NOODLES / September 22, 2014

ASIAN GROUND NOODLES WITH CELLOPHANE NOODLES

Do not be fooled by the real name of this dish… “Ants in Trees”. I know, funny as it seems, it really doesn’t have anything to do with ants or trees or ants in an actual tree at all. That name, according to AU, is the english translation of this delicious asian inspired meal.

AU is kind of obsessed with Alton Brown. If you don’t know who he is you need to look him up, he is a culinary genius. Weird as he may be, he is incredibly intelligent and a serious food master. I will admit I am not as obsessed with his show, Good Eats, as AU is, but I find he has an excellent point of view and culinary knowledge that you can’t always find on pinterest or google.

The real reason I brought Alton Brown up is because this blog post is adapted from his original recipe, Ants in Trees.

I love asian inspired food. It is not always the same when you make it at home however. There is always something missing it seems, maybe it’s MSG (JUST KIDDING!). But honestly there is some flavor or that one ingredient that seems to be non existent making your mind think that it really isn’t asian inspired but only noodles and meat.

BUT THIS was different. This felt very asian inspired and had all these flavors that I was very proud of AU for. He made this meal, I took pictures, so it was a team effort.

Have you ever had cellophane noodles? This was my very first experience. I like to describe them as cool. They pick up any color that you mix them with and they are see through. And they also take on any flavor you mix them with, basically they are flavorless but add some texture. See what I mean? Cool.

I like to think that I can make easy asian meals. This is so easy, it really is. You don’t even cook those cellophane noodles, you let them soak in hot water. I mean, come on does it get any better?! And the marinated ground pork has so much flavor it just keeps getting better with each bite.

AU and I did a lot of substitutions with this dish, but trust us it was worth it and then we didn’t have to buy millions of ingredients that we didn’t have. The following recipe is the substituted AU and AK version ;). I would suggest you just use ours but if you are that curious I linked the original recipe at the beginning of the blog post.

One of the bigger additions to this meal was some greenery for myself, I threw in some quick cooked broccoli and it paired perfectly. I have also added the broccoli addition ingredients and directions for you to follow if you choose but ignore it if you just want some meat and noodles like my man!

antsintrees

I will mention the note that you need to watch that sriracha, if you see mine I made a pretty drizzle on top BEFORE I tasted it and woah it was spicy. So pay attention to the addition of the spice before and after the meal. If you prefer it slightly more mild don’t add any extra and reduce the amount of sriracha in the initial marinade.