Ginger Pork Noodles with Bok Choy
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Inspired by Ma Yi Shang Shu, a classic Sichuan dish, these spicy Ginger Pork Noodles with Bok Choy are an unfussy, flexible pantry friendly stir fry perfect for busy weeknights ready in about 30 minutes!
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I love this recipe for Ginger Pork Noodles because usually I have all the ingredients for this quick dish in my pantry. And those ingredients that aren’t there — can be easily swapped for something else!
As I mentioned, it’s unfussy, flexible, and easily tweaked for what’s on hand.
Yet, oh my, regardless of the ingredients that make it into this dish, it’s incredibly satisfying and flavorful. Don’t you love recipes like that?
The Back Story
Ma Yi Shang Shu, translated as Ants Climbing a Tree, is, as I mentioned, is a Sichuan dish traditionally served with glass noodles and ground pork in a spicy, fragrant sauce. The noodles are like “trees,” the greens are like “leaves” and the ground meat is, well, I think you get the drift.
What makes these noodles pantry friendly?
There are only two ingredients I don’t always have on hand, ground pork and bok choy. And while they can be swapped for another ingredient, this dish wouldn’t quite be the same without them. It’s definitely worth a market trip for sure.
The pantry ingredients include:
- Thin Rice Noodles, can be swapped for angel hair pasta, thin spaghetti, ramen, etc.
- Vegetable Oil
- Bok Choy, which can be swapped for other greens like kale, spinach, mustard greens, swiss chard, tatsoi, etc.
- Green Onions, or minced onion
- Chili Garlic Sauce, find it in the Asian section of the market — I’ve had to swap regular chili sauce on occasion, which isn’t as flavorful but works! You could also make your own, as you can also use it in my Cold Peanut Sesame Noodles recipe.
- Ground Pork, or any ground meat but pork is SO good in this!
- Chicken Broth
- Reduced-sodium Soy Sauce
- Ground Ginger, or 1-inch of fresh ginger, minced
- Sugar
- Cornstarch
You might also enjoy:
- Vegetarian Curried Singapore Noodles Recipe
- Chicken Singapore Noodles Recipe
- Asian Vegetable Beef Soup with Rice Noodles
- Chinese Long Life Noodles with Chicken
- Thai Chicken Panang Noodle Curry
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Ginger Pork Noodles with Bok Choy
Ingredients
- 8 ounces thin rice noodles or ramen noodles
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil divided
- 1 head bok choy chopped and separated into white and green parts
- 3 scallions sliced
- 1/4 cup chili garlic sauce
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add the white portion of the chopped bok choy; saute for 1 minute. Add the bok choy greens and sautee until wilted; 1 minute more. Transfer the bok choy to a bowl.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, scallions, and chili-garlic sauce to the skillet. Stir until bubbling and then add the ground pork. Cook for about 10 minutes, breaking up the pork until it is cooked through. Add the broth, soy sauce, ground ginger, and sugar; stir. Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl and add it to the skillet. Bring everything to a boil and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened; about 1 minute more. Serve topped with scallion greens and crushed red pepper flakes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I made this when my CSA gave me a very large bok choy. It’s true the recipe allows for all sorts of substitutions. However, do NOT use ground ginger. That should be used ONLY if you have no fresh ginger in the house. The fresh ginger brings a zip that the recipe will truly need.
Overall, I would like to have a better sense of how much bok choy to use. I used half of my very large bunch, which was probably close to 3 cups of white and about 2 cups of the green.
If you have a wok, use it. A cast iron skillet would need to be very, very large in order to hold everything, including the broth. My skillet was quite large, but it also needs to be much deep.