Ssamjang Noodles With Pork And Cabbage
The dilemma : I don’t always feel like cooking, but I always feel like eating something delicious.
The solution : THESE NOODLES.
They take no time to make but pack a big flavour punch and the cold leftovers make a fabulous lunch the next day.
It may seem like a lot of cabbage – that’s the point. I love cabbage, cabbage loves me, cabbage and udon noodles belong together. They melt into one and both get coated in the rich sauce, so your tongue can’t even tell the difference between noodle and cabbage. It’s beautiful.
Ssamjang is a spicy sweet Korean dipping sauce that is available in most Asian markets. It is a very handy thing to keep a jar of in your fridge and is delicious drizzled over eggs, vegetables or stir fries like this one.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
3 packets udon noodles
250g minced pork
1 tbsp neutral oil for frying
1 red onion
1 head sweetheart cabbage
Sauce :
125ml ssamjang
25ml mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
50ml water
Garnish :
3 spring onions, finely sliced
sesame seeds, to garnish
Directions
Stir together all of the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Finely slice the cabbage and red onion.
Place the noodles in a large pot of hot water and soak for a minute, just until they have broken up. Drain.
Heat the oil in a large wok over high heat.
Add the pork, clumping it together in your hands as you put it in the pan so you have very rough meatballs – if it breaks up too much during cooking you miss out on the delicious crispy pork texture.
Remove and set aside on a plate.
Add the onion and cabbage to the wok and cook, stirring frequently until it has reduced in size by half.
Add the pork, noodles and sauce, and cook, stirring frequently until everything has been heated and amalgamated.
Garnish with finely sliced spring onions and sesame seeds, proceed to eat immediately.