Pork Noodle Soup with Toasted Garlic and Greens
An easy and comforting noodle soup to warm the soul this winter. It is full of spicy, umami flavours and topped with fresh herbs and toasted garlic chips.
Introduction
This is one of the soups I make most often, as it hits all my personal pleasure receptors: spicy, salty, brothy, herby and just a little bit meaty. I’ve published a few versions of this in my time (all of them fan favourites), but I truly can’t help myself since it’s always exactly what I want to eat, consisting almost entirely of things I already have on hand. It’s also extremely flexible, good for the days when you’re excited to make something but might be out of, say, 30 per cent of the ingredients. While this is called pork noodle soup, you can certainly use turkey or chicken, but add a few more tablespoons of fat when browning the meat. The ‘greens’ here can be any you like. Pea shoots are tender, sweet and perfect, but can be elusive depending on where you’re shopping, so feel free to use other leafy greens that wilt down effortlessly: I love the more delicate spinach and Swiss chard, but kale works, too.
Ingredients
| 2 tbsp | neutral oil, such as grapeseed or rapeseed (canola) |
| 8 | garlic cloves, thinly sliced |
| 450g (1 lb) | minced (ground) pork (or turkey or chicken, if you don’t do pork) |
| kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper | |
| 1½ tsp | chilli flakes, plus more to taste |
| 60ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) | soy sauce or tamari, plus more to taste |
| 100g (3½ oz/2 cups) | coriander (cilantro), tender leaves and stems, coarsely chopped |
| 1 large bunch | pea shoots, spinach, Swiss chard or kale, thick stems removed, leaves torn or chopped |
| 2 tbsp | finely grated fresh ginger (from about a 5 cm/2 inch piece) |
| 1-2 tsp | fish sauce |
| 175g (6 oz) | rice noodles (thick or thin cut) |
| ½ medium | red, yellow or white onion or 4 spring onions (scallions), very thinly sliced |
Method
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over a medium heat.
Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the slices become nicely toasted and golden brown, 2–3 minutes. Using a spoon (preferably slotted, to make life easier), transfer the garlic to a small bowl and set aside.
Add the pork to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook, using a wooden spoon or spatula to break up large pieces (you aren’t making meatballs here), until the pork is very well browned and in small, bite- size pieces, 10–12 minutes. Add the chilli flakes and cook for a minute or so, just to bloom the chilli in the hot fat.
Add the soy sauce, about half of the coriander and 1.4 litres (48 fl oz/ 6 cups) water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the pork is very tender and the broth tastes impossibly good, 5–8 minutes. (Give it a taste and season with more salt, pepper, chilli flakes and soy sauce if needed.) Add the pea shoots and ginger, stirring to wilt and soften the leaves. Taste the soup and season with fish sauce; remove from the heat.
Cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions. (I usually just boil them like pasta, cooking for 2–4 minutes.) Drain and divide among bowls (or keep in the pot to serve it that way).
To serve, ladle the soup over the noodles if the noodles are in the bowl, or simply divide the noodle soup among bowls. Either way, top each bowl with onion, the remaining coriander and the toasted garlic chips
Do ahead
This soup is best eaten the day it’s made, since rice noodles tend to bloat too much when they sit awhile. It can be made, sans noodles, onion and herbs, 3 days ahead and refrigerated.
Reviews
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