Taiwanese Chilli Meatballs with Noodles

So, recipe number 1! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the finished product as my phone ran out of battery before I good take it, and I refused to wait for it to charge before chowing down. Next time, I will get a picture of what I've managed to make it look like. Also, I will take better quality pictures next time, because these ones are pretty cruddy.

Taiwanese Chilli Meatballs With Noodles  Originally adapted from Beyond Baked Beans

Ingredients:

two nests of fine dried egg noodles
200g minced pork
½ teaspoon cornflour
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
5 spring onions (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
50g shredded cabbage
1 medium carrot (thinly sliced)
2 teaspoons chilli pepper (mild or hot, depending on preference)
2 tablespoon chilli sauce
cooking oil (I used vegetable oil)
Salt and pepper for seasoning

The original recipe tells you to do a bunch of stuff and put it aside. This is the way I did it, and I didn't like it. If you think you can do everything at once, I'd advise it. I ended up with dried noodles and lukewarm meatballs :\.

1. Cook the egg noodles in a large pan of boiling water till for about three minutes until soft. Drain and set aside.

2. Mix the minced pork, cornflour, 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce, half of the chopped spring onions, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

(Yes that is my thumb in the photo, what of it?)

3. Divide the meat mixture into small portions. Shape each portion into a little ball.
 
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan, enough to just cover the bottom. Fry the pork balls for 3 minutes till golden brown. Add the chilli sauce and 2 tablespoons of water. Fry for 2-3 minutes until the pork balls are cooked through. Set aside.

 (For the love of all that is holy PLEASE be more careful than I was when dumping in the water and chilli sauce. It will spit up at you, and you will get lovely little burns on you if you are as dumb as I am. This is where the camera battery went :( )

5. Heat some more oil in a wok or a large frying pan. Fry the garlic, chilli powder and spring onions for about a minute. Add in carrot and cabbage and stir fry for 2 minutes.

6. Add in the noodles. Stir for 2 minutes. Add in the cooked meat balls and stir in the dark soy sauce. Stir and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy.

And there you have it, the first meal on my blog. I'm not going to score any recipes, because I'd be scoring myself, and what I hate and what other people hate are different things. But I will tell you how successful it was.

I'd say this meal went down moderately well. My boyfriend, John, said he loved it and finished it all, but that doesnt necesarily mean that it's awesome. I always know when I've done good if he asks me to make another lot right after he finished. It would not be the first time I find myself making the same dinner twice.

If anything, I'd say it needed more chilli sauce, and the whole thing felt too noodly and not enough other stuffy. It's on the ever growing cook again list though.

Enjoy!

Roisi x