In my never-ending search for new recipes to try, I decided that, to get that variety in here we’d like to have, we needed to try an Asian dish. I ran across this one at the Williams-Sonoma website and knew it was the one. I’d heard about soba, but never tried it. I’ve also heard that they’re a healthier noodle, being made from buckwheat, so that was a definite plus. This was also found under WS’s quick and easy week night dinner options, so I was sold. And I began my search for soba noodles. I even went so far as to order some from a local grocer, but I don’t think my order ever got placed, I never heard from them again. So I went to my personal shopping mecca. Amazon.com. I crossed my fingers that soba wouldn’t taste like some hideous health food that hogs won’t even touch and ordered a bulk supply.

Turns out? These could seriously rank up there with my favorite traditional Italian pasta, penne rigate.

We’re huge fans of many types of Asian cuisine at my house, and we love ordering take-home Chinese. I love Japanese food, too, and I try to get some Thai in as well whenever possible. I figured this recipe would likely be a shoe-in at our house, and turns out we could not believe how delicious this actually was.

Another reason I’m so glad this turned out to be incredibly tasty is that I splurged and bought a few ingredients I don’t normally keep on hand. Luckily I’ll be making this again in the future. A lot. By the way, that very pink stuff was the pork. Thought I’d mention that since it kind of looks like pickled ginger slices. Shown here, the pork was still partially frozen.

The recipe called for fresh ginger root, minced. When I checked it out at my local store, though, they wanted what was, to me, an exorbitant amount per root. I opted instead for ginger already minced, and in a tube no less. Folks, I think I’m now in love with tubed minced ginger. The funniest part is that my husband hates ginger. I didn’t tell him this dish had it in there, and he loved it. Let’s not inform him of my duplicitous actions.

Ah, there they are, my new favorite noodle, soba. My bulk order from Amazon had six 12 ounce boxes, but you only need half of one of the boxes for this recipe. This is also a recipe that serves only 2, but when finished we thought it made a very generous amount, enough for sis, me and hubby to have a small lunch. Still, I’d double the recipe if you’re making it for more than two, that way you ensure you have enough.

Everything in this recipe is quick-cooked. The pork is so thin it only needs a few minutes. Even the sugar snaps only boil for four.

Same for the soba noodles. Just fish out the sugar snaps and add the soba into the same boiling water. Drain the soba and water, toss it, half the sauce and the snaps and cover to keep warm.

In a separate pan, set your temp for sizzling and chuck in the ginger. Oh. Maw. Lawd. Smelled so good! Toss in a quarter teaspoon of red pepper flakes too, just enough for kick.

Drop in the thin pieces of pork and put the stir in this stir-fry. Add in the rest of the sauce and…

…stir this heavenly-smelling set of ingredients till your grumbling tummy says no more.

Serve. It. Up!

I said it, I’ll say it again. Delicious. So delicious. Can’t wait to make this one again. Typing this up has made me hungry. Hope you’re hungry, too!

Stir-Fried Pork and Sugar Snaps with Soba Noodles

from Williams-Sonoma

Prep Time: 40 minutes Cook Time: 52 minutes Level: easy Servings: 2

• 3 1/2 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tsp. plus 1 Tbs. Asian sesame oil
• 1/2 lb. boneless center-cut pork chops or pork sirloin, cut across the grain into thin strips
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 lb. sugar snap peas, strings removed, peas cut in half on the diagonal
• 6 oz. soba noodles
• 1 bunch green onions, white and green portions, thinly sliced
• 1 Tbs. peanut oil
• 1 Tbs. peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

In a bowl, combine 1 1/2 Tbs. of the soy sauce and the cornstarch and stir to dissolve the cornstarch. Stir in the 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil. Add the pork and a generous amount of black pepper and stir to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the remaining 2 Tbs. soy sauce, the 1 Tbs. sesame oil, the vinegar and sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set the sauce aside.

Bring a large pot three-fourths full of water to a boil over high heat. Add the sugar snap peas and cook until just crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peas to a bowl. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain the noodles and return them to the pot. Add half of the sauce to the noodles and stir to coat. Stir in the sugar snaps and all but 2 Tbs. of the green onions. Cover to keep warm.

In a large nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the peanut oil. Add the ginger and red pepper flakes and stir until fragrant, about 5 seconds. Add the pork, separating the pieces, and stir constantly just until the pork is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining sauce and stir until thickened, about 30 seconds. Immediately add the pork and sauce to the noodles and toss to coat. Divide the noodles between 2 warmed plates. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tbs. green onions and serve immediately. Serves 2.

Notes:

If you’re using just-bought, unfrozen pork, try putting it in the freezer for a little while to firm it up. This will make cutting those thin strips much easier. Or not - your choice!

The WS site suggests bringing leftovers to room temperature. We didn’t have any leftovers so I can’t say for sure how it tastes the next day. We did, however, eat ours at room temperature or so, and it was wonderful. I think the flavors come through much better that way as opposed to hot off the stove.

I would think it would be OK to prep the marinated pork the night before if you needed to. As is, the prep time seems long, but this really didn’t take any time to actually cook, so it does make for a quick, easy weeknight meal. Even quicker should you marinate the night before.

Are you a Chinese chow mein lover of the soft noodle variety (some restaurants say that’s lo mein, seems to vary)? This dish is very similar in texture!

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