Hoisin Pork Noodles

In my mind, this is the Asian version of Taco Salad.  Star with your noodle base, add some marinated meat, and then top with whatever else you like!  The sauce is delicious, so I use just enough to cover the meat I'm marinating and save the rest for serving.  

⅓ cup soy sauce

¼ cup water

3 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil or canola oil

2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sugar

1 dash fish sauce

3 tablespoons vinegar + a squeeze of lime if you have it

5 cloves finely minced garlic

1 piece fresh grated ginger (1-2 tablespoons)

1 minced hot pepper (i.e. jalapeno, chili pepper, etc)

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons peanut butter

1½ lbs. pork cut into thin strips

9 oz. rice noodles

grated carrots, chopped scallions, chopped peanuts, cilantro


Whisk all the sauce ingredients together (soy sauce, water, oil, honey, sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, peppers, hoisin, and peanut butter).  You could also puree the sauce in a food processor or Vitamix to get the garlic, peppers, and ginger smooth.

Marinate the pork in the sauce overnight or for at least a few hours.  

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and stir-fry the pork until browned on the outside.  Discard remaining sauce.

Cook your rice noodles according to package directions.  Keep a little bit of liquid with noodles to insure they don't dry out.  Top with pork, carrots, scallions, peanuts, cilantro, and extra sauce of choice (more hoisin, soy sauce, sweet chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, etc).  This is definitely a build-your-own kind of thing - just throw whatever you like in there with the noodles.