped |
| 1 knob | ginger , sliced |
| 1 | dried chili |
| 10 | Sichuan peppercorns |
| 1 tbsp | light soy sauce |
| 1 tbsp | oyster sauce |
| a dash | dark soy sauce , for color |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| 1 tsp | ground pepper |
| 1 tsp | chicken bouillon |
| boiling water | to cover |
Method
- Soak the wide noodles in warm water for half an hour, then drain them.
- Tear the cabbage into pieces and slice the cooked pork belly.
- In a hot pot, render the pork slices until their edges curl and the fat runs.
- Add the ginger, garlic, dried chili and peppercorns and fry until fragrant.
- Season with the light soy, dark soy and oyster sauce and stir through.
- Add the cabbage and toss, then season with salt, pepper and bouillon.
- Pour in boiling water to cover, add the noodles and stir.
- Cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes.
- Scatter the scallion and the extra minced garlic, then reduce the liquid over high heat to taste.
Notes
- Soak, do not boil, the noodles; parboiled ones keep swelling in the pot and swallow the broth.
- The pork is already cooked, so the render is for flavor and fat, not for doneness.
- The noodles continue thickening the stew as it sits, so leave the final reduction slightly loose.
Ratios and technique checked against 果妈私房菜 on Douguo (白菜猪肉炖粉条). The method here is written by Stellaok; the photograph is the source kitchen's, credited on the image above and linked back to the page it came from. No recipe text is reproduced.