Peanut Butter Pork Noodles

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp neutral-flavoured oil (peanut oil)
• 150g pork mince
• Sea salt, to taste
• 3 Spring onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 heaped tbsp peanut butter
• ¼ cup (60ml) soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 lime, juice
• 2 tsp chilli crisp
• 1 packet, soft udon noodles

Directions

1. Prep
2. Place a medium pot half filled with lightly salted water onto the boil.
3. Finely slice the spring onions. Keep the white and green parts separate and set both aside.
4. Peel, crush and finely chop the garlic then set aside.
5. The Sauce
6. Heat a medium saucier over high heat. Add the oil and let it heat for 30 seconds. Add the pork mince, breaking it apart with a wooden spatula once it hits the pan. Spread it into a single layer and season with a pinch of salt.
7. Sear for 4-5 minutes until golden brown on all sides.
8. Add the sliced spring onion whites and garlic then stir through the pork.
9. Add the peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar and lime juice. Use the spatula to break up the peanut butter and emulsify it into the sauce. Add 2-3 tbsp of boiling water from the noodle pot and continue cooking for a further 2-3 minutes. At this stage you want the sauce to be slightly looser than you want the final dish, since the noodles will absorb some of the liquid.
10. Add in the chilli crisp, stir and turn the element off.
11. Cook noodles and combine
12. Add the packet of udon to the boiling water and cook until tender. Use tongs or chopsticks to stir the noodles while boiling to prevent clumping (for fresh noodles 1-3 minutes or dried 9-10 minutes).
13. Use tongs to carefully remove the udon noodles from the boiling water and transfer them into the sauce pan. Add the sliced spring onion greens and toss the noodles through the peanut butter sauce.
14. If the sauce feels too thick, add another splash of the noodle water. It should be glossy and just coat the noodles. Serve immediately.