Soba Noodles with Pork and Vegetables

A healthy dish of soba noodles with stir fried pork and plenty of colourful vegetables. Healthy carbs, protein and vegetables all in one dish, this is a well-balanced meal that you and your family are sure to enjoy.

Hello everybody and happy Tuesday! It feels like I have been away from my blog for so long. I am actually away from home and will be for the next 10 days. As such, I was busy cooking up a storm to ensure that I have enough material to post until I am back home in my kitchen again. The free Wi-Fi access I have now is much slower than what I am used to. So it is a pain to load images and videos. Yes – this means using Pinterest gets very frustrating!

My husband had to undergo a work related course in Manchester so I have tagged along. I love Manchester and always enjoy my time here. If you are lucky enough to have visited this city, I am sure you will agree that the food scene here is quite remarkable with an eclectic mix of cuisines. There are also many independent and quirky eating establishments. I love trying different ethnic cuisines when I dine out and Manchester does not disappoint. Case in point is this Dolsot Bibimbap from Baekdu. Dolsot Bibimbap is nicer than regular bibimbap because the rice gets all crunchy due to the fact that it is cooked in the dolsot (the stone bowl). Mixed rice with a crunch, just imagine that! If you have never tried Korean cuisine before I urge you to do so. It is not all about Kimchi and more importantly, there are many healthy options on the menu.

So, coming back to a dish that I cooked! Sticking to the healthy-ish theme, today’s recipe is for soba noodles. Soba noodles are really common now and most supermarkets stock them, I bought mine from Tesco. I boiled the noodles then mixed in some stir fried pork and plenty of vegetables. I cooked the pork and vegetables separately so you don’t get oily noodles here. Far from it.

Feel free to use any vegetables you like for this dish. Broccoli would work splendidly here. You can also use tofu if you want to make this vegetarian. Healthy carbs, protein and vegetables all in one dish, this is a well-balanced meal that you and your family are sure to enjoy. It certainly is going to be a staple on my weekly menu plan.

On a side note, I have given up fried chicken, crisps and cookies for Lent. I do get cranky sometimes and I may lick my laptop’s screen when I see photos of cookies online. How about you? If you observe Lent have you given anything up and how has it been going for you?

Recipe for Soba Noodles with Pork and Vegetables

Prep Time: 20 minutes / Cooking Time: 20 minutes / Serves 4

Ingredients

250gm Soba Noodles

320gm Pork Loins (thinly sliced)

120gm (1 medium) Carrot (thinly sliced)

100gm (1) Red Pepper (thinly sliced)

140gm Cabbage (thinly sliced)

120gm Mushrooms (thinly sliced)

2 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce

½ Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Mirin (Japanese Cooking Wine)

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 thumb size Ginger (finely grated)

3 cloves Garlic

¼ tsp Salt

100ml Water

1 tsp Corn flour

1 tsp Sesame Seeds

2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

Method

1. In a bowl, whisk together the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Mirin, brown sugar, ginger and garlic. Use half of the mixture to marinade the pork in. Leave to marinade while you prepare the rest of the dish.

2. Boil the soba noodles according to the instructions on the package. This should take about 5 minutes. Once done, strain the noodles in a colander and rinse with cold water. Set aside. 

3. In a wok/deep sauce pan, heat up a tablespoon of vegetable oil. When it’s hot, add in the vegetables and stir-fry over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables are cooked but still have a slight crunch. Season with some salt. Once cooked, set aside.

4. Next, it’s time to cook the pork. Add the remaining oil in the wok/deep sauce pan. Once hot, add in the marinated pork and sauté briskly for about 2-3 minutes. The pork should be browned and smell really good now. Add in the mushrooms followed by the remaining soy sauce and Mirin mixture. Dissolve the corn flour in the water and pour in. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Taste and add some salt if required. 

5. Finally, assemble the dish. Place the noodles on a plate, layer the pork and sauce on top and the vegetables around the sides. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds and serve.

A few more recipes that you will love:

Cod Fish Noodle Soup	Mee Siam (Spicy Fried Vermicelli Noodles)

See more of my Asian dishes.