Asian Shrimp and Pork Meatball Noodle Soup

This soup noodles recipe tastes a bit like pho, but has a more homey tone to it. Perhaps due to the handmade shrimp and pork meatballs, the rugged edge somehow spells quality and all-natural in my mind compared to the perfectly round machine-made meatballs.

Asian shrimp and pork meatball noodle soup - 

Ingredients (about 4 to 5 portions)?

• 4 to 5 portions Asian glass noodles (wider kind)
• 10 cups chicken stock
• 1 stalk scallion
• 1 chunk ginger
• 1 pack or two big handful bean sprouts
• 1 small bundle cilantro
• 1 lime 
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• Some salt (optional)
• 1 to 2 medium red chilies (optional)

Meatballs (about 16 meatballs):

• 400 grams ground pork 
• 300 grams shrimps
• 1 stalk scallion
• 2 medium garlic cloves
• 1 lime (need the zest only)
• 2 teaspoons potato starch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

How?

Bring out a big pot and pour in 10 cups of chicken stock. You can use some water if there's not enough chicken stock, but the final flavor will be on the lighter side as a result.

Scrape then slice the ginger, we will need 4 ginger slices, about 1mm thickness each. Destem one stalk of scallion and try to tie into a bit knot.

Add the ginger and scallion to the stock and bring to a boil. Keep it boiling for two more minutes. After that, lower the heat and keep the stock at a small to medium bubbling stage. Cook for 15 more minutes.

When time's up, pick out the ginger and scallion. Zest one lime and add to the stock, then squeeze in half of the lime juice to brighten up the flavor. As for the remaining lime, you can slice into wedges and serve with the noodle soup in the end. 

Taste the soup and season with fish sauce instead of using salt. I added 1 tablespoon of fish sauce here.

To make the meatballs, peel and devein the shrimps first then give the shrimps a few rough chops. Mix that with ground pork along with destem and chopped one stalk of scallion, zest of one lime, 2 peeled and chopped garlic cloves, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, and 2 teaspoons of potato starch. Mix till evenly blended.

Use two spoons to help forming the mixture into oval-shaped meatballs. Make one first and drop that to the soup. One by one, repeat till using up all the shrimp and pork mixture. Meanwhile remember to keep the stock at a gentle boil, and continue to simmer till all the meatballs have been fully cooked through. Scoop out any foamy bits if there's any floating on top.

Have another medium pot of water ready. Bring to a boil and add in bean sprouts. I actually picked out some of the threads on the tips before using. Not necessary but it'll give you a cleaner bite later on. Cook for couple minutes. Drain and set the cooked bean sprouts aside.

Still using the same pot, add more water again. This time cook the wide glass noodles according to package instruction or your preference. Once done, drain and transfer to serving bowls.

Scoop in some of the soup and meatballs. Garnish with bean sprouts. Chop some cilantro and add to the bowl too. If you can take some heat, destem and slice the red chilies into rings, add that to the noodles.

I also have one or two more lime wedges ready. Personally, I think for such pho-like noodles, more lime always sounds like a great and delicious idea. If the final noodle soup is not salty enough, you can choose to add more fish sauce or simply add some last minute salt flakes will do. 

What if you're only making the soup noodles for one or just two people? No problem. You can prepare the soup and all the ingredients as it is, but only cook enough noodles with smaller portion. 

Simple store the soup and the sides in the fridge. All you have to do is to cook the noodles again later on, and just heat up the soup with a bit assembling work to make a complete meal next time.

That's what I did actually. Since it's only me and Mister most of the time, there's no way we can finish everything in one single meal. Don't worry about the taste difference after a day or two though. Mister was actually super happy with the pho-like comforting food two days after. Especially with freshly squeezed lime juice, it has that magic to make overnight ingredients tastes like fresh off the stove again.   

Other Asian soup noodles recipes:

• Braised noodles with luffa gourd and chicken meatballs 絲瓜貢丸雞湯煨麵
• Pork and Chinese chives glass noodles 豆瓣韭菜豬肉粉絲

Shrimp and Artichoke Pasta (Using Canned Artichoke Hearts)

Question first, why this recipe is often called shrimp and artichoke pasta instead of artichoke and shrimp pasta? In the beginning I was like maybe I should go with alphabetical order, so putting artichoke before shrimp. However, after a quick search online, most of the recipes are titled shrimp and artichoke, with shrimp in the front.

Why is that? Or it's like way too normal and too common so no one ever thought about it? Not like it's super important but it'll be nice to know the reason behind. I'm a little curious cat here.

Shrimp and artichoke pasta using canned artichoke hearts - 

Ingredients (about 3 to 4 portions)?

