A traditional chinese noodle soup meaning gravy with noodles. In Beijing, being the capitol city for centuries, thouasands of cooks from different parts of China would come to display their culinary talent and influence. Foods originated in Beijing are often snacks rather than full course meals, and typically sold by street vendors. There is an emphasis on dark soy sauce and sesame oil which can be seen in this noodle soup. Very similar to hot and sour soup (without the vinegar), this dish consists of a chicken broth mixed with sliced pork, strips of bamboo, wood ear fungus, and tomatoes. The broth is thickened with cornstarch and egg is added for the finishing touch. A now fairly common noodle dish that can be ordered at numerous Chinese restaurants, it is a delightful balanced thick soup that will keep the belly warm and satisfied!
Ingredients (serves 8-10)
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BROTH
Pork loin steak (0.75 lbs) Garlic (5 cloves minced) Green onions (Chopped white part) Shiitake Mushrooms (5) Flat bamboo (2 cups) Wood ear Fungus (2 cups) Cornstarch (3-4 tbs) Large tomato (1) Eggs (2) Chicken broth (10-12 cups) Soy sauce (2 tbs) |
GARNISH Green onions (chopped) Pepper Sesame Oil Black Vinegar Taiwanese Noodles |
Directions
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Pork loin steak should be sliced into bite size pieces, just like in the picture to the top right.
Prepare the minced garlic, about 5 cloves should do, and the scallions (use 3 green onions and chop up the white part)
Bamboo should be the flat kind shown on the left. Wood ear fungus should be the big kind and not in strips, shown in the middle. And dried shiitake mushrooms on the right.
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Soak about a handful of the wood ear fungus and 4 or 5 shiitake mushrooms in water. That will take a good 10-15 minutes for it to get soft before you can start cutting them into smaller pieces. Also cut a large tomato into bite size pieces as well.
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You can use a knife or scissors, whatever's more convenient and easier for you, to cut up the mushrooms and wood ear fungus. The important thing is to just cut them up into bite size pieces and also to discard the stem of the shiitake mushrooms. Be prepared for a lot of water to squeeze out with the shiitake mushrooms when you cut them.
A plate of all the stirfry ingredients, cut up and in about equal proportions.
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Start with a little vegetable oil in a pot with medium heat. Drop in the scallions and minced garlic. Mix it around for a minute, then drop in the chopped up pork loin and continue to stir it up so each piece gets cooked evenly. Once they all brown, drop in all the other ingredients into the pot and continue to strifry everything for about 5 minutes under high heat until everything turns a little softer.
After mixing for about 5 minutes. It's okay to strifry for a bit longer if you want, as long as the ingredients are a bit softer than its original state.
Time for broth. Best to use your own chicken broth but if you don't have any, Swanson chicken broth is fine. 2 cans of Swanson and 2 cans of water should do.
Keep the heat on high as it'll take some time for it to boil. Once boiling, drop the heat to low for a light boil.
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Da Lu Mien is more of a gravy than soup. Corn starch will help thicken the broth. Begin by pouring some of the broth into a bowl while avoiding and ingredients/particles the best you can. Try to get only liquid. Then add about 3 tbs cornstarch into the soup while mixing it up with a chopstick. Once you mix in all the cornstarch, you can pour it back into the soup and continue mixing. Check the consistency after a few minutes and you'll notice the soup thicken. If you want it more thick, repeat the process with more cornstarch.
Next, beat 2 eggs in a bowl. With the soup on high heat and boiling, pour the eggs into the pot and slowly stir in a circular motion so the eggs spread and cook. Quickly turn off the heat as the eggs will cook very fast.
For additional flavoring, add salt or soy sauce to your liking. The soup should have a thick consistency with swirls of egg. To serve, cook the noodles of your choice (I prefer Taiwanese noodles), and pour the hot grave on top.
You can top it off with some black pepper, black vinegar, sesame oil, and chopped green onions. Enjoy!
