I found this recipe on a fellow blogger website - thanks 3 Hungry Tummies - but had to make some changes to make this a bit more of a full meal, with some extra greens, larger quantities, and some improved methods. As I mentioned in the beef and bok choy over crispy noodles recipe, this is an extreme comfort food dish for me, but even more so than the beef and bok choy version, this one has the noodle I remember but adds some new and intense flavors that make this dish really satisfying. It's spicy, sweet, savory, salty, warming, crunchy, chewy - there's a lot going on here.
I really recommend trying the noodles in the air fryer, which helps them come out perfectly. I tried many times in a pan or wok, but the hot air really gets this the right level of crispy throughout, in a way that could only be achieved by deep frying otherwise.
- 1/2 lb frozen lo mein noodles, cooked till al dente, drained, refreshed with cold water and drained again
- 1/2 lb wedge of pumpkin (less than half of a pie pumpkin's worth), peeled and diced
- 1/2 lb ground pork (coarse if you can get / make it)
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- a small knob of ginger (appx 1 tbsp), chopped
- 10 dried Chinese chiles
- 2 cups chopped bok choy or other Chinese greens, stems and leaves separated, cut into 1/2" strips
- 2 tbsp of doubanjian (hot bean paste)
- 2 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1/2 tbsp light soy + 1 tsp for marinating
- 1/2 tbsp of dark soy
- 2 tbsp of sugar
- 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine + 1 tsp for marinating
- 1 cup of chicken stock
- 1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp water, for thickening + 1/2 tbsp for marinating
- 1 tsp sesame oil, for marinating
- 1/4 tsp white pepper, for marinating
- 4 spring onions, cut into 2 in lengths then cut lengthwise
- 1/2 tbs of Sichuan peppercorn, lightly roasted and crushed/ground
- Canola oil, for stir-frying.
Cook the lo mein noodles per the instructions, then rinse, drain, and toss in 2 tbsp neutral cooking oil like canola. Follow the process from beef and bok choy over crispy noodles.
Dice the pumpkin and prepare the garlic and spring onions.
Marinate minced pork with the smaller quantity of light soy and Chinese cooking wine, the white pepper, and the smaller quantity of cornstarch. Toss to coat, allow to sit 5 minutes, then add the sesame oil last to seal in the marinade slightly while cooking.
Pre-heat an air fryer to 385 F for a few minutes, then make a small noodle cake no larger than the area of your air fryer, and not more than a few noodles thick, and throw in for 8 minutes. Once browned, remove, and repeat with remaining noodles. This should make 2-3 patties, but scale up as desired.
Fry the diced pumpkin in canola oil over high heat until slightly charred. Remove to a bowl. Add more oil, then brown the minced, marinated pork with a little more oil when the wok heats up again, breaking up large lumps as you go. Remove to the bowl with the pumpkin.
Reheat the work over medium-high heat, add more oil, and quickly stir-fry the bok choy stems for a minute or so until starting to char slightly. Add the chopped garlic, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns with a little more oil and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Return the pork and pumpkin to the wok, but push out to the sides. Add in the dried chiles and hot bean paste and cook until the oil turns a little red.
Incorporate the pumpkin and pork into the stir fry and toss on high heat for a minute, adding the sauce base (sugar, light soy, dark soy, cooking wine, oyster sauce) at the end.
Add stock, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until the pumpkin is tender, which could be 5-15 minutes depending on the pumpkin. As the pumpkin is nearing doneness, add the bok choy leaves and stir to incorporate. Thicken with the cornstarch slurry, bring to a boil to ensure the cornstarch does its job, and add in the spring onions.
Pour the spicy sauce over the crispy noodles and enjoy.
