Clear Noodles with Minced Vegetarian Meat

Here is another easy noodle dish made with mung bean noodles (also known as cellophane noodles, clear noodles, saifun, fensi, etc.). This is a typical Sichuan style dish with an interesting Chinese name. This dish is famous dish so it has a set name: Ants Climbing a Tree (Ma yi shang shu, 螞蟻上樹). It's usually made with ground pork and the pork pieces are said to resemble ants. If you lift up strands of noodles with your fork, the pork sticks to the noodle, so I suppose they could remind someone of ants climbing upwards. Of course, this version, there are no ants or pork- just minced vegetarian meat made from soy.



Clear Noodles with Minced Vegetarian Meat

 Clear Noodles with Minced Vegetarian Meat
4 oz of mung bean noodles
4 oz of minced vegetarian meat or minced wheat gluten
1 teaspoon of hot bean paste (dou ban jiang, toban jian, etc., 豆辦醬)
shaoxing rice wine (shaoxing jiu, 紹興酒)
1-2 teaspoons of vegetarian chicken bouillon/broth
1-2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 green onions
sesame oil, optional
coconut oil



Mung bean noodles and minced vegetarian meat

 Before I share the recipe, I must say a few things about the items. You can get mung bean noodles in the Asian aisle of your supermarket. They usually have some next to the soy sauce, etc. If they don't carry it, you can go to Viet Wah or 99 Ranch. I got mine from the Red Apple. I look for the kind that's from Taiwan. Don't let the pink netting fool you. Most of them have pink netting surrounding them. The ones from China tend to break up while cooking. I bought the can of vegetarian minced meat from 99 Ranch. However, you can always use minced wheat gluten since that'll up the protein value. I wanted to try this brand because it had other traditional seasonings already in it. It has some protein, but not enough for a substantial meal.

Soak the dried mung bean noodles in warm water for thirty minutes . . . or not. Most people soak them. I don't find any use for it. Pre-warm your pan on medium heat while cutting up your green onions. When the pan is hot enough, scoop in some coconut oil and coat the pan. Toss in your minced meat and cook evenly by stirring. Splash in a teaspoon or so of the Shaoxing rice wine and put in your hot bean sauce. One teaspoon is actually quite hot. So, start off with 1/2 teaspoon and adjust to taste. If you like it really hot, add two or more teaspoons. If it clumps together, de-clump it with your spatula. Everything will take on a red hue. Usually when that happens, you know it's going to be hot. In fact, I'm starting to sweat right now and I'm not even near it!!! Since the 'meat' is already cooked, throw in 2 cups of water and crank up the heat to high and bring to a boil.

If your meat is already seasoned, then add one teaspoon of bouillon. If not, add two. Toss in your noodles and splash a few teaspoons of soy sauce into them. The boiling water will soften them as they go. Turn the heat down to medium and let it simmer and let the water reduce. Somewhere along the way, the noodles will completely submerge into the broth. Make sure this happens. You will want all the broth to reduce away. This will happen in about ten minutes. Keep your eye on it and using your spatula, move the noodles around so they don't stick to the pan. When you're nearly out of water, toss in your green onions. When it is more or less dry, remove from heat. Pour in one teaspoon of sesame oil and mix evenly. Serve immediately. 4 grams of protein (more if you use wheat gluten/seitan).