The Pioneer Woman Tasty Kitchen
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Ants Climbing a Tree

5.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)1 vote, average: 5.00 out of 51 vote, average: 5.00 out of 51 vote, average: 5.00 out of 51 vote, average: 5.00 out of 51 vote, average: 5.00 out of 5

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Level: Easy

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Description

An old-school Sichuan dish that has some kick to it. Stir-fried vermicelli and a little ground meat sauce, harking from the days when meat was expensive and only eaten rarely in small quantities.

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
  • 1 Tablespoon Water
  • ¼ pounds Ground Pork (or Beef)
  • 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
  • 3 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
  • 3 Tablespoons Rice Wine
  • 2 bunches Vermicelli (Enough For 6 Servings)
  • 2 Tablespoons Garlic, Minced
  • 2 Tablespoons Ginger, Minced
  • 1 stalk Green Onion, Minced
  • Soy Sauce, to taste
  • Chili Garlic Sauce, To Taste

Preparation

1. Mix cornstarch and water into a slurry, then mix the meat, cornstarch slurry, soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine together (in all honesty, I guesstimated on the amounts; mix as you wish). Let marinate for about 30 minutes.
2. Soak the vermicelli in warm water until softened.
3. While the meat is marinating and the vermicelli is soaking, mince the garlic, ginger, and green onion (also guesstimated amounts).
4. Saute the garlic and ginger in some oil on high, then add the meat mixture and green onion. As it cooks, break the meat up into very small pieces with your spatula. When the meat is mostly cooked, add the vermicelli and turn heat down to medium-low.
5. Stirring, add small amounts of soaking water continuously to the pan to keep the vermicelli from sticking, until done (about two minutes). Seasoning with soy sauce and chili garlic sauce to taste by mixing with the water (this keeps the sauces from staying in only one portion of the noodles).
6. When done, the vermicelli (tree) should be bouncy, and the small bits of pork (ants) should cling to the noodles.

4 Comments

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delaneysmom on 11.20.2010

Made this for dinner tonight. It’s was awesome-the whole family ate and loved it (I have a 2 and a 5 year old). Better yet, it only cost $5 for the ingredients I didn’t have and I still have enough pork to make it again!

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kim4wsl on 11.18.2010

This looks wonderful! I will have to fix this over the weekend. I can’t wait!!!

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Global Table Adventure on 11.18.2010

This looks incredible… drool :)

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normajeanr on 11.18.2010

Oh my gosh! My husband’s boss has an annual summer party and everyone waits for the “ants” to be served–this is the dish! Theirs has a real, take your breath away heat to it, is that from the chili garlic sauce?

One Review

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amberfitz on 1.18.2011

My family loves this recipe. It’s fast, easy and cheap. Thanks!

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