Stir-fried Noodles with Pork Meatballs and Vegetables
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I cooked with what food supplies we had so, I made these Stir-Fried Pork Meatballs with Beef and Vegetables. Our Filipino grandparents and parents taught us to make use of every piece of food we have. So, I transformed assorted ingredients from the freezer and refrigerator to make this irresistible noodle dish.
With the lockdowns, our food-shopping trips have been limited. We only buy what’s needed and make sure we have enough till the next trip so we don’t have to keep running to the grocery store – which nowadays, is a huge undertaking with masks, gloves and all.
Then there are food shortages now here in America. We’re not finding a lot of our favorite brands, preferred meat cuts, fish and seafood available. This is where a great Asian noodle dish comes in. I admit Asian and Filipino dishes need time for prep work. There’s a lot of chopping, and slicing. But in this particular dish, there’s also a little of everything to please most everyone’s palate at the table.
I cooked the juicy pork meatballs, tender beef strips, stir-fried together with crisp sugar snow peas and other vegetables. The silky, transparent noodles, or what we call sotanghon in the Philippines, were the perfect addition to complete the dish.
I haven’t cooked this entree in a while. It was featured on the Quirk DIY blog a few years ago. I took out the recipe from my earlier blog posts. After cooking this all-in-one noodle dish again, the familiar salty aromas of the steam floated around. It was a reminder that we had good food on the table, a roof over our heads, our family was safe and okay. In my heart, I knew we had all we needed right now.
Stir-fried Noodles with Pork Meatballs and Vegetables
Equipment
- Large skillet or wok : 12 to 14 inches in diameter
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- ½ pound ground pork
- 2 Tablespoons toyo (soy sauce)
- 1 whole egg
- ½ cup plain bread crumbs
For Stir-fry:
- 100 gm (3.5) sotanghon (Chinese vermicelli transparent noodles) pre-soaked for 25 minutes; drained
- 6 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 whole onion sliced
- ¼ pound beef sirloin or skirt steak sliced in 2-inch strips
- 1 cup broth
- ¼ cup oyster sauce
- 1 whole medium-sized carrot peeled, sliced; around 1 cup
- 2 cups sugar snap peas washed, ends trimmed, strings removed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 stalk scallions chopped, for garnish
- 1 whole fresh lemon use the juice to sprinkle before serving
Instructions
To make the meatballs:
- In a large bowl, combine the ingredients: Ground pork, toyo (soy sauce), egg, bread crumbs. Mix well.Shape into meatballs, about 1-inch in diameter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up. Set aside.
To prepare the noodles:
- In a bowl filled with water, pre-soak the sotanghon (Chinese vermicelli) noodles in water that's room temperature. Soak for 25 minutes, but not longer.Then drain the water and set the noodles aside.
To pan-fry meatballs:
- In a large skillet or wok, over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil. Place the round-shaped meatballs in the skillet. Pan fry for 17 to 20 minutes till thoroughly cooked. Turn the meatballs occasionally for even browning.When cooked, removed the meatballs from the skillet, drain on paper towels or parchment paper to remove excess oil. Set the meatballs aside.
To stir-fry:
- Using the same skillet or wok, over medium high heat, saute the garlic and onions. Cook for about 2 minutes till onions are translucent.Add the beef strips to the skillet. Stir fry and cook for 3 minutes.Pour the broth and the oyster sauce. Blend well.Return the cooked pork meatballs to the skillet. Mix ingredients gently.Add the carrots. As the broth simmers and bubbles, add the snow peas. Continue cooking for 2 minutes more.Lastly, add the pre-soaked sotanghon (cellophane) noodles to the dish. Season with salt and black pepper powder.Garnish with chopped scallions. Serve warm. Before serving, sprinkle the juice of the lemon all over the dish.
Cook's comments:
- Oyster sauce is a common ingredient in Chinese and Asian dishes. Filipino stir-fries use a lot of oyster sauce. It is bottled and sold in Asian groceries or online sources.Oyster sauce contains soy sauce, oyster extracts, cornstarch, sugar and salt. It provides a thick, rich, salty-sweet flavor.
Nutrition
Notes on Nutrition: The nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.
Did you like this recipe?I have more Filipino Instant Pot recipes in my newest cookbook Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Traditional Philippine Cooking in A Multicooker Pot by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino. I also have more classic recipes inspired by my mother’s cooking in my popular cookbook: My Mother’s Philippine Recipes. If you’re learning how to cook Filipino food or a fan of Philippine cuisine, buy my cookbooks and books on Amazon.com sold worldwide in paperback and Kindle format.
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