We are cooking today for #AutumnJubilee2020 with a wonderful Oriental inspired recipe that goes together easily and fast. The whole idea behind Cookish, the new cookbook from Milk Street, is simple ingredients that are just thrown together.
From the publisher – “These recipes, most with six or fewer ingredients (other than oil, salt, and pepper), make it easy to be a great cook — the kind who can walk into a kitchen and throw together dinner in no time. In each of these recipes, big flavors and simple techniques transform pantry staples, common proteins, or centerpiece vegetables into a delicious meal. And each intuitive recipe is a road map for other mix-and-match meals, which can come together in minutes from whatever’s in the fridge.”
So, that is what I did. This recipe calls for cucumber, which I do not like, however, substitutions are not only allowed, but encouraged. I also had regular egg noodles instead of udon, but that was fine, too. This recipe has more ingredients as it is from the Cookish column in the Milk Street Magazine, but don’t let that scare you, it is easy. So assemble your mis-en-place with everything you need. The Black Bean and Garlic sauce is found in the oriental section at your grocery store. It has a wonderful umami flavor you should really try.
Start with the noodles as you need some of the cooking liquid for the meat. Don’t do this at the same time as the meat, as you will get stuck waiting for the noodles to finish so you have the pasta water. (Ask me how I know, LOL!!) In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until tender, 5 to 6 minutes.
Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the noodles and rinse under cool water until cold. Drain well, then set aside in the colander.
While the noodles cook, you can chop your vegetables. You can also measure and mix the black bean garlic sauce with the hoisin and soy sauce that are added at the same time. If you don’t have hoisin sauce, substitute 1-1/2 teaspoons each of creamy peanut butter and molasses. That’s what I used for the hoisin.
In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the mushrooms and sauté until softened and the bits clinging to the bottom of the pan begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
Add the pork and cook until crispy and caramelized, about 6 minutes. Stir in the minced scallions, garlic and pepper flakes, then cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the sherry (I used bourbon as I can’t find a small bottle of good sherry, but you could also use apple cider) and cook, scraping the pan, until evaporated. Stir in the reserved cooking water, black bean sauce, hoisin (or your substitute) and soy sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large bits of pork, until the sauce has the consistency of thin gravy, 4 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in 2 tablespoons of the vinegar. Don’t skip this, it won’t make the dish taste vinegary, it brightens the flavor as a whole.
Divide the noodles among serving bowls, then spoon the sauce over them. Top with sliced scallion greens and cucumber. Or do as I did, and top with broccoli. You could also use whatever is green in your refrigerator, like cabbage.
Black Bean Noodles With Pork And Mushrooms
12 ounces dried wide, thick wheat noodles (such as udon)
2 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil
8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and finely chopped
12 ounces ground pork
4 scallions, white and light green parts minced, dark green tops thinly sliced
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup dry sherry
3 tablespoons black bean garlic sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (or equal parts peanut butter and molasses)
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar, divided
½ English cucumber, thinly sliced on the diagonal, then cut into matchsticks
In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the noodles and rinse under cool water until cold. Drain well, then set aside in the colander.
In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the mushrooms and sauté until softened and the bits clinging to the bottom of the pan begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the pork and cook until crispy and caramelized, about 6 minutes. Stir in the minced scallions, garlic and pepper flakes, then cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sherry and cook, scraping
the pan, until evaporated. Stir in the reserved cooking water, black bean sauce, hoisin and soy sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large bits of pork, until the sauce has the consistency of thin gravy, 4 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in 2 tablespoons of the vinegar. While the sauce simmers, season the cucumbers with the remaining 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar. Divide the noodles among serving bowls, then spoon the sauce over them. Top with sliced scallion greens and cucumber.
Download this recipe – Black Bean Noodles with Pork and Mushrooms
Enter to win a copy of Cookish from Milk Street. Just leave a comment on this post, then click on the Rafflecopter icon to enter. US shipping only. International entries will win two of my patterns if drawn before a US winner.
