Hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we're diving back into our series dedicated to Chinese comfort food classics with a shot at a dish (if I'm being absolutely honest), I sort of made by mistake, which is a crispy pork chow mein. Let me explain. I have been making and eating chow mein for the majority of my life now, so a few months ago when I stumbled across a Shanghai "Cu Chow Mein" that I genuinely had never heard of, I was pretty intrigued. It is essentially a pretty straight forward pork and bok choy chow mein with one unique addition, which is the incorporation of thick, round noodles, in lieu of the more traditional lo mein. Commonly you may see these thick "Shanghai" noodles referred to as "Udon," and (although they are technically different) the more readily available Japanese udon is a very common substitute in this dish. 

Today, I...bought the wrong noodles. So! Not to fear, y'all, let's get a little creative. For today's chow mein, we'll be slicing these center cut pork loin into long, thin strips, then coating corn starch in the style of a mongolian beef to create the crispiest wok sear to our pork that you will ever witness. Hope you try it.

 

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

  • 1lb boneless pork loin

  • 1lb fresh lo mein egg noodle

  • 8oz baby bok choy

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger

  • peanut oil

INGREDIENTS (noodle marinade)

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil

  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

INGREDIENTS (pork marinade)

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine

  • 1 tsp hoisin sauce

  • 1/2 tsp white pepper

  • 2 tbsp corn starch

INGREDIENTS (sauce)

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

  • 1 tbsp brown sugar

  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce

  • 1 tsp oyster sauce

  • 1 tsp rice vinegar

  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine

PREP

  • CRUSH and mince 4 cloves of garlic, set aside

  • MINCE ginger, set aside

  • SLICE the bok choy into spears, then rinse and set aside

  • COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside

  • SLICE the pork loin into strips, then combine with all pork marinade ingredients and let marinate for 30 minutes

  • BOIL a pot of water, then cook the fresh lo mein for 2.5 minutes before removing

  • COMBINE the cooked lo mein with the noodle marinade ingredients, set aside

ON THE STOVE

  • HEAT a wok over medium heat, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the noodles and saute for 2-3 minutes with constant motion, then remove and set aside

  • REHEAT the wok over medium heat, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the pork loin in batches and sear for 2.5 minutes before tossing for an additional 1 minute

  • REMOVE the pork, reheat the wok over high heat, add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the garlic and ginger and saute for 15 seconds until fragrant

  • ADD the bok choy and saute for 2-3 minutes until slightly tender and the leaves slightly wilt

  • ADD the pork back to the wok and toss to combine

  • ADD the noodles back to the wok in batches and toss to combine

  • ADD the sauce mixture to taste

 

tagged chow mein, mongolian beef, mongolian pork, crispy pork, pork chow mein, chow mian, chinese food, chinese recipe, chinese cooking, woo can cook