Noodling around with Chinese flavors

Tag : vegetable tannins

Dishes with the Chinese flavors of black bean, hoisin, garlic andginger are frequently paired with Pinot Noir, one of the mostfood-friendly red wines. This wine's agreeable nature  with itsbalancing acidity and soft tannins  support foods with savoryumami and some sweetness.
Pinot Noir's combination of ripe red and black fruit with earthynotes complements earthy, gamy ingredients like Chinese blackbeans, mushrooms and duck. Things on the sweet side  hoisin sauceand dark fruit like black plums and cherries  match the wine'ssweet, ripe fruit.
When I was a kid, my dad made Chinese barbecue pork  char siu in Cantonese. He used long, moderately thick slices of pork butt, acut usually braised or oven-roasted to tenderness.
The pork slices were marinated in a combination of hoisin sauce,soy sauce, Chinese five-spice powder, brown sugar and otherseasonings, then roasted in the oven and occasionally basted withsome of the boiled and reduced marinade. A quick, careful blastfrom the broiler caramelizes the sugars from the basting sauce.
Char siu is used in baked or steamed pork buns and as a garnish insoups and noodle dishes. It can also be served on its own with riceand a vegetable. When I was occasionally charged with slicing thechar siu for dinner, I couldn't help but lick my fingers.
Chinese Barbecue Pork & Noodles incorporates this slightlysweet pork in a noodle dish. Regular spaghetti or my childhoodversion, which uses Chinese wheat or egg noodles, is cooked aldente then finishes cooking in the sauce as it rewarms. This dishcomes together quickly after everything is prepped because thevegetables are thinly cut and the pork is fully cooked.
Pinot Noir stands up to the sweetness of the pork and itshoisin-based marinade, whereas less fruity, more tannic wines wouldbe overwhelmed. Carrots also add their sweet vegetal nuance;delicate baby bok choy is a supporting character.
Chinese black beans provide salty depth, and the hoisin sauceshould be added to taste. Char siu that has more hoisin will besweeter, so less of the hoisin will be needed to flavor thenoodles. If the dish is too sweet, Pinot Noir  even well-balancedones from the North Central Coast  might throw in the towel.
Too bad I wasn't old enough to enjoy a glass of Pinot with my dadand his Chinese barbecue pork, but you can bet I will raise a glassto him the next time I enjoy this Chinese mainstay.
The proportion of noodle to vegetable to protein is key in thisversatile recipe. You can also use combinations of cooked chickenor roast duck with Swiss chard, cabbage and other tender, leafygreen vegetables. The combination of baby bok choy and Chinesebarbecue roast pork or roast duck  use half a duck  is best whenpairing with Pinot Noir.
Chinese Barbecue Pork & Noodles
Yield: Serves 4 as a main course
2 baby bok choy, about 6 to 8 ounces
8 to 10 ounces Chinese barbecue pork (see cook's notes) or half aChinese roast duck
8 ounces dried Chinese wheat/egg noodles or spaghetti
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
2 tablespoons fermented black beans, rinsed and smashed, to taste(see cook's notes)
2 teaspoons minced garlic, about 2 large cloves
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons amontillado sherry
1 medium carrot, julienned, about 3/4 cup
1 cup low-salt chicken stock broth, plus more if needed
1/2 cup green onion, cut into 2-inch lengths and julienned
1 1/2-2 onions
3 to 4 teaspoons hoisin sauce, or to taste
Kosher salt to taste
Cook's notes: Purchase Chinese barbecue pork, also called char siu, at Chinesetakeouts or larger Asian markets like 99 Ranch. The staff willautomatically cut the pork into slices, but ask in advance for awhole piece, which will make it easier to cut later. Ifsubstituting duck, also request that it not be cut up. The pork'ssweetness level will vary, depending on how it was made. You willneed less hoisin for pork made with a sweeter marinade or barbecuesauce. If you are using a jar of prepared black bean and garlicsauce instead of fermented black beans, cut back a little on theminced garlic.
Procedure:
1) Cut bok choy into thin diagonal pieces about 1/4- to 3/8-inchwide, keeping leaves and stems separate; rinse and dry well. Setaside. Cut pork into pieces that are about 1/4-inch wide, 1/4- to3/8-inch thick, and 1 to 2 inches long. Set aside.
2) If using Chinese roast duck, pull off the skin, use the backside of a knife to scrape off any excess fat, then julienne theskin; set aside. Pull off the meat and cut into strips about1/4-inch wide, 1/4- to 3/8-inch thick. Set aside. Just beforefinishing the dish, cook the julienned skin in a small skillet overmedium-low until fat has rendered and skin is crispy. Drain onpaper towels and use to garnish the finished noodles.
3) Cook noodles according to package directions, but just until aldente. Drain and rinse in cold water immediately to stop thecooking and rinse away any excess starch. The vegetables and meatcan be prepped a day ahead, the noodles an hour or so beforefinishing the dish.
4) To finish the dish: Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-highheat. Add oil and add black bean when the oil shimmers. Cookbriefly  until aromatic, about 45 seconds  before adding garlicand ginger. Cook until garlic and ginger until aromatic but beforebrowning begins, about another 30-45 seconds. Add sherry, cookuntil almost dry, then add carrots, bok choy stems and broth. Addbok choy leaves when carrots are beginning to soften, about 20-30seconds, then add noodles and half the onions; toss to finishcooking and to coat with the hoisin sauce. Add pork or duck, tossand cook just enough until rewarmed. Turn off heat and taste;adjust with hoisin and salt to taste; garnish with remainder of theonions, plus crispy duck skin, if using.
Nutritional information (per serving): 347 calories, 12 g protein, 57 g carbohydrate, 10 g fat (1 gsaturated), 1 mg cholesterol, 305 mg sodium, 9 g fiber