• 290 grams (60 grams solids) canned artichoke hearts
• 360 grams linguine pasta
• 16 to 20 shrimps
• 30 small or 20 medium cherry tomatoes
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 small bundle flat leaf parsley
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt

How?

Have a big pot of water ready and bring to a boil. Season with few good pinches of salt and add in the linguine pasta. Cook till almost al dente. Before draining, save about a cup of pasta cooking water on the side, then proceed to drain out the water.

Try to calculate the pasta cooking time so when the sauce is ready, the pasta should be just about finished cooking too, then you can simply drain and dump into the sauce right away.

Peel and slice the garlic cloves. If the cherry tomatoes are on the bigger side, cut into half. Peel and devein the shrimps. Zest the lemon before slicing it in half. Chop the flat leaf parsley, do not use the stems if appear too tough. Remove the artichoke heart from the jar and give it a few chops.

Bring out a big pan and drizzle 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Use medium heat and add in garlic slices along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Sear till slightly golden then add in halved cherry tomatoes. Swirl the pan once a while and cook till the tomatoes seemed about to burst or slightly charred on some sides.

Add in shrimps and cook for about 30 seconds. Add in artichoke and continue to cook for a short moment.

Pour in 1/2 cup of dry white wine, also add all the lemon zest we prepared in the beginning, squeeze in juice from half of the lemon. Also add 1 teaspoon of salt and most of the chopped parsley. Swirl and toss to make sure every ingredients are evenly mixed together. Taste and adjust with salt if needed.

Check and see if the sauce is enough. If not, pour in some pasta water that we saved earlier. I added about 1/4 cup here. Then I transfer drained pasta over. Swirl the pan and try to blend in some air to the sauce.

Cook till the sauce looks slightly thickened, and the oily part appears binding with the sauce. Give it a last couple rounds of extra virgin olive oil drizzles. Toss a few more times. Plate and garnish with the remaining chopped parsley.

You know what? Canned artichoke heart ain't bad at all, it's actually quite delicious. Especially with all the hard prepping work being dealt with, the only job we have is to utilize the tender hearts into our cooking.

And using canned artichoke heart for pasta was such a great option. A slightly tangy touch worked really well with lighter-tasting shrimps. Not just shrimps, flat leaf parsley also balanced well with canned artichoke hearts. 

Extended reading:

• Thick cut bacon and lentil ragu
• Pasta all'ortolana (healthy pasta with lots of vegetables)
• Tuna and olive linguine for two
• Oyster and shiso peperoncino
• Paccheri with tuna in red bell pepper sauce

Healthy Eating In A Delicious Pasta Form - Thick Cut Bacon and Lentil Ragu

Is it safe to say that lentils might be as common to Italians as rice grains to Chinese? Well, if that really is the case, then it might somewhat explains why it took me quite some effort to find organic lentils in Taiwan since the majority of the locals probably never had lentils before.

Good thing is that there's this specific company that import all sort of higher quality grains from around the world, and they have a little shop in Taipei, so I can get my hands on precious bag of lentils. However, with few more bills in exchange but I'm happy enough to finally found the ingredient needed.

Thick cut bacon and lentil ragu - 

Ingredients (about 6 servings)?

• 500 grams linguine pasta
• 250 grams lentils
• 400 grams thick-cut bacon or ham
• 1 medium celery stalk
• 1 medium carrot
• 2 medium onions
• 40 grams dried porcini mushrooms
• 8 pieces sun-dried tomatoes
• 400 grams canned whole tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 250ml dry white wine
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup pasta cooking water (just in case)
• Some black pepper
• Some red chili flakes
• 1 lemon (optional)

How?

Cube the thick-cut bacon or ham. Destem then dice the celery. Peel and dice the onions and carrot. Give the sun-dried tomatoes a few chops. Peel and chop the garlic cloves.

Rinse the dried porcini mushrooms then soak in room temperature water for about 20 minutes. Drain out the liquid and give the mushrooms a few chops before use in cooking.

Have a Dutch oven ready and drizzle 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Switch to medium heat and add in cubed bacon or ham. Sear till some fats rendered.

Add in cubed celery, carrot, and onion. Stir-fry and let cook for at least 10 minutes.

Then add in chopped garlic along with sun-dried tomatoes and porcini mushrooms. Mix and cook for couple more minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Cook for one minute, just a little heat to bring out that tomato aroma.

Pour in 250ml of dry white wine and everything in canned tomato. Also add 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of dried parsley, and 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary.

Bring the whole thing to a boil then add in the lentils. Mix first then pour in the chicken stock. I put 2 cups under the ingredient list, but use as much as you need in order to get like 1 centimeter above the top of ingredients. 

