Surrounded by a variety of artfully arranged ingredients and topped off with a spicy mustard-garlic sauce, this platter of pork and noodles is easy to make but takes some time to prepare—most of it chopping. It’s a good one to serve at a party when you want to impress. Bring out your gorgeous platter and let your guests admire it, then dress and toss the ingredients to mingle their flavors. A special type of mung bean starch noodles, yangjangpi noodles come in large sheets. When cooked, they become clear and shiny and have a slightly chewy, gelatinous texture. You tear them into pieces once they’re cooked so they’ll be easy to eat. Have a baking sheet handy, so you can make piles of the elements for this dish as you prepare them. You can prepare all of the ingredients hours ahead of time and refrigerate if you need to, with the exception of the noodles.
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS:
- 5 ounces pork tenderloin, cut into 3-inch-long matchsticks (about 1½ cups)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon minced peeled ginger
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon potato starch or cornstarch
- 8 large shrimp, in the shell
- 8 ounces fresh or frozen cleaned squid bodies, thawed if frozen, skinned
- 3 ounces (3 or 4 sheets) yangjangpi noodles
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 7 white button mushrooms, sliced
- ½ medium onion, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1 English cucumber, cut into very thin (1/16-inch) 3-inch-long matchsticks
- 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin matchsticks
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin matchsticks
- Korean Egg Garnish, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- Mustard and Garlic Sauce
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Combine the pork strips, garlic, ginger, 1 teaspoon of the soy sauce, and the black pepper in a small bowl. Mix well, add the potato starch, and mix again. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the remaining
ingredients. - Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the shrimp in the boiling water until pink and opaque throughout, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; keep the water hot. Shell the shrimp, then cut them lengthwise in half down the back. Remove the vein with your fingers. Transfer to a bowl.
- Slice open the squid bodies so they lie flat on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to score each piece of squid diagonally from right to left. Turn the bodies around and then score again, to create a diamond pattern. Cut the squid into 2½-x-½-inch strips.
- Bring the water back to a boil and cook the squid just until it turns opaque, a few minutes; do not overcook. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl. Keep the water at a boil.
- Add the noodles to the boiling water, stirring with a wooden spoon so they don’t stick to each other. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander.
- Tear the noodles into strips that will be easy to eat and put them in a bowl. Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon soy sauce, the salt, sugar, vinegar, and sesame oil.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of the vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until tender, a few minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
- Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and onion and cook, stirring, until the pork is fully cooked, about 5 minutes. Add the oyster sauce and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Arrange the shrimp, squid, cucumber, mushrooms, bell peppers, and egg garnish on a large platter, leaving a space in the center. Place the noodles in the center and top with the pork mixture. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
- Immediately bring the platter to the table. In front of your guests, pour on the Mustard and Garlic sauce and mix with tongs or a large spoon, then serve. Prepare small plates for each of your guests.
