Little Pot Rice Noodles

Little Pot Rice Noodles! A classic dish from Yunnan, we wanted to teach you how to make the real deal Kunming version... together with a 'western supermarket club' version for ease of international replication.

We will prepare two spice powders and three substitutes in advance. Our recommendation would be to scale each component up, so we've given the quantities 'per serving'. So if you're planning on making four bowls, multiply everything by four; ten, by ten.

Spice Powders:

* Star Anise (八角), ~1 per serving

* Tsaoko, a.k.a. Chinese black cardamom (草果), ~1 per serving

Peel the Tsaoko and discard the pit. Toast the two spices over a medium low flame for 3-5 minutes, or until the Tsaoko begins to ever so slightly brown.

Grind each - separately! - into a powder. Reserve.

Suanyancai substitute:

* Suancai 'sour mustard' (酸菜), 40g per serving

* Dark brown sugar, 1/2 tsp per serving

* Star anise powder from above, 1/4 tsp per serving

* Tsaoko powder from above, 1/4 tsp per serving

Medium low flame in a bit of oil, melt the sugar into the oil. Add the rest of the ingredients. Fry for ~3 minutes, until the suancai deepens in color.

Zhaotong Chili Paste substitute:

* Pixian doubanjiang, Sichuan chili bean paste (郫县豆瓣酱), 1 tsp per serving

* Mianchi, Cantonese ground bean paste (面豉/原晒), 2 tsp per serving

* Red, fragrant chili powder (e.g. 秦椒, Kashmiri, Gochugaru), 1/4 tsp per serving

* Star anise powder from above, 1/4 tsp per serving

* Tsaoko powder from above, 1/4 tsp per serving

* Sichuan peppercorn powder, 1/8 tsp per serving

Pound the two bean pastes until fine. In a bit of oil over a low flame, add all the ingredients and fry for ~5 minutes, or until the oil is stained obviously red.

Tuodong Sweet Soy Sauce substitute:

* Dark soy sauce (老抽), 1/4 tsp per serving

* Soy sauce (生抽), ½ tsp per serving

* Molasses, ¾ tsp per serving

Mix.

KUNMING STYLE

* Dried rice noodles, preferably Yunnanese Mixian (米线) or Jiangxi rice noodles (江西米粉), 125g per serving

* Chinese chives (韭菜), 30g per serving, chopped into 1 inch pieces

* Minced pork, 60g per serving

* Marinade for the pork:

• Salt, 1/8 tsp
• Sugar, 1/8 tsp
• Cornstarch (生粉), ½ tsp
• White pepper, sprinkle, ~1/16 tsp
• Soy sauce (生抽), ¼ tsp
• Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), ½ tsp

* Chinese pork stock, preferably -or- chicken stock -or- water, 2.25 cups

* Lard, 1 tsp

* Zhaotong chili sauce sub, 1 tbsp

* Suanyancai sub, ¼ cup

* Tuodong sweet soy sauce sub, ½ tbsp

* Bean sprouts -or- your veg of choice, ~30g

* Seasoning for the soup:

• Salt, 1/8 tsp
• Chicken bouillon (鸡粉), 1/8 tsp
• MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp
• White pepper, 1/8 tsp
• Dark Chinese vinegar (香醋/陈醋), ¼ tsp

* Lao Gan Ma chili crisp, 2 tbsp

Soak the rice noodles in cool water for at least four hours and up to overnight. Par boil for ~45 seconds, or until al dente. These can keep 1-2 days in the fridge.

Marinate your pork.

For the process for the soup, refer to the video at 8:45.

WESTERN SUPERMARKET STYLE

* Dried rice noodles, 125g per serving

* Minced pork, 60g per serving

* Marinade for the pork:

• Salt, 1/8 tsp
• Sugar, 1/8 tsp
• Cornstarch (生粉), ½ tsp
• White pepper, sprinkle, ~1/16 tsp
• Soy sauce (生抽), ¼ tsp
• Wine – white, sherry, bourbon, Shaoxing, whatever – ½ tsp

* Pork stock, preferably -or- chicken stock -or- water, 2 cups. If buying western stock, make sure it isn’t heavily seasoned with western herbs like thyme or rosemary.

* Lard, 1 tsp. Skip if you have to.

* Japanese Miso Paste, 1 tbsp

* Sauerkraut, 40g, minced

* Soy sauce, 2 tsp

* Molasses, 1 tsp

* Tuodong sweet soy sauce sub, ½ tbsp

* Bean sprouts -or- your veg of choice, ~30g

* Seasoning for the soup:

• Salt, 1/8 tsp
• Sugar, 1/8 tsp
• Chicken bouillon (鸡粉), 1/8 tsp
• MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp
• White pepper, 1/8 tsp

* Scallion, ~20g, sliced

* Cilantro, ~20g, chopped

* Lao Gan Ma chili crisp, 2 tbsp

Soak the rice noodles in cool water for at least four hours and up to overnight. Par boil for ~45 seconds, or until al dente. These can keep 1-2 days in the fridge.

Marinate your pork.

For the process for the soup, refer to the video at 10:19.