Stir-Fried Pork and Shiitake Noodles
Stir-Fried Pork and Shiitake Noodles is a sweet and spicy Korean-inspired dish, a kind of Asian bolognese. Made with dried shiitake mushrooms, pork, ginger, garlic and the sensational Gochujang paste served on udon noodles.
Did you know that dried shiitake mushrooms have a much more umami-enhanced taste than their fresh version? This dish is an explosion of umami, spicy, and sweetness all at once, thanks to the Korean secret sauce, Gochujang, and the dried shiitake mushrooms! It’s a straightforward dish to pull off on a weekday and so flavorful that this Stir-Fried Pork and Shiitake Noodles will become a favourite of the family.
Umami Explosion
As you may already know, umami is the fifth flavour and shiitake mushrooms, especially dried ones, are filled with it! It’s a well-known secret that Asian cuisines, whether Japanese, Chinese, Korean or Vietnamese, are bursting with this taste! It’s also known as monosodium de glutamate, and this exceptional savoury taste hides naturally in many common foods like tomato, parmesan, and meats. However, it is incredibly potent in dried shiitake mushrooms. So, if you dig a deep umami flavour, this is the dish for you!
Gochujang Paste
The other highlight of this recipe is this fantastic sweet and spicy Gochujang paste made from fermented mild chillies, glutinous rice, and soybeans. It is a lovely, savoury, and spicy red paste common in Korean cuisine. The spice level will change depending on the brand, but it’s generally not spicier than Sriracha, so it has a relatively low heat level. I’ve used two tablespoons for this particular recipe, but add one if you fear the kids will find it too hot.
Preparing the Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
The rehydrating instructions are usually on the package: soak for 2 to 24 hours. Soaking super long is mainly for the stem. It’s recommended to cut off the stem of this type of mushroom because it’s tough and chewy. You can recycle them and freeze them for your next homemade broth. You will need to blend them up into fine pieces with the help of a food processor to hide them so the kids don’t fuss over the texture.
Tips and Tricks
Here are other tricks to nail those dried shiitake mushrooms:
- Buy them whole, not pre-cut, which can affect the taste and texture of the mushrooms.
- Rehydrate in tempered or cold water, not warm. This helps create the umami, Guanylates or flavour. It is best to store in the fridge at 10°C.
- Keep the water for later use; it makes a fantastic broth or dashi, perfect for replacing the frozen broth ball from this recipe. Before conservation, filter the residues with cheesecloth or a fine-meshed sieve.
- Add a bit of weight, such as a plate or something else, to the mushrooms to ensure they are completely soaked and absorb water evenly.
The Noodles
For the base of this dish, thick, neutral-tasting Udon noodles were used to absorb all the juices; any noodle type would work fine. A simple bed of rice would also work great with this dish. Here are a few alternatives to udon noodles to try with this Stir-Fried Pork and Shiitake Noodles:
- Soba, made of buckwheat, would be great, giving an earthier taste to the dish.
- Rice Noodles are a fun alternative to wheat noodles. Slightly lighter, too.
- Egg Noodles are another type of thick noodle to serve with any stir-fry.
- Simple Spaghetti works, too, if you can’t find Asian noodles or don’t want to make a fuss.
Dried Shiitake Mushroom and Pork Stir-fry
Equipment
- wok or skillet
Ingredients
Udon Noodles
- 750 g dried udon noodles or 1000g of fresh or frozen.
Stir-Fry
- 400 g ground pork
- 60 g dried shiitake mushrooms
- 50 ml chicken broth or the water from the rehydrated mushrooms.
- 30 ml rice vinegar
- 30 ml soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves chopped finely
- 2 tbsp Gochujang paste or 1 if you want it softer
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp ginger chopped finely
Topping
- 2 scallions chopped finely
Instructions
- Start by rehydrating the shiitake mushrooms in a water bowl following the instructions.
- Prepare the udon noodles following the package instructions.
- Cut the stems off the mushrooms and blend the mushrooms with the garlic until minced.
- Add the pork, mushrooms, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, cornstarch, salt and pepper to a large bowl, mix, and reserve.
- Bring a wok to high heat, add cooking oil (sunflower or vegetal), and cook the meat mixture for 6 minutes or until well cooked.
- Add the broth and Gochujang paste, cook for another 2-3 minutes, and serve with scallions on the udon noodles.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Did You Make This Recipe?
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Such a delicious weeknight dinner! It was so flavorful and easy to make. I used fresh shiitake which sped up the process as well.
Next time, try it out with the dried version; there is so much more umami!
Such an easy dinner recipe, It’s ready in record time and doesn’t skimp on the flavour. I had locally made ramen noodles on hand so I used those instead of udon noodles and it was still delicious.
Yes, whatever type of noodles is fine here! Glad you liked it!
So much flavour and so easy to make! Perfect for those busy weeknights.
Yes, it is an easy, breezy recipe indeed!