Colorful XO noodles with lean bacon and longan fruits

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 300 g lean pork belly, skin and fat removed
• 2 tbsp XO sauce
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp egg white
• 30 g onion(s), red, small
• 10 g garlic clove(s)
• 15 g ginger
• 40 g white beer radish(s)
• 1 small chili pepper(s), green
• 30 g carrot(s)
• 1 pepper, red, long, mild to medium hot
• 0.3 bell pepper(s), red
• 3 small tomatoes
• 4 leaves Pak Choi, medium-sized
• 100 g longan fruits (can)
• e.g. longan fruits, fresh (if available)
• n. B. Pepper
• e.g. tomato(s), smaller
• n. B. flowers and leaves
• 20 g celery stalks, chopped, frozen
• 20 g carrot(s)
• 1 Pepper, red, long, mild
• 2 tbsp butter
• 320 g water
• 8 g broth powder (mushroom bouillon, granules)
• 3 tbsp XO sauce
• 120 g Chinese egg noodles, round, dried
• 20 g fruit juice, collected (longan juice)
• 30 g cooking water (from the pasta)
• 2 tbsp XO sauce
• ½ tsp tapioca flour
• 2 tbsp rice wine, dark, spicy-mild
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp sesame oil, dark

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 4 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 5 hours

A spicy main course and a sweet temptation. Recipe from Szechuan, China.

Cut the pork belly (thawed if frozen) across the grain into 6 mm thick slices using a bread and sausage slicer. Cut the slices crosswise into thirds. Mix a marinade from XO sauce, baking powder, and egg white and marinate the meat slices in it for 4 hours at room temperature, stirring occasionally. Strain and drain well before use. For the vegetables, peel the onions, garlic cloves, and ginger and chop into small pieces. Coarsely grate the washed and peeled beer radish. Wash the chili pepper, carrot, chili pepper, bell pepper, tomatoes, and pak choi. Cut the chili pepper crosswise into thin slices, leaving the seeds and discarding the stem. Cut the top off the peeled carrot and slice it into 4 mm thick pieces from the top. Cut the bell pepper diagonally into approximately 4 mm wide rings and remove the seeds. Cut out one segment of the bell pepper, remove the seeds, and remove the white parts. Cut lengthwise into 8 mm wide strips and then cut these into 3 cm lengths. Remove the stems from the tomatoes, skin them, quarter them, and remove the green and white stem base and seeds. Use only flawless leaves from the pak choi. Trim about 2 cm off the stem base and cut the white part crosswise into approx. 2 cm wide pieces. Quarter the green part lengthwise and cut it crosswise into approx. 4 cm wide pieces. Keep the green and white parts separate. To garnish, drain the canned longan fruits well, then halve them lengthwise and set aside. For the topping, arrange the longan fruits, peppers, tomatoes, blossoms and leaves on the dining table as desired. For the noodles, weigh the celery stalks. Cut the peeled carrot into small cubes. Halve the washed peppers lengthwise, remove the seeds and cut into small pieces. Melt the butter in a casserole dish. Add the celery stalks, diced carrots, and pepperoni pieces and sauté. Deglaze with the water, add the mushroom stock and XO sauce. Once the water boils, add the noodles and cook al dente according to the package instructions. Strain, transfer the noodles to 2 serving bowls, and keep warm. Use the stock for the sauce. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and keep ready. Heat 2 tablespoons of the sunflower oil and 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil in a wok until well combined. Add the meat pieces and stir-fry for 90 seconds. Remove from the wok with a slotted spoon, drain briefly over the wok, and keep warm. Add the remaining oil to the wok and heat slightly lower. Add the onions, garlic cloves, ginger, and chili, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the beer radish, carrot, pepperoni, bell pepper, and the white parts of the pak choi, and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and the green parts of the bok choy. Stir-fry briefly, then deglaze with the sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes. Then stir in the meat pieces. Immediately transfer the stir-fry mixture to two additional serving bowls. Garnish with the longan fruits, serve with the noodles, and enjoy. A cold beer goes well with it. Note: The image above shows fresh longan fruits. They taste slightly better than lychees.