TEXTURAL AND EVOCATIVE

When I woke up it was with the taste of your childhood in my mouth. Your hometown, and something your mom or an auntie made as comfort food, if your hometown has over a billion people. Pickled pressed mustard tuber and meat shreds noodle soup: 榨菜肉絲麵 ('jaa choi yiuk si min'). Which is very easy to make. The combination of the pressed mustard tuber and pork shreds is old fashioned and classic, and shows up stirfried and sauced over rice or chow mein, also with rice stick noodles, and sometimes as a filling for buns.
But soup is the more comforting version.

Coarsely mince ginger and garlic. A little extra ginger is okay. Take about a cup of pickled mustard (榨菜 'jaa choi') and rinse once or twice. Then coarsely cut about half a pound of pork into matchsticks of a decent thickness. In a wok stirfry the pork with a little oil till the colour has changed, move it to the side of the pan and add the garlic and ginger, followed shortly afterwards by the pickled mustard. Mix everything over heat, add a dash of soy sauce and a jigger of cooking sherry or rice wine. Mix again while stirring, and pour in four or five cups of boiling water. Add ground pepper. Let simmer for five to ten minutes while preparing the noodles. I prefer broad rice stick noodles, which don't take much time at all to be ready. Drain the noodles and place in bowls. Divide the soup among them, garnish with minced scallion. Should be enough for two people.

Note that you do not really have to rinse the pickled mustard, but many people who are not accustomed to hot chilies will. It also removes some of the salt, which your doctor might advise. I never bother with rinsing the pickled vegetable.


In addition to using a bit much of ginger, I also go overboard on scallions, and often add chopped mustard green (芥菜 'gaai choi') to the soup while it is simmering.
It makes it more lovely.


You'll often find pork shreds and mustard tuber fried rice (榨菜肉絲炒飯 'jaa choi yiuk si chaau faan') at chachantengs and small restaurants.
It's a good quick lunch.



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