Adjust the heat to keep everything at a light bubbling stage. Continue to cook for 30 more minutes and make sure to stir the pot once a while.

Later on pick out the bay leaves. Give it a tasting test and see if more seasonings are needed. I added some salt during this step and used about 1 1/2 teaspoons of it along with 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of red chili flakes.

Meanwhile, have another pot of water ready. Bring to a boil and add in few pinches of salt. Cook the linguine pasta till almost al dente. Save some pasta water first then drain out the rest.

Transfer pasta to the Dutch oven and mix till blended. Check and see if you need to pour in some of the pasta water we saved earlier for better consistency.

Finally, drizzle some more extra virgin olive oil a few rounds. Give it a final mix then the ragu will be ready for plating.

You can squeeze in some fresh lemon juice right before serving, or simply have some lemon wedges on the side instead. The lemon part is more of a personal preference, in which I always love to have that kick of bright citrusy note to a hearty pasta dish.

If you can't find lentils that easily, simply substitute with other types of beans such as cannellini or chickpeas, but do pay attention with actual cooking time. You might need to shorten the time for cooking when using other type of beans or simply add in the beans a bit later. Don't want to end up with mushy beans in the end.

Extended reading:

• Pasta all'ortolana (healthy pasta with lots of vegetables)
• Zucchini and squash pasta with parsley and mint sauce
• Vegetable and meatballs pasta bake 

Gochujang and Peanut Butter Noodles for One

Who would have thought peanut butter can be used in noodles? Well, I'm not talking about the sweetened version for spreading on toast or making cookies, but the simple and basic peanut butter. Let it be smooth version or the crunchy version, as long as there's no additional flavoring involved, go ahead and use it for savory dishes too.

Gochujang and peanut butter noodles for one - 

Ingredients (one serving)?

• 1 serving flour noodles of your liking
• 1/2 skinny cucumber
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon chopped scallion
• 1/8 teaspoon grated ginger
• Some salt
• Some toasted white sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons gochujang
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon white sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

How?

Clean then julienne the cucumber. Use some salt, about 1 to 2 pinches to massage in the cucumber. Let it sit under room temperature for 10 minutes until some moisture has been drawn out.

Rinse the cucumber using drinkable water to wash away extra salt. Squeeze really dry then loosen the cucumber strips. Put aside for now.

Destem and chop the scallion, scrape then grate the ginger, peel and chop the garlic clove.

Have a serving bowl ready, add in grated ginger and chopped garlic. Also add 2 tablespoons of gochujang, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 1 teaspoon of white sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.

Prepare a pot of water to cook the noodles. Bring to a boil then add in the noodles, choose whichever shape and size, as long as you like it. Cook till desired texture, mine took about 8 minutes. 

Once ready, drain well then transfer to the serving bowl.

Mix till the noodles are evenly blended with the sauce, and no lumps from the peanut butter. Garnish with julienned cucumber, some chopped scallion, and sprinkle some toasted white sesame seeds as the final finishing touch.

The noodles was so good. In fact, I myself didn't even expect it to be packed with so much flavors. Especially the garlic that really gives it a punch in the end. I wouldn't mind the garlic breadth afterwards if my meal was that tasty.

Other similar cooking for one recipes:

• Oyster and shiso peperoncino
• Hot and sour glass noodles
• Pidan/century egg noodles 皮蛋拌麵

Asian Style Buttery Garlic Noodles Using Thai Rice Noodles (Cooking for Two)

Lactaid standing by! For those of you who also have lactose-intolerant issue will understand my troubles. In order to enjoy this buttery garlic noodles, my "side dish" become one or two servings of Lactaid. No complaint though, at least I still get to enjoy such buttery dish without much pain afterwards.

Asian style buttery garlic noodles using Thai rice noodles -

Ingredients (for two servings)?

• 2 servings Thai rice noodles
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 big bulb shallot
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (optional)
• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 small bundle cilantro
• Some fresh chili or chili sauce (optional)

How?

Have a big pot of water ready, half-filled should be enough to cook the noodles. Bring it to a boil then cook the Thai rice noodles till the texture almost reaches your preference. Once ready, drain and set aside for later use.

Note that some Thai rice noodles can break easily once cooked, more so soggy, therefore if needed you might want to cook the noodles last minute then add straight to the finished sauce instead.

Peel and chop the shallot, we will need about 1/3 cup of prepped shallots in the end. Peel and slice the garlic cloves. Chop the cilantro.

