Good Food: Ants on Trees with Shredded Carrot Salad

I love ants on trees (the little pieces of pork are the ants, and the noodles are the trees), and we've made this a couple times for friends. Tonight we made this for Rachel and Mark. Here we are eating it--if you look closely, you can see the food on our plates. I didn't think ahead and take a close-up photo of the food! Ben made up this recipe for a carrot salad to accompany it, and I love it too.

Ants on Trees (Serves 5-6)
1 lb ground pork
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp roasted red chili paste
2 tsp corn starch
16 oz cellophane noodles
4 tbsp peanut oil
4 scallions, the white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
4 jalapenos, minced
1 c. chicken stock
2 tbsp soy sauce
cilantro, chopped

In a medium bowl, combine the 4 tbsp soy sauce, sugar, red chili paste, and cornstarch. Add pork to the marinade and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Place the noodles in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Soak 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (this part is important), then drain in a colander.

Heat oil in a skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and jalapeno and cook 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Add the pork and stir-fry until no longer pink, breaking up any chunks, about 3 minutes.

Add the noodles, chicken stock, and 2 tbsp soy sauce. Cook, tossing the noodles with two wooden spoons, until the sauce is absorbed and the pork is well distributed throughout the noodles. Serve immediately and garnish with cilantro.


Carrot Salad (Serves 6)
1 lb of carrots, grated and drained
1 heaping tbsp of ginger, finely minced
1/2 c. cilantro, finely minced
1/2 c. of peanut oil
 2 tsp of sesame oil
1/2 c. of rice vinegar
1 tsp of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
crushed cashews to garnish

Combine all the ingredients but the carrots in a bowl and whisk. Toss in with the carrots (which should be grated and drained first), and cover and put in the fridge to sit at least 2 hours (or as many as 24 hours). Garnish with crushed cashews and serve!

Megan notes that if you don't grate your finger, you're not doing it properly.

- Kristin