25 March 2021

Spicy Pork Loin With Rice Noodles

This recipe calls for just a few ingredients, minimal effort and not much cooking skill. It's the kind of recipe you will revisit on a busy week night when you want something super-tasty that looks great and is easy to prepare. I use sweet chilli sauce because it already packs the sweet spicy chilli flavours called for here.

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Serves

Total Time

21 Minutes Prep 10 minutes, Cook 6 minutes, plus 5 minutes resting

Ingredients

200g (7 oz) of instant vermicelli rice noodles

4 boneless pork loin chops

4 spring onions (scallions), chopped

½ cucumber, cut into matchsticks with a julienne peeler

2 carrots, cut into matchsticks with a julienne peeler

large handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves

½ juicy lime, cut into wedges, to serve

For the spicy dressing

4 tbsp of sweet chilli sauce

2 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce, or more as needed

1 1/2 tbsp of fish sauce, to taste

juice of ½ juicy lime

Method

Step 1

First, make the dressing. Mix together the sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice in a small bowl. Taste for seasoning and add a little more soy or fish sauce, as needed.

Step 2

Meanwhile, fill the kettle and put it on to boil. Put the rice noodles in a large bowl and pour over enough boiling water to completely submerge the noodles. Leave to stand for 3 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold running water, then drain again. Toss the noodles with half of the dressing.

Step 3

Heat a griddle pan over a high heat. Cook the chops for 2–3 minutes on each side (depending on their thickness). Transfer to a plate, spoon over a little of the dressing and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

Step 4

Add the remaining ingredients (except the peanuts and lime wedges) to the noodles and toss to combine. Thinly slice the griddled pork and add to the noodles, along with any resting juices and the remaining dressing. Serve immediately, scattered with the peanuts and with the lime wedges on the side.

Cook's Tip: You can cook the noodles, refresh under cold water and drizzle with a little oil, then store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The pork can be cooked and chilled for up to 2 days and the dressing will happily sit in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
The shortcut: A couple of store-bought ingredients really maximise the flavour here, along with a little bit of easy peeling with either a julienne peeler or a speed peeler, usually reserved for your potatoes.

Recipe courtesy of The Shortcut Cook by Rosie Reynolds (Hardie Grant, £15) Photography: Louise Hagger.

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