Have a pan or a large-surfaced pot ready. Add in 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter and switch to medium heat. Once nearly all melted, add in sliced garlic and chopped shallot. Cook till aromatic but not burn the garlic bits.

Add in 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar. Note that this will give you a rather light-looking noodles in the end. So if you prefer a darker color dish, add additional 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce here too.

Give the sauce mixture and good swirl then add in drained noodles and most of the chopped cilantro. Toss and cook for 30 more seconds.

Plate and garnish with some chopped cilantro that we saved earlier. Maybe also serve with some freshly chopped red chilies or chili sauce too. As for me, one Lactaid caplet on the side too.

If you're considering about adding extra dark soy sauce but not sure if it'll alter the final taste of the noodles, don't worry. The dark soy sauce is merely for the color, and its taste is actually way less salty compared to the regular soy sauce. One tablespoon won't change much flavor-wise.

By the way, the images you see here are the result "without" the dark soy sauce.

Extended reading:

• Pork and Chinese chives glass noodles 豆瓣韭菜豬肉粉絲
• Pad see ew - Thai stir-fry noodles with chicken and gai lan

Taiwanese Pumpkin Rice Vermicelli 金瓜米粉

Surprisingly I had my most share of pumpkin rice vermicelli back in California. The thing is that my own family doesn't really make "pumpkin" rice vermicelli, but it's like one of the most common Taiwanese household dishes. 

So as an international student many many years ago, my fellow Taiwanese friends often invited me to their home and have family meals together during holidays. And guess what? They've always had pumpkin rice vermicelli on the table. Man that was such a comforting dish, especially when the chef (auntie) was very good at making all sort of Taiwanese dishes.

Taiwanese pumpkin rice vermicelli 金瓜米粉 - 

Ingredients (about 6 portions)?

• 200 grams 100% rice vermicelli
• 360 grams matsusaka pork
• 300 grams pumpkin
• 150 grams wood ear 
• 1/2 medium small cabbage
• 1/2 medium small carrot
• 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons dried shrimps 蝦米
• 2 stalks scallion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• Few dashes white pepper powder
• 3 tablespoons goose's grease or olive oil
• 1 cup shiitake soaking water
• 1 cup chicken stock

How?

Rinse then soak the the dried shrimps using room temperature water. Once rehydrated a little, drain and pat dry with paper towel. Fine chop the dried shrimps.

Rinse and soak the dried shiitake mushrooms using room temperature water too. Preferably drinkable water. Once rehydrated, save the mushroom soaking water, which should be about 1 cup. Destem the mushrooms then slice the caps.

Meanwhile, slice the matsusaka pork to medium large bite size, preferably with a little thickness to it. If you can't find matsusaka pork, regular pork slices with a bit fat or even strips are doable too. Marinate and massage the pork using 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of Chinese rice cooking wine.

Trim-off the tougher cabbage stem then slice the rest to medium threads. Trim-off the tougher wood ear center then slice the rest to threads too. Peel and julienne the carrot. Peel the pumpkin then cut into about 1mm thickness slices. Note that much of these veggies will slowly cook-down later on so bigger or thicker pieces are totally fine.

Destem and section the scallion. Peel and slice the garlic cloves.

Prepare the rice vermicelli according to package instruction. Some might require a short soaking time, some might need to quickly cook in hot water first. I used 100% rice vermicelli here so it gets soft and break apart easily. All I need to do was simply soaking the vermicelli in room temperature water till slightly separated then drain for later use.

Have a big wok or a big pot ready, if you have goose's grease then definitely use it, otherwise drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil instead. Switch to medium heat and add in chopped dried shrimps, garlic, scallion sections, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt right away.

Wait till the heat goes up and these aromatics start slightly browning on the edges. Add in pork along with the marinade. Sear till half-way cooked through then add in the shiitake. Continue to sear till aromatic for a little longer.

Add in carrot now. I prefer to add in the carrot early because I don't really like eating "hard" carrot in Chinese dishes. However, the actual cooking time is up to you. I myself actually cook the carrot sticks for two minutes first here.

Then add in the cabbage, wood ear, and pumpkin. Give it a quick stir-fry then season with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, and 2 dashes of white pepper powder. Mix till evenly blended.

Pour in 1 cup of reserved shiitake mushroom soaking water and 1 cup of chicken stock. Bring to a light boil and cook for 3 more minutes.

Add the prepped rice vermicelli to the wok and mix till evenly blended with all the ingredients. Put on the lid and cook in medium or medium low heat all the way till the rice vermicelli reaches desired texture, should be around few minutes.

Remove the lid and do a final flavor check. Adjust with additional seasonings if needed. By the time most of the pumpkins should be semi-melted into the sauce already, adding a hint of sweetness to the whole rice vermicelli. 

