Spicy Pork Kale Udon Noodle Soup Food

PORK AND UDON NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Add the carrots and onions and saute until they begin to caramelize. Next, add the ginger, garlic and habanero. Saute until the vegetables become aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the mushrooms and cabbage. Stir in the tamari sauce, chicken stock and pork. Reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer about 20 minutes.
• To serve, divide the prepared noodles between 4 entree-size bowls. Ladle the soup into the bowls and garnish each with cilantro leaves, bean sprouts and lime wedges. Drizzle with additional tamari sauce, if desired.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Using a pastry brush, spread the mixture all over the pork shoulder.
• Set the meat on a rack set into a roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 325 degrees F. Continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the shoulder reads 185 degrees F, about 4 hours. Remove the pork from the oven and let stand until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes.

20 MINUTE SPICY PORK UDON STIR FRY

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together the Sauce ingredients. Set aside.
• Trim any bit of fat off the then pork loin cutlets, then slice against the grain (width-wise) into bite-sized strips. Place into sauce and set aside to marinade a bit while you prepare your vegetables.
• Prepare your vegetables by cutting your carrots and red pepper into matchsticks. Slice up the onion and green onion and have the baby spinach at hand. Keep separate vegetables separate, as they will be added at different times.
• Heat a Tbsp of oil in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat (or a touch higher even) until hot. Using a slotted spoon (or strainer) remove the pork pieces from the marinade to the hot wok. (leaving the marinade in the bowl or reserving marinade). Cook pork, stirring, until cooked through. Remove to a bowl.
• Add carrots to wok and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes (I sometimes like to add a tablespoon of water here, to help the carrots cook more quickly and thoroughly). Add red pepper and cooking onion and cook a further minute or so, or until tender crisp. Add the green onion and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds or so. Return pork to the wok.
• Pour reserved marinade into wok and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for a minute or two. *Note: As we used the marinade earlier with raw meat, it is important that the sauce boil for several minutes, so don't skip that part. Add udon to skillet and cook, tossing until udon is hot and well coated with sauce, 2-3 minutes.
• Remove wok from heat and scatter baby spinach overtop. Allow to sit for 30-45 seconds, then toss the spinach into the stir fry, where it will wilt slightly from the heat of the stir fry.
• Serve warm, garnished with chopped peanuts and additional sliced green onion.

SPICY PORK + KALE UDON NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Cook the Fortune Udon noodles in a large pot according to package directions (add 1 1/4 cups of boiling water and seasoning packet to the noodles and simmer for 3 minutes). Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a medium saute pan over medium high heat, add the ground pork, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, fish sauce, soy sauce, Sriracha, Togarashi seasoning and black pepper and cook for about 5 minutes or so until the pork is cooked all the way through.
• Return the pot of cooked Udon noodles back to the burner, add the chicken broth, garlic salt, kale, corn and green onions, and let simmer over medium heat until kale is wilted and the corn is cooked through.
• Add the cooked spicy pork mixture and stir together, simmering for a few more minutes until the flavors are blended through the soup.
• Serve the Udon noodle soup immediately and garnish with additional sliced green onions and a pat of butter until melted, for garnish.

MAKE-IT-YOUR-OWN UDON NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Prepare noodles according to package directions, and drain. Toss with a teaspoon of sesame, olive, vegetable or canola oil to prevent them from sticking together, and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil until it shimmers, and sauté the grated ginger and garlic until you smell it (less than a minute). Do your best not to burn it. Add 2 cups of stock to the pot. Be careful - it might splatter.
• Bring the stock to a boil, and lower the heat to a simmer (about medium-low). Add carrots (or any hard, root vegetables, if using), and cook until they are crisp-tender, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add tofu or any vegetables (except spinach), and cook until tender but still bright in color, about 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat, and cover to keep warm.
• In a small pot, heat the remaining 1 cup of stock until it steams. Remove from the heat, and whisk in the miso paste until the miso is completely dissolved, then pour the entire miso mixture into the pot with the soup. (If using soy sauce instead of miso, skip this part and add the rest of the stock and soy sauce.) Stir in the cooked noodles and fresh spinach, if using, and heat through over medium-low, if necessary. Do not bring the soup to a boil with the miso: Some cooks believe this can ruin the miso's delicate flavor. Top as desired and season additionally, if desired, with soy sauce.

BETTER-THAN-TAKEOUT STIR-FRIED UDON

Steps:

• Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook cabbage, tossing often, until edges are browned, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, tossing often, until thickest parts of cabbage are tender, about 4 minutes longer. Remove from heat; set aside.
• Place noodles in a large heatproof bowl (or pot if you don't have one) and cover with 6 cups boiling water. Let sit 1 minute, stirring to break up noodles, then drain. Transfer noodles back to bowl and toss with sesame oil. Add reserved cabbage and wipe out skillet.
• Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in skillet over medium-high and add pork, breaking up and spreading across surface of pan with a spatula or tongs. Cook pork, undisturbed, until underside is browned, about 3 minutes. Break up meat into smaller pieces and continue to cook, tossing, just until meat is cooked through and no longer pink, about 1 minute. Add chopped scallions (the white and pale green parts), ginger, and red pepper flakes and cook, tossing often, until scallions are softened and inside of skillet starts to brown, about 1 minute. Add noodle mixture, mirin, and soy sauce and cook, tossing constantly and scraping up browned bits, until noodles are coated in sauce, about 45 seconds. Remove from heat and mix in sliced scallions (the dark green parts) and 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds.
• Divide noodles among bowls and top with more sesame seeds.