Ants Climbing a Tree (Ma Yi Shang Shu)

⏱ 30 min · Serves 2

Springy sweet potato noodles drink up a spicy, savoury pork sauce until every strand glistens — the little nubs of mince clinging on are the 'ants' scaling the 'tree'. A ten-minute Sichuan classic that tastes like it took far longer.

Per serving: 690 kcal · 26.0g protein · 66.0g carbs · 36.0g fat

Ingredients

• 120g dried sweet potato (glass) noodles
• 200g minced pork
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1.5 tbsp Sichuan chilli bean paste (doubanjiang)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp finely grated ginger
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 250ml chicken stock or water
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and ground (optional)
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Method

1. Soak the sweet potato noodles in warm water for 15 minutes until pliable but not soft. Drain and snip into roughly 20cm lengths with scissors.
2. Mix the pork with the Shaoxing wine and cornflour and leave for 10 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat. Add the pork and fry, breaking it up, for 3–4 minutes until browned and a little crisp.
4. Turn the heat to medium, push the pork aside and add the chilli bean paste, garlic and ginger. Fry for 1 minute until the oil turns red and smells fragrant.
5. Stir in both soy sauces, the sugar and the stock, and bring to a simmer.
6. Add the drained noodles, tossing with tongs to submerge. Simmer 4–6 minutes, tossing often, until the noodles are translucent and slippery and have absorbed nearly all the sauce.
7. Off the heat, stir through the ground Sichuan pepper, sesame oil and most of the spring onions. Pile into bowls and scatter with the rest.