I also think that's the key to pumpkin rice vermicelli. If you can still find whole and hard pumpkin pieces in this dish, to me that means the flavors have not yet been fully soaked in yet, no good.

So memorizing the days in California, how lucky I was that I still get to eat all the authentic Taiwanese homemade meals back in California. Not the somewhat look-alike Taiwanese food at the restaurants, but true local-flavored home-cooked version with my friend's family.

The heart-warming feeling of friends and families gathered together and enjoyed countless homemade dishes. That feeling was rooted in my heart that I still treasure till now. You know I don't really get the same vibe here back in Taiwan. First of all my own family is kind of small, and secondly most of my close friends in Taiwan don't really know how to cook.

Good thing is that as long as I go ahead and buy that airplane ticket to fly all the way to America, at least I can still relive the holiday gathering moment again, surrounded by friends and so called my CA families with lots of delicious homemade food. Yes! I've got to make that happen again soon.

Extended reading:

• Curry flavored beehoon/rice vermicelli stir-fry 咖哩炒米粉

Braised Noodles with Luffa Gourd and Chicken Meatballs 絲瓜貢丸雞湯煨麵

The vegetable vendors at the traditional market in Taiwan are often very friendly. If you buy a lot of stuff from one stand, often times they'll stuff some other items in your bag for free, like scallions, red chilies, ginger, and cilantro.

So I was kind of "forced" to accept the extra scallion this time, in a nice way of course. I wasn't plan to use scallion in this recipe, but since I got some free scallion on hand, might as well use it right? In fact, I think the extra scallion was actually very helpful, providing much more depth and flavor to the final braised noodles.

Braised noodles with luffa gourd and chicken meatballs 絲瓜貢丸雞湯煨麵 - 

Ingredients (about 3 portions)?

• 1 luffa gourd (try to use the sweeter kind)
• 400 grams chicken meatballs (or regular pork meatballs 貢丸)
• 3 portions dried packaging thin noodles (no extra flour kind)
• 3 eggs
• 1 stalk scallion
• 500 grams chicken stock
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons shrimp skin 蝦皮
• Some olive oil
• Some salt
• Some white pepper powder
• Some chili sauce or fresh red chilies (optional)

How?

Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a wok and switch to medium high heat. Once warmed up, break in 3 eggs and sear. We are aiming for sunny side up with semi-runny yolk in the center, also slightly browned and crunchy edge for the egg white. 

Once ready, scoop out the cooked eggs and set aside for later use.

Destem, peel, and slice the luffa gourd to chunks. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Destem and section the scallion.

Still using the same wok, add more oil if needed. Add in the scallion sections and use medium heat to sear the scallion till slightly charred. Add in garlic and shrimp skin. Continue to sear a bit longer but not burning the garlic bits.

Pick out the scallion here if desired. This is just for a smoother bite for the final noodles. If you don't mind having some charred scallion texture then just keep it there.

Add the luffa and give it a quick stir-fry. Add in chicken meatballs and cook for another 30 seconds or so. I was lucky and found an online vendor that sells all-natural no-additives meatballs, and frankly speaking it was surprisingly delicious too. Didn't expect that from such "clean" product. 

Pour in 500 grams of chicken stock. Bring the entire thing to a boil then lower the heat to keep it at a light bubbling stage. Taste and adjust the flavor with salt if needed. I added 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt here. Continue to cook for 3 more minutes.

Add the dry packaging thin noodles directly to the stock. The reason why we use packaged noodles instead of fresh noodles is due to its lowered flour content clinging onto the noodles. If using fresh noodles, it'll be too much flour and the soup will be too gooey in the end.

So the pre-packaged dry noodles is just about right. The way we cook the noodles with the stock instead of using another pot of water can slightly thicken the soup without turning it into a dense mess.

Continue to cook till the noodles are ready and reaches your desired texture. Taste and season with more salt if needed. But do sprinkle some white pepper powder and mix till evenly blended for that extra hidden aroma.

Scoop to serving bowls. Top each serving with one sunny side up egg. Also add some chili sauce or fresh red chili rings if preferred.

The soup was super flavorful, it was like umami-packed but yet refreshing in a way. I also love the slightly thickened stock clinging onto every noodles in the end, so delicious.

By the way, the luffa gourd variety I used was more of a ball-shaped instead of the longer cylindrical-shaped. It's called fruit luffa gourd in Taiwan 水果絲瓜, which is sweeter than the longer kind. Use this variety if you can find it.

Extended reading:

• Chinese braised noodles with vegetables and pork 青菜豬肉煨麵