Ants climbing a tree
/Hello my loves,
Ah, what a glorious morning! My writing desk looks out over a gorgeous jumble of plants and trees, which include a brilliant pink bougainvillea, a huge jacaranda and a Christmas bush. There’s a small window of weeks each year when all three of these are in bloom at the same time, filling my view with a technicolour glory of vivid purple, whimsical pinky-red, and the aforementioned brilliant pink. We’re currently right in that window, and I'm riding high as a kite on the colour-soaked glory of it all, drinking my fill before it all turns to green for another year.
It’s been ages since I shared a recipe, so today I’m giving you my version of what I think may be one of the best-named dishes in the entire world: ants climbing a tree. I’ve been sinking deep into the world of Sichuan cuisine over the last few months, and I’ve discovered a wealth of deliciousness there. I’ve played with steamed dumplings, slippery noodles, sticky rice, fragrant pork, spicy tofu, fermented black beans, hot pickled turnips and much, much more. Once of my favourite discoveries is the very cutely-named ‘ants climbing a tree’, a delectable concoction of glass noodles, mince, spring onions and Sichuan flavours. Allow me to tell you the story of this dish, as far as I can surmise it – I’ve read varying reports on its origins, which range from ‘legend has it’ versions to its appearance in a Chinese play written sometime between 1241 and 1320. However, the essence of all the accounts, whether they have their roots in actual events or literature, or both, goes something like this:
A long time ago, in a village far, far away, a young widow was caring for her elderly, ailing mother-in-law. They were very poor, but the young lady still wanted to make something delicious for dinner (I hear you sister). She could only afford a small piece of meat, which she stretched as far as she could by cutting it up into tiny pieces, then padding it out with noodles, broth and spices. But when she served the meal, her mother-in-law mis-took the tiny pieces of meat for an unfortunate ant invasion, and wanted to know just why there were ants crawling all over her noodles! Once it was all explained, the elderly lady coined the name ‘ants climbing a tree’ – to her the noodles looked like tree branches, flecked with green spring onion ‘leaves’, and crawling with tiny pieces of mince meat masquerading as ants. The name stuck, and a culinary legend was born.
Ants climbing a tree
Ants climbing a tree is a lovely, do-able, delicious dish that’s perfect for this time of year. The weather is running quite literally hot and cold at the moment, and cooler days have seen me still in the mood for a belly-warming bowl of noodles. I like to throw in a few handfuls of spring greens along with my mince and spring onions, which I’m not sure is traditional, but works out very well. You can use any leafy green, silverbeet, cime de rapa, spinach, they’ll all work. I’ve also taken a liberty with the type of noodles I use. This dish is traditionally made with a mung bean noodle, but I make it with Korean sweet potato starch noodles (dangmyeon), because I really love them, and I almost always have them on hand. But you could make it with the more traditional mung bean noodles, or to be honest, any type of glass noodle.
I do have one very specific request, and that’s that you make your own stock for this dish. I have such a thing about store-bought stock, the boxed mid-price versions are invariably made with tortured chickens and have god knows what else in them, and the sustainably sourced bone broth end of the range is ridiculously expensive for what it is. You can make it for a tenth of the price at home, with no effort at all, and I’ve included both a quick method and a slower-cooker method below, so you have all the choice in the world.
Lastly, you will need one specialty ingredient that is readily available at Asian grocers, or online. Doubanjiang is a fermented, spicy broad bean paste that is a cornerstone of Sichuan cooking, and one of my new flavour obsessions. This is my preferred brand (note the jar is labelled ‘Toban Djan’, but this is the stuff you want - each brand seems to name theirs something slightly different, but this brand is definitely my fave). So my loves, I leave you with both a delicious Sichuan delight, and my best wishes for a beautiful weekend. I’ll be spending mine finishing the bowl of ants climbing on trees that I’m currently nomming on, and doing a spot of interior house painting - the spring urge for freshness and newness has really taken me by storm this year! Until next week my loves 💛.
Ants climbing a tree
Serves 2
Ingredients
250g beef, pork, veal or lamb mince
Vegetable oil for frying
About 2 cups chopped green leafy vege
1 tablespoon doubanjiang
1 spring onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons shao xing cooking wine
750ml chicken stock, home made if at all possible (see below)
1 teaspoon sugar
150g Korean sweet potato noodles (dangmyeon)
You will need to cook this in a large frypan or wok as the noodles will fill it up quickly.
Heat the vegetable oil in your frying pan or wok, then brown the mince on a high heat. Add the greens and fry until slightly wilted. Add the doubanjiang, garlic, ginger and spring onion, and stir fry for a minute or two, until fragrant. Add the soy sauce and shao xing, then add the stock and sugar. Bring it all to a boil, then add the noodles. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to add the noodles in batches, and press them gently into the liquid as they start to soften. Cook on a strong simmer, covered, until the noodles are plump and glassy, and the liquid is almost cooked away (about 7 minutes for dangmyeon noodles). You can remove the lid and turn the heat up at the end to cook away any extra liquid if required. Ladle into bowls and summon your inner Sichuan mother-in-law as you slurp.
Quick chicken stock
500g free range chicken wings
One medium onion, skin on, sliced
Four cloves garlic, skins on, chopped in half
Any vege ends you have lying about
Place everything in a pot and cover with 1.5 litres water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and cook on a low simmer, covered, for at least an hour, but preferably 2-4 hours. Strain and your stock is ready to use. I save the chicken meat either for my spoilt cats, or to crisp up in a little oil and use in fried rice.
Slow cooker chicken stock
I use this method to make larger batches of stock, which I then freeze in 750ml - 1litre quantities, so I always have some on hand. Cooking the stock for longer provides a richer broth, so I usually make it this way, unless I’m caught short, in which case I use the quick method above.
One free range chicken frame (carcass)
500g free range chicken wings or chicken feet
Two large handfuls onion skins, which I save in the freezer (you can substitute one large whole onion, sliced)
A head of garlic, broken into cloves, or a large handful of onion skins if you've been saving them in the freezer like I do
Any vege ends you have lying about
Put everything in your slow cooker, fill with water until the chicken is just covered, then cook on high for 12-24 hours. Strain, then use. Stock can be refrigerated for about a week, or frozen for months.
Love, Rachel xxx
