螞蟻上樹 (Ma Yi Shang Shu)

“Ants climbing a tree” is a simple Sichuan noodle dish which, despite its name, contains no ants. The name is derived from the bits of ground pork and scallions in the stir fry, which look (if you squint) like ants and leaves adorning a log. It’s a quick and easy dish to put together at home!

Ingredients

½ lb Taiwanese minced pork
6 oz bean thread vermicelli
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 in ginger, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
2 scallions, chopped
Vegetable oil

This dish calls for translucent noodles made from mung bean starch [1]. Infuriatingly, there is no standard English translation for the noodles we need for this dish. They can be called bean thread vermicelli, mung bean noodles, cellophane noodles, glass noodles, or other combinations of similar words. To make things even more confusing, multiple types of noodles, which unhelpfully all look pretty similar, get labeled with similar words (vermicelli, cellophane noodles, and glass noodles). To find the right noodles in your local Asian supermarket, you are best off looking for the Chinese characters for “fen si” (粉絲) or “dong fen” (冬粉). Another strategy is to look for the ingredients list, which will be printed in English. If you find thin, white noodles made of mung bean starch, you’ve probably got the right ones.

Soak the vermicelli in hot water for 15 minutes, or until they become soft and completely translucent. Drain the noodles thoroughly and set aside. This recipe takes the additional shortcut of using cooked Taiwanese minced pork. I always keep some of this pork in the freezer, but if you don’t have any on hand, make a half batch of our recipe while our noodles soak.

Heat about 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat. When the oil is up to temperature, add the minced garlic, minced ginger, and chopped scallion whites to the pan. Fry the aromatics for about 30 seconds or until they are fragrant. Then add the cooked minced pork to the pan. Fry the pork with the aromatics, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes or until the pork is warmed through and has rendered some of its fat.

Then add the vermicelli noodles to the pan, together with the soy sauce and sugar. Toss the ingredients together and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Keep the vermicelli noodles moving, otherwise they can stick to the pan. The vermicelli will absorb most of the liquids in the pan, becoming incredibly flavorful. Once the vermicelli is warmed through, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the scallion greens and sesame oil, then serve.

Substitutions

If you can’t find bean thread vermicelli, other thin glass noodles made of potato starch or tapioca starch can be used as substitutes. However, rice vermicelli is not a substitute for bean thread vermicelli—it has a very different texture when cooked.

If you’d like to make a spicy version of this dish, add some spicy bean paste, dried chilis, or garlic chili sauce. If you’d like to add a slight sour note, stir in a dark rice vinegar along with the sesame oil. XO sauce is also a great addition to this dish.

[1] In Chinese, mung beans are called 綠豆 (“lu dou”), which translates directly to “green bean.” The English name for the legume, “mung,” is derived from the Hindi word for the bean, मूंग ("moong"), which is itself from the Sanskrit मुद्ग ("mudga").

Recipe

Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 5 min Total Time: 20 min
(+10 min inactive)

Difficulty: 1/5

Heat Sources: 1 burner

Equipment: pan

Servings: 4

Ingredients

½ lb Taiwanese minced pork
6 oz bean thread vermicelli
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 in ginger, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
2 scallions, chopped
Vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Rehydrate the bean thread vermicelli by soaking them in hot water for 15 minutes. Then drain the noodles and set aside.

2. Heat about 1 tsp vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, ginger, and chopped scallion whites to the pan and fry for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.

3. Then add the cooked minced pork to the pan and fry, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes.

4. Add the vermicelli, soy sauce, and sugar to the pan, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.

5. Add the scallion greens and sesame oil to the pan, stir well, and serve.