To my Canadian readers, I hope you are cooking up a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!
Do you enjoy cooking with simple ingredients and fast recipes? Do you like to try new recipes? Have you tried something new recently?
From My Carolina Home 
Love trying new recipes.
I like trying new recipes. It is fun to use up what I have on hand.
Looks delicious
Always looking for ways to use up ingredients on hand, the Internet makes it easy to find recipes but there is no substitute for our tried and true cookbooks. Thanks for the receipts.
I never heard of peanut butter and molasses as a substitute for hoisin sauce. Love the recipes from the show and enjoy more of the different ethnic light worldwide recipes. Your post made me want to try the recipe.
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to give it a try
Quick, simple recipes are wonderful on busy days when I still want to cook, but don’t have a lot of time!
Carole, this looks delicious. Thank you for sharing!
YUM! This looks good. Am always trying new recipes. Just tried a new recipe with andouille sausage and pasta. https://damndelicious.net/2013/12/09/one-pot-andouille-sausage-skillet-pasta/print/
My husband took on the task of cooking decades ago when the choice was to either cook or clean up and he detested washing dishes. So, I seldom try a new recipe. I am the dessert maker and made your Pumpkin Toffee dessert several times with great success.
On another note, I noticed that your new book review is The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. It was recommended to me by quilting friend. The book was good up until the ending which seemed abrupt to me. Maybe a sequel could fill in some of the missing years. I would read that, too.
Connie
My this sure looks good….and not the type of cooking I normally do…..should be fun to try.
That looks yummy. I like your instructions.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It sounds like something I could get past the hubby if I diced the mushrooms a bit more. (Oh heck, if he pushes mushrooms to the side of his plate, I fork them onto mine.) I just visited Milk Street on FB and watched a video on salmon foil packets. That is something I will try soon. I eat a lot of salmon, and beyond grilling or pan searing I like to find other ways to prepare it. 🙂
Looks yummy!
Like that you can substitute ingredients with the Milk Street approach! Enjoying your Autumn Jubilee posts!
Nice info Carole thanks for sharing all you do. Love your Autumn jubilee celebrations.
Simple and fast is the way to go!! Sounds like a great cookbook with 6 or less ingredients!
With fewer trips to the store these days, our meals have become very simple. I like to try new things when I have the energy and ingredients! This dish looks delicious. Thanks!
Really looks tasty! I like your process photos and your personal hints at making the recipe a success! Will have to try asap. I have tried lots of your other recipes.
This looks really good! Can’t wait to try it!
This looks really good. I am going to need to try this. I have tried several of your recipes and you usually don’t steer us wrong.
Thanks, Carole! Your tips for cooking are always helpful. I’m eating meals from your recipes often. This new book looks kind of right up my alley. I have actually been watching some cooking shows and trying some new things. “Cookish” would definitely describe my style 🙂
Yum! I am constantly trying new recipes and i have always cooked Cookish-ly. Between food sensitivities and personal dislikes, cooking is more challenging for us but this recipe would work with your changes. I also detest cucumber. (okay I might add a few other changes because that’s me)
looks very delish…unfortunately my low sodium restriction and asian food do not mix at all…it’s one thing i miss a lot…
Thanks for sharing your take on this recipe. It sounds fantastic and it is nice to see what changes you made. It’s nice to be able to use what you have on hand sometimes, instead of having to buy a jar of something that you will only use once. Loved the hint about cooking the pasta first. I can’t tell you how many times I have wait for that pasta to finish cooking…or even worse, forgot to reserve some of the water! The cookbook sounds fantastic so thanks for the giveaway.
