This spicy pork and soba noodles recipe delivers sweet, salty and crunchy in one filling dish
Time is a precious commodity, so if someone offers me a shortcut, I’m all ears.
That’s one reason I dove into “The Shortcut Cook” by Rosie Reynolds (Hardie Grant, 2021). The other was that I loved “The Kitchen Shelf,” a cookbook she wrote in 2016 with Eve O’Sullivan, which is all about building meals around pantry items and just one or two fresh ingredients. I still make the Coconut Rice With Salmon and Cilantro Sauce from the cookbook.
Reynolds, a trained chef, has a knack for offering efficient guidance that I admire. In this book, she lists essential equipment and pantry items, but it is her smattering of cooking tips — ones less experienced cooks need to hear, and experienced cooks always need to be reminded of — that had me turning page after page. A few examples:
- Gather everything you need before you start cooking. (I love this because nothing is more frustrating than realizing you need an ingredient or a tool midway through a recipe.)
- Make sure meat is “not fridge-cold,” by removing it 20 to 30 minutes before you will cook it. (I’ve done this often now, after realizing that taking the chill off makes for more even and faster cooking.)
- Keep your knives sharp. (This makes slicing and chopping faster, neater and safer.)
- Taste when you’re cooking, as long as it is safe to do so. (Sometimes my palate is different from the recipe developer’s; maybe I want more spice, less salt …)
One tip I haven’t tried yet: “For washing away stuck-on grime, use a little laundry washing powder — the detergent breaks down grease effectively and quickly.”
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Also, she throws no shade for using a microwave or supplementing with store-bought ingredients in her recipes for brunches, soups, salads, meats and fish. She devotes chapters to meat-free entrees and desserts, too.
The dish I selected from the cookbook, Spicy Pork Loin With Vegetables and Noodles, came together in less than 30 minutes. I made it once the way she has it in the book, but then made it again with a couple of changes: She recommends using instant vermicelli rice noodles, but I subbed in soba because I prefer them. I subbed in bell pepper for carrot, too, and added a bit of crushed red pepper flakes for spice.
Either kind of noodle can be boiled, rinsed with cold water, drizzled with a little oil and then refrigerated for up to two days. The pork can be cooked a couple of days ahead as well, if you like.
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The quick-as-a-flash dressing for this noodle dish is made with items including a sweet chili sauce, soy sauce and fish sauce, and finished with a splash of lime.
And another piece of advice Reynolds doles out is to consider whether a recipe ticks all the boxes you want to tick: taste, texture, appearance and serving presentation. This one does that for me. The dressing is sweet and salty, with a bit of kick from the pepper flakes I added. I love the crisp, cool cucumber and bell pepper in the same forkful of warm pork and tender noodles. The fresh mint and cilantro add springy freshness and the peanuts a bit of crunch in every bite. Next time? Maybe a little grated ginger in that dressing?
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