Soba with pork and shiitakes

description:

Be careful with the ginger and salt.

ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
4 teaspoons sake (Japanese rice wine)
1 teaspoon Asian chili-garlic sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 pound boneless country-style pork ribs, trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick strips

6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
4 tablespoons vegetable oil

10 dried shiitake mushrooms
3 bunches of dried soba noodles
2 scallions, sliced thin on bias

instructions:

1) Wash and soak mushrooms in filtered water for 30 min. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces and SAVE the water.

2) Whisk soy sauce, sugar, fish sauce, sake, chili-garlic sauce, and sesame oil together in medium bowl.

3) Measure 3 tablespoons of mixture into separate bowl and stir in pork. Add 1 tsp of salt, cover pork, and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour.

4) In separate bowl, combine garlic, ginger, and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil.

5) Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of pork in single layer and cook without stirring for 1 minute. Stir and continue to cook until browned, about 2 minutes; transfer to clean bowl. Repeat with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and remaining pork; transfer to bowl.

6) Add mushrooms to the pan with 1/4 cup of the soaking mushroom water. Cook down until nearly all the water has evaporated.

7) Clear center of skillet, add garlic-ginger mixture, and mash into pan until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in cooked pork with any accumulated juices. Stir in tamari mixture and simmer until sauce has thickened.

8) Cook soba noodles. Reserve 1/2 cup of the soba water. Drain, but do NOT rinse. Mix the sauce/pork/mushrooms into the noodles plus any soba water to loosen.

source:

Americas Test Kitchen