One of the most popular Sichuan meals is “Ants on a Tree”. It consists of mung bean vermicelli and ground pork. Additionally, we add Sichuan peppercorn powder, and fresh green onions are added on top. This makes a great main dish for your dinner table.
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 35 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 cups mung bean vermicelli
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ pound ground pork
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce, or more to taste
- 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorn powder
- ½ cup water
- 2 stalks green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Place vermicelli in a bowl and cover with water; soak for at least 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until you can feel the heat above the pan. Put in ground pork; cook and stir until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Stir in peppercorn powder until evenly distributed. Add water and bring to a boil.
- Add drained vermicelli and mix evenly with the pork. Cook until all water has evaporated, about 5 more minutes. Taste and add more soy sauce if not salty enough for you.
- Transfer to a serving plate and top with green onions.
- Mung bean vermicelli noodles are very easy to cook. It is usually ready when all the water is evaporated. Do not leave it in the frying pan for too long.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 454 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 61 g |
| Cholesterol | 37 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 10 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 488 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Such simple ingredients, but very flavorful and super quick to make! The Sichuan powder that I got from the Asian market wasn’t really a powder, but more coarse ground. I should have ground it myself because it left a really gritty texture – no fault of the recipe, but be sure to use a very find grind. The only stumper here was the amount of noodles to use. “2 cups” is a rather odd way to measure out dry vermicelli. I ended up using one 3.5oz (100g) package, and once softened, it was a little more than 2 cups. I ended up drizzling a little extra soy sauce at the end. I’ve seen recipes use broth instead of water, so I might try that next time. This makes 4 small servings. By the way, if you aren’t used to Sichuan pepper, it does have a numbing effect.