Shredded Pork and Cellophane Noodle Soup

Thom Hackett
Weldon Russell, The Heritage of Chinese Cooking

Serves: 7

Shredded Pork and Cellophane Noodle Soup

The Chinese do not really consider cellophane noodles as a "staple."  Made of green mung bean starch, they are usually used as an interesting ingredient to accompany meats or other vegetables in a normal "rice meal."  They are popular throughout China, Southeast Asia and Japan.  Each region of China has its own version of this soup.  In Shanghai, meatballs in the soup make it a hearty meal by itself; the peppery, crunchy Sichuan (Szechwan) pickled vegetable (jar choi) transports us immediately to Sichuan (Szechwan) and to the Zhejiang (Chekiang) provinces, while the mustard greens (mui choi) place it distinctly in the southern province of Guangdong (Kwangtung).

2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 slices fresh ginger, cut ¼ inch thick
4 ounces pork fillet, shredded into
2-inch lengths
2 teaspoons dry sherry
6 cups chicken broth
6 dried mushroom, soaked for soaked for 45 minutes, stalks removed and thinly sliced
 ½ cup carrot, cut into ¼-inch thick julienne
1 cup zucchini, cut into ¼-inch thick julienne
1½ tablespoons Sichuan preserved vegetables (jar choi), available in Chinese stores (optional)
1 ounce cellophane noodles, soaked for 30 minutes in warm water and cut into 6-inch lengths
 

For The Seasonings:
 ½ teaspoon salt
pinch white pepper
 ¼ teaspoon sugar
 ½ teaspoon sesame oil

Heat a stockpot, then add the oil and heat until just it is just beginning to smoke. 

  1. Sauté the ginger slices, and stir-fry the shredded pork, until the color changes. 

  2. Pour in the rice wine. Add the broth, mushrooms and carrot and simmer for 10 minutes.

  3. Add the zucchini, preserved mustard greens, bean curd and cellophane noodles and simmer for 2 minutes. 

  4. Stir in the seasonings and serve in a soup tureen.