You can find fresh Chinese-style (and Japanese-style) wheat noodles at most supermarkets these days. They’re a great convenience food and, for some reason, seem to me more successful than prepackaged “fresh” Italian noodles. Here they’re briefly cooked and then combined with a stir-fried mixture of pork, vegetables, and Chinese sauces; it’s very much a Chinese restaurant dish. Both ground bean sauce and hoisin sauce can be found at supermarkets (if you can’t find ground bean sauce, just use a little more hoisin), but you can usually find a better selection (and higher-quality versions) at Chinese markets. Usually, the fewer ingredients they contain, the better they are.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　1/2 to 3/4 pound ground pork

　　1 cup minced scallion

　　1 tablespoon minced garlic

　　1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger

　　1 cup chicken stock or water

　　2 tablespoons ground bean sauce

　　2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

　　1 tablespoon soy sauce

　　1 pound fresh egg or wheat noodles

　　1 tablespoon sesame oil

　　

Step 1

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, put a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork, crumbling it to bits as you add it and stirring to break up any clumps; add half the scallion, along with the garlic and ginger, and stir. Add the stock or water; stir in the bean, hoisin, and soy sauces and cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and keep warm.

　　

Step 2

Cook the noodles, stirring, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and dress with the sauce. Garnish with the remaining scallion, drizzle the sesame oil over all, and serve.

　　

Variations

Step 3

Toss the noodles with 1 cup bean sprouts or lightly stir-fried snow peas before dressing.

　　

Step 4

Fresh Chinese Noodles with Chicken, or Meatless Fresh Chinese Noodles: Substitute ground chicken or turkey for the pork; or eliminate the meat entirely, sautéing the scallion, ginger, and garlic in a couple tablespoons of peanut oil.

　　From Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times by Mark Bittman Copyright (c) 2007 by Mark Bittman Published by Broadway Books.Mark Bittman is the author of the blockbuster Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.