Crispy Egg Noodles With Spicy Pork And Pumpkin Sauce 麻辣南瓜肉碎麵

We all plan and do our food shopping very differently; some would plan their daily meals in advance and do a big weekly shop, other less organized souls (me included) prefer to shop daily once a meal has been decided.

However my shopping habit poses a big problem for me when the weekend comes and I want a quiet meal in. To make do with what is left in both my fridge and pantry is the only option but surprisingly great dishes often turned out under such "dire" situations and this is one of them.

On a wet Saturday evening, I found a small wedge of pumpkin, some leftover mince and a bunch of spring onions. Together with some hot bean paste and dried egg noodles, a delicious new noodle dish was born, it was my very lucky night indeed! 

P.S The flavouring of the dish is very much based on the hot and numbing Sichuan food that I adore. 

recipe from the tummies' kitchen

serves 2 as a one dish meal

you'll need;

2 to 3 dried egg noodles, cooked till al dente, drained, refreshed with cold water and drained again

a small wedge of pumpkin, peeled and diced

200 g of pork mince or mince of your choice

3 garlic cloves, chopped

a small knob of ginger, chopped

10 dried chillies

2 tbs of hot bean paste

2 tbs of oyster sauce

a dash of light soy

a dash of dark soy

2 tbs of sugar

a dash of Chinese cooking wine

1 cup of chicken stock

corn flour solution for thickening

4 spring onions, cut into 5 cm lengths then cut lengthwise or a small bunch of Chinese chives

1/2 tbs of Sichuan peppercorn, lightly roasted and crushed

Dice the pumpkin and prepare the garlic and spring onions.

Marinate mince with a small dash each of light soy, white pepper, sesame oil, Chinese cooking wine and a little corn flour.

Heat up a work and pan fry the egg noodles with a little cooking oil until golden and crispy on both sides. Remove and place on a platter.

Fry diced pumpkin with a little oil until a little char then push to aside and brown the mince with a little more oil when the wok heats up again, breaking up large lumps as you go.

Push pumpkin and mince to one side and wait for the wok to heat up again before sauteing the chopped garlic and ginger with a little more oil. Add in the dried chillies and hot bean paste and cook until the oil turns a little red.

Mix in the pumpkin and mince and stir fry on high heat for a minute, adding the rest of the seasonings as you go.

Add stock cook until the pumpkin is tender. Check for seasoning before thickening the sauce with a little corn flour solution. Add in the spring onions and crushed Sichuan pepper.

Pour the spicy sauce over the crispy noodles, mix it all up and enjoy!