Shredded pork and pickled mustard greens noodle soup
Crunchy, savoury pickled mustard greens stir-fried with shredded pork and piled onto noodles in clear broth — simple, punchy and warming on a Bailu morning.
- 25 min
- Serves 2
- Boil
- Easy
Why it suits you: A balanced constitution simply needs to eat with the season. Bailu brings cooler mornings and evenings while the days stay hot, so breakfast should warm the stomach without being heating. Pickled mustard greens are pungent and warm, whetting the appetite and moving qi; lean pork nourishes yin and moistens dryness. In clear broth, it's savoury, warming and never greasy.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 10 min- 1Cut the pork into thin strips and mix with the soy sauce, cornflour and a little water; leave for 10 minutes. Soak the mustard greens for 5 minutes to draw out some salt, squeeze dry and chop.
- 2Heat the oil, fry the ginger until fragrant, then stir-fry the pork until it changes colour. Add the mustard greens and a pinch of sugar, stir-fry for 2 minutes and set aside.
- 3Bring the stock and water to the boil. Cook the noodles in a separate pan of boiling water for 1 minute until loosened, rinse briefly under cold water and divide between bowls.
- 4Pour over the hot broth, top with the pork and mustard greens, add a few strips of chilli if you like and eat while hot.
Cautions
- Pickled mustard greens are salty, so soak them first and add no extra salt; cut back if you have high blood pressure or kidney problems.
Chef's tips
- Soak and squeeze the mustard greens before frying so they stay crunchy without being too salty; a quick cold rinse gives the noodles extra bite.
The TCM view
Pickled mustard greens are pungent and warm, entering the lungs and stomach, opening the lungs, resolving phlegm, warming the middle and aiding digestion. Lean pork is sweet, salty and neutral, nourishing yin and moistening dryness; wheat noodles are sweet and neutral and support the heart and spleen; ginger warms and settles the stomach.
