Braised Cellophane Noodles

Not an inspiring name, I know, but try it and you'll see I'm onto something. This dish has a thousand possible variations, and it's a great way to use up mismatched vegetables from your garden. We have been making it with calcium broth and the whole family seems to like it. 

It's been hard to post this because every time I make it I vary the ingredients, but then I realized that was the beauty of it. Apart from the ingredients you see below, I have also made this with tofu, dried salted shrimp, bamboo shoots, carrots, onion... Pretty much anything that needed to be eaten. I have also made this with dashi instead of chicken or beef stock, and I've seasoned it with equal parts soy sauce and sugar and left out the ten spice powder and sesame oil. 

Boneless pork chops and a hunk of ginger.

Napa cabbage, some weird Chinese vegetable, a head of broccoli, scallions, one potato, and garlic.

Mushrooms and bean sprouts.

Ingredients:
2 boneless pork chops cut  into bite-size pieces
oil
garlic, minced
ginger, minced
scallions, sliced
assorted vegetables cut into bite-size pieces
2-4 cups broth
2 bundles cellophane noodles
soy sauce
Chinese Five Spice or (even better!) Ten Spice
sesame oil

Directions:

1. Soak the cellophane noodles in hot water until they soften. They will appear to have absorbed all the water. Cut them with a pair of scissors into two and three inch lengths. They are so long you can choke on them otherwise. 

2. In a large pan, Saute the garlic, chopped scallion, ginger, and meat. Sprinkle on some Chinese Five Spice or homemade Ten Spice, and just a little bit of salt. Stir and fry until the meat is browned. 

3. Add in the soaked noodles and all the vegetables except maybe the bean sprouts which barely need to cook. When it has all heated up, ladle in a few cups of broth. You can make this as thick or as brothy as you like. Cover it and let it steam. 

4. Season it to taste with soy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil.