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Pork, Asparagus, and Soba

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 pound pork shoulder, cut into thin strips
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 small dried hot red chile (like Thai), or pinch of red chile flakes, or more to taste
  • 8 ounces soba noodles
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds asparagus (thick ends peeled if you like), thinly cut on an angle
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce, or to taste
  • 2 scallions, sliced, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 teaspoon salt. Put a large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil, swirl it around, and immediately add the pork and sprinkle it with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Cook undisturbed until the pieces brown and release from the pan easily. Then add the garlic, ginger, and chile and stir frequently, until the meat is no longer pink and the vegetables soften, 3 to 5 minutes total. Remove the meat mixture from the pan and the pan from the heat.
  2. Cook the noodles in the boiling water until tender but not mushy. Start checking them after 3 minutes. Drain the noodles, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water, and toss the soba with the sesame oil.
  3. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the asparagus along with 1/4 cup water, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the ­bottom of the pan. Cook until the asparagus is dry and beginning to  brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Add a little more water if necessary to prevent them from burning.
  4. Stir in the soy sauce, noodles, and a small splash of the noodle-cooking water; return the pork to the skillet. Cook, stirring and adding just enough water to keep everything from sticking, until the pork and noodles are hot, no more than 1 minute. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more soy sauce if necessary. Garnish with the scallions and serve hot or at room temperature.

—Recipe from The VB6 Cookbook

Recipe variations

Beef, Broccoli , and Soba Swap thinly sliced beef sirloin (or, if you’re feeling indulgent, rib-eye or strip steak) for the pork, and broccoli florets for the asparagus. (Or try cutting the florets into thin planks that look like the cross-sections of trees.)

Squid, Asparagus, and Rice Noodles Get a Vietnamese profile in a flash. Use sliced squid instead of pork; in Step 1, cook, stirring, until it’s just opaque, 2 or 3 minutes. Skip the ginger; use rice vermicelli instead of soba (and soak it in boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes instead of boiling it); substitute fish sauce for the soy sauce; and garnish with chopped fresh Thai or other basil instead of the scallions. Serve with lime wedges.