Another hot new recipe from Alison Roman! She suggests you use what you have on hand as the soup would work with a variety of proteins, noodles and greens. The savory broth is made from sauteing ground pork and garlic, and adding chicken broth and soy sauce. The greens she used are pea leaves (good luck finding those in these crazy times) or spinach, neither of which I had. I did have some sugar snap peas which I sliced and added towards the end; so really whatever you have in the crisper drawer could work. Its really all about the broth and the noodles, spices, onion and cilantro.
In the intro to her cookbook Dining In, Alison pledges never to make you use two pans when one would work. Remembering that, I followed the recipe when she had me cook the noodles separately rather than in the broth. Maybe that’s just how you do it with rice noodles. I used a bit less red pepper flakes, but don’t skip the raw onion or scallions at the end; it’s important. Reheats well.
3 Tbs. neutral oil, grapeseed, vegetable or canola
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 pound ground pork
1 1/2 tsp. red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
3 Tbs soy sauce or tamari, plus more to taste
1 large bunch pea leaves or spinach, thick stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped
1 Tbs; finely grated fresh ginger (from about 1 1/2 inch piece)
6 ounces rice noodles (thick or thin cut) cooked and drained
1/2 medium red, yellow or white onion or 3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup cilantro, leaves and tender stems, coarsely chopped
Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium.
Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally,until the slices become nicely toasted and golden brown,2 or 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove garlic and set aside.
Add pork and red pepper flakes to the pot, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, using a wooden spoon or spatula to break up large pieces, until the pork is well browned and in small bite-sized pieces, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add chicken broth, soy sauce and 4 cups water. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes or so, until the pork is very tender and the broth tastes impossibly good. (Give it a taste and season with salt, pepper, red-pepper flakes and soy sauce if you want.) Add pea leaves, half of the onion slices and all of the ginger. Stir to wilt the leaves.
To serve, ladle soup over noodles and top with remaining onion, cilantro and toasted garlic. Serves 4 to 6.
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