Ants Climbing A Tree

Elena Butuc

Since I've been doing experiments with Chinese cuisine, we've already discovered several favourite dishes which I cook as often as the traditional local ones. The 'ants climbing a tree' is very much appreciated by our family but I also like challenging my guests with it. This dish has a funny colour at first, because of the soy sauce and the Chinese noodles, but after you taste it, you will be impressed. I didn't dare to cook it at home before trying it in a Chinese fast food restaurant first. I liked the combination and I recreated it at home.

I can definitely tell you that homemade 'ants climbing a tree' have a much better and complex taste than the restaurant ones. My husband was one of the first to notice and appreciate this difference. The ingredients are not fancy and can be found in large supermarkets. Still, I recommend buying them straight from the Chinese stores, it's even easier to get them online.

The version shown below is one which is eaten by the kids as well, as it's not too hot. You can slightly adjust the degree of spiciness using the Chinese Flavoured Oil. We really enjoy it and we always have it at hand.

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Ingredients

Metric US

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Minced pork meat

500 g

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Dried wood ear mushrooms

50 g

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Noodles

200 g

glass noodles - made from rice or mung beans (see the picture in the steps below)

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Green onions

2 pieces

2 scallions

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Salt

1 tsp

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Dark soy sauce

1 tbsp

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Cooking rice wine

1 tbsp

it's not rice vinegar!

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Cornstarch

1 tbsp

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Sesame oil

2 tbsp

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Peanut oil

50 ml

or other oil used for frying

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Fresh shredded ginger

1 tsp

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Garlic cloves

2 pieces

and a chili pepper, if you want it hot

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Light soy sauce

3 tbsp

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Sesame seeds

1 tsp

plus aromatic Chinese oil, find the recipe on my website

Step by step

Step 1

First of all, I recommend marinating the meat for 'ants climbing a tree'.

Place the ground pork in a bowl and add to it:

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce (the most viscous and dense type)

- 1 tbsp rice wine

- 1 tbsp sesame oil

- 1 tbsp starch

Using your hands, combine all these ingredients, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or a few hours to marinate.

Step 2

Soak the dried Wood Ear mushrooms in water for 30-60 minutes. The time depends on the brand of the mushrooms.

Place mushrooms in a bowl and pour over cold water to cover them completely.

Step 3

You'll see they are well soaked when they are considerably bigger and elastic.

At this point I recommend washing under cold running water, then cutting the wooden bottom. Some come without the wooden bottom, so you might not need to do this.

Step 4

I've tested several noodle brands for this recipe over the time, the one in the picture works best for me and I can find it in stores.

Step 5

They don't need special preparation, just pour hot water over the noodles and let sit for a few minutes.

If you are using different noodles, just follow the instructions on the package.

Step 6

Then drain the water and add 1 tbsp sesame oil, mix.

You can also cut the noodles with kitchen shears. I don't always do this, though, because it's easier to use the chopsticks when the noodles are longer.