Ants Climbing A Tree (蚂蚁上树）

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This dish is really interesting– Ants Climbing Trees! The name sounds like a small animal, but it is actually made with vermicelli or glass noodles and minces meat.

This dish may seem simple, but it is actually rich in content. It is mainly made of glass noodles paired with fresh minced meat, and carefully seasoned with ginger, garlic, shallots, spicy bean paste, soy sauce, sugar and other condiments.

Sometimes I cook it and serve it alone as breakfast, lunch, and even dinner. Sometimes I serve it with white rice. Either way, it is a very satisfying dish on my dinner table.

The glass noodles were smooth, the minced meat was fragrant, and it tasted a little spicy due to the spicy bean paste.  It was delicious. The reason why this dish name as “ants climbing trees” is because the fried minced meat looks like little ants climbing on the “branch” of glass noodles.

When preparing Ants Climbing a Tree, keep in mind that the glass noodles will absorb the sauce quickly.  Increase the amount of water if you prefer additional sauce. In restaurants, the dish is typically quite saucy. In that way, you might need to adjust the seasoning.

I am using a  particular brand of glass noodles I use. It makes of green bean and it comes in a blue color packaging.  It absorbs water slowly and has a slightly chewy texture. Or you can use any type of glass noodles that you are familiar with. If you prefer soft and a little “dry”, meaning your going to cook the noodles until it absorbed the majority of the sauce.

During the cooking process, the freshness of the glass noodles is intertwined, and the salty and spicy bean paste makes people’s appetite increase greatly.

 

INGREDIENTS

100g glass noodles

200g minced pork

1tbsp finely chopped ginger

2 tbsp finely chopped shallot

1 tbsp finely chopped garlic

2 tbsp salted pickle radish

1 tbsp spicy bean paste

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp dark soy sauce

150ml chicken broth or water

1 tsp sugar

Some finely chopped spring onion

Some diced chilies

 


METHODS

1.Soak the dry noodles in cold water for 10 minutes. Rinse, drain, cut it into small lengths and set aside.

2.Heat up some oil in a wok. Sauté the chopped ginger, shallots, garlic and diced chilies until fragrant.

3. Add the ground pork, stir fry until the meat turns white and break it up.

4. Add spicy bean sauce and chilies. Give it a good stir until all the ingredients are well coated with the spicy bean paste

5. Add the chicken broth, softened glass noodles, and the seasoning. Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes until the noodles have absorbed most of the sauce and are heated through. Add in the sliced chilies and chopped spring onion, stir until well combined.

6. Serve alone, or with steamed rice.

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