Stir-fried udon with napa cabbage, wood-ear and pork
Thick udon stir-fried with sweet napa cabbage, crunchy wood-ear fungus and pork, seasoned simply with soy sauce — no oyster sauce, ready in ten minutes.
- 25 min
- Serves 2
- Stir-fry
- Easy
Why it suits you: Allergy-prone types do best avoiding common triggers such as oyster sauce, dried shrimp and peanut oil at breakfast. Sweet napa cabbage and crunchy wood-ear are seasoned only with soy sauce, so a hot plate of udon is ready in ten minutes with peace of mind.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 10 min- 1The night before, soak the wood-ear and cut it into strips. Marinate the pork with a little of the light soy sauce and the cornflour and refrigerate.
- 2Blanch the udon in boiling water for 30 seconds to loosen, then drain well.
- 3Heat the oil in a wok, fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant, add the pork and stir-fry until it changes colour. Remove.
- 4Add the cabbage and wood-ear to the wok and stir-fry for 2 minutes until soft. Return the pork, add the udon, the rest of the light soy, the dark soy and sugar, and toss for 1–2 minutes.
Cautions
- Check the label on ready-made udon — some seasoning sachets contain shrimp or seafood extract, so leave them out.
Chef's tips
- Stir-fry the udon as soon as it's blanched; if it sits, it clumps together.
The TCM view
Napa cabbage is sweet and neutral, nourishing the stomach, generating fluids and easing the bowels; wood-ear is sweet and neutral, supporting qi and blood and moistening dryness; pork is sweet, salty and neutral, nourishing yin; ginger is pungent and warm and settles the stomach. Mild and balanced, and free of oyster sauce and seafood, it lowers the chance of a reaction.