Tried the Orange pumpkin bread now I’ll have to try this one
I am always on the hunt for new, easy, healthy recipes. I rarely make the same dish twice, unless it’s really, seriously good! I’d love to try this cookbook…sounds like a good one!
duchick at gmail dot com
Will certainly try this recipe. It looks delicious
I have a great husband who will try anything. He’s been so good to try new things during this pandemic as I’ve done much more interesting cooking lately. Thanks
Sounds delicious. We e been followers of Christopher Kimball for years through his Cooks magazines, cookbooks and other publications.
Wow! Kinda can’t go wrong with all the possible approved substitutions! Gotta try this – grocery shopping on my list today!
This looks wonderful…..and I’m going to try it !!!!!
That looks good! I’m cooking for just me these days, so simple recipes are all that I do.
I only cook with quick easy recipes. I like to try new recipes. The most recipe was a lemon pepper instant pot chicken. Juicy tender delicious. I look forward to trying the recipe you shared.
Very tasty sounding recipe. We just ended our Asian week of dinners though so will save this for another time. Nice that he gives suggestions for replacements. I’ve always leaned toward doing that – just because I didn’t know any better. The replacement m husband teased me about forever was surrounding chicken with yogurt instead of curry. This is yet another reason to make it back to Boston – what fun it would be to take cooking classes on Milk Street!
That looks delicious! I enjoy watching Milk Street on my local PBS station.
Spent the day making Glamour Shots of quilts for online auction – GORGEOUS tree colors here in suburban Chicago. Like the trees are doing their best to cheer us up. And this looks like the perfect meal for today. Thanks for the reminder about the pasta water. Yep I forget so often.
Hello Carole, I enjoy trying new recipes but I have a husband who does not enjoy trying new dishes. Sometimes, I just go ahead and give a new recipe a try because it sounds so delicious. Like the one that you are presenting today, not only does it sound delicious, you have presented it to look delicious also. We were lucky enough to find a great sale on Fresh Salmon yesterday and had Baked Salmon for dinner last night and it was worth every penny!! Thank you for sharing all of your fantastic recipes. Have a marvelous day!!
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (or equal parts peanut butter and molasses) just blew my mind! I often have a recipe that calls for hoisin sauce and I don’t have it on hand. Thanks!
Yes, I enjoy simple and fast recipes. I also like more involved ones when I have the time to make them. Lately we’ve been trying vegetarian recipes for some variety in our meals. A recent favorite is black bean and sweet potato enchiladas.
Oh, that sounds so yummy! Making me hungry. Thanks for sharing the Giveaway
That sounds interesting. There are NEVER mushrooms in my house, so I would skip that and I would use an actual hoisin or plum sauce, along with apple cider vinegar, and I think this would be a hit with the broccoli. The boys will try most things. =)
That looks like a perfect quick dish for Autumn dinners!
So happy to be doing the autumn decorating with the past years projects we have done .
Thanks to you.
interesting recipe
I am so impressed with a substitute of broccoli for cucumber, and it works. Never would have thought of that. Kudos.
Sounds delicious! 😋
Always loved Chris Kimball’s cooking advice on America’s Test Kitchen so definitely have to try this one. Sounds like my kind of cook book!
That cookbook sounds ideal to me. I enjoy cooking a delicious meal in very little time! Gives me more time for sewing & crafts. Thanks for bringing this cookbook to my attention.
I just looked at a preview of this cookbook and it looks like it is full of fun recipes . . .different ingredients combined for unique flavors. Always fun to try something new in the kitchen!
I tired of my standby recipes and have shunned eat in options during the pandemic. I discovered that I could browse Hello Fresh recipes online and download them so I have been trying some of their ideas.
I do love cooking with simple ingredients. I use whatever I have on hand. I like to substitute because I may not have a particular ingredient. For dinners, I mostly just “wing it”. However, baking, I follow the ingredients.
Oh my goodness! This sounds DELICIOUS!!!
I’m eager to try this recipe. Any recipe with only a few ingredients makes my day!
Looks wonderful. I love Black Bean Sauce.
Looks delicious! I like trying new recipes and I like fast and simple ones with basic ingredients.