Chinese five spice recipe

How to Prepare / Make / Cook - ?Chinese five spice recipe

My mother often used packaged spaghetti or vermicelli for this dish because in the early 1950s using Chinese egg noodles meant a special trip to Chinatown. When we had this dish in china, it was at a tiny restaurant that had a “noodle stretcher,” a man who stretched noodles by land. After he stretched the noodles, helpers immediately dropped them into a large vat of boiling water, then strained them right into a large noodle bowl. They scooped up a large ladle of sauce, poured it on, and added a crunchy vegetable garnish. People were lined up waiting to lunch on a plate of those Peking noodles! They were delicious, but I’ve always liked my mother’s better.

½ pound ground pork (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon dry sherry
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ cup bean paste, preferably Japanese miso
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon canola, corn, or peanut oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 medium onion, minced
½ cup thinly sliced scallions, green and white parts
1 cup water
1 pound spaghetti, thin or regular
10 radishes, shredded, for garnish
1 medium cucumber, partially peeled, seeded, and shredded, for garnish
2 cups bean sprouts, parboiled for 15 to 20 seconds and drained well, for garnish
10 ounces fresh spinach, washed, parboiled for 15 to 20 seconds, squeezed dry, and minced, for garnish
5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced, for garnish (optional)

1. Mix the pork with the sherry and cornstarch in a small bowl and set aside. Stir the bean paste, hoisin sauce, sugar, and soy sauce together in another small howl. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a wok or stir-fry pan over high heat. When the oil is hot, stir in the pork and cook for 2 minutes, or until the meat changes color and separates. Add the garlic and onion and stir for 1 minute. Add the scallions and stir constantly for 1 minute, or until the scallions are soft but not browned.

3. Stir in the bean paste mixture and water and mix thoroughly with the meat. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. You will have a thin sauce.

4. Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Stir in the spaghetti and boil until a little more tender than al dente. Drain and rise in hot water; immediately divide the noodles among 6 or 8 individual noodle bowls. Place the meat sauce in a serving bowl on the table. Set the vegetable garnishes out in individual bowls and let people sauce and garnish their own noodles.