Easy oriental part 4. Char Sui Roast Pork with Stir Fried Noodles

I’m not a big fan of pork fillet. Traditionally, here in Ireland, it would be prepared by slicing it open and pounding it flat with a mallet or rolling-pin. Then it would be filled with a breadcrumb based stuffing, wrapped up and roasted for about an hour longer than needed. The result was always dry, flavourless and, strangely, prized at dinner parties. 

That was all eons ago. Praise be to the passage of time. The world is a smaller place and we have had our eyes opened to the joys of international cuisine. One international favourite from our friends in China not only revives the dry old pork fillet but put it back where it belongs – on the pig’s back. Char Sui Roast Pork is the star of the show in number 4 in my Easy Oriental series. I served it with stir fried noodles.

True to my word, this really is simple to prepare.

Simple ingredients to make a delicious Chinese dish.

Cooking for six people, you will need;

For the roast pork

• 2 pork fillets
• 2 tablespoons of yellow bean paste
• 2 tablespoons of Hoi Sin sauce
• 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of honey

For the stir fried noodles

• Enough noodles for 6
• 3 peppers
• A handful of spring onions
• 6 to 8 dried Chinese mushrooms, reconstituted in hot water
• 4 tablespoons of light soy sauce
• 1 small can of bamboo shoots
• 1 inch of ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic

To prepare the pork, trim any membrane and tendon from the fillets. Pour the wet ingredients into a dish. This sets up a couple of pouring shots;

Thick Hoi Sin sauce gloops its way out of the jar.

The dark soy sauce is very thick too.

When you have added all the ingredients, add the pork, cover and refrigerate for at least four hours.

The mixture gives a lovely red outer layer to the pork.

Bring a big pot of water to the boil. Add the noodles and cook until soft. Drain and rinse them. Chop the vegetables and mushrooms into thin strips. Chop the garlic and ginger very small. Heat some olive oil in a wok. Add the garlic and ginger. Fry for 30 seconds then add the vegetables. Stir fry for a couple of minutes until they start to soften. Add the mushrooms and stir until warmed.

It looks like a lot of vegetables but you need lots.

Add the noodles and stir some more.

It looks like far too much for six. Trust me, it isn’t.

The noodles can be reheated in a couple of minutes. The pork needs to go into a very hot oven at 240ºC or so. Baste it and turn it after 8 minutes. Take it out of the oven at 15 minutes. Let it rest for ten minutes.

This beats the hell out of the old stuffed pork we grew up with.

Slice it nice and thin and serve it on top of the noodles. I guarantee satisfaction.

This dish lasted just long enough to grab the photo.

Coming soon to a mobile enabled device near you: Number five in the series, Mapo Tofu, the face numbing speciality from Schezuan Provence. A hot favourite.