bits and pieces

Good basic ingredients, but the flavor was sort of strange.

Another one from the Everyday Food web site, this one was fairly simple to make, with the chopping of everything the most time-consuming. Once that part was done, it was all a matter of mixing the sauce and then cooking the noodles and meat.

Unfortunately, the sauce was a strange mixture of hoisin sauce — which I like — with things like orange juice, cider vinegar, and ketchup (and not in the Japanese way of substituting ketchup for tomato sauce), among other things. I sort of wish I’d stopped at the hoisin sauce, because the end result was very tangy, with the orange juice standing out the most to me.

I did like the mixture of everything though, with the egg noodles working well with the broccoli and sugar snap peas, as well as with the pork. I think I’d try this again but definitely with a different sauce.

Asian-Style Pork and Noodles
Serves 4

• 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup dark hoisin sauce
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• Coarse salt
• 1 large head broccoli, about 1 1/3 pounds
• 8 ounces wide egg noodles
• 8 ounces sugar snap peas, or snow peas, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound boneless pork loin or tenderloin, sliced 1/2 inch thick, each slice cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

1. In a small bowl, stir together orange juice, hoisin sauce, vinegar, ketchup, and 3/4 teaspoon salt; set sauce aside. Cut off tops 1 to 2 inches below florets. Trim broccoli and discard tough ends of stalks, then peel and thinly slice crosswise. Separate broccoli heads into florets.
2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until al dente according to package directions, adding broccoli (stalks and florets) and peas during last minute of cooking. Drain; transfer to a large bowl.
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Dredge pork in cornstarch, shaking off excess. Saute pork until lightly browned and cooked through, tossing frequently, about 3 minutes. Pour in reserved sauce, and bring to a boil. Add to bowl with noodles; toss to combine.