Name: Soba Noodles with Pork, Scallions, and Shichimi Togarashi
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1½ pounds pork tenderloin , trimmed and sliced thin crosswise; 10 ounces shiitake mushrooms , stemmed and quartered; 6 garlic cloves , minced; 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger; 6 ounces (3 cups) bean sprouts; ½ cup soy sauce; ¼ cup mirin; ¼ cup rice vinegar; 8 ounces dried soba noodles; 1 tablespoon salt; 4 scallions , sliced thin; ¼ cup recipe

Why This Recipe Works

The noodles' flavor is delicate and can benefit from something pungent to heighten them at the end, which is why they are often served with peppery, aromatic shichimi togarashi sprinkled on top. Quick-cooking pork tenderloin stir-fried in minutes and gave the noodles rich flavor. For a sweet-savory sauce, we experimented with countless combinations of ingredients and aromatics before settling on a blend of soy sauce, mirin, and rice vinegar spiked with plenty of garlic and ginger. And then, of course, we added the finishing sprinkle that brought the dish together and enlivened it further.

Before You Begin

For this dish, avoid the darker colored soba noodles made from 100 percent buckwheat as they take twice the amount of time to cook as the lighter colored soba, which are made with part buckwheat and part regular wheat. We prefer to use our homemade Shichimi Togarashi (called Sesame-Orange Spice Blend in ingredient list), but you can substitute store-bought shichimi togarashi.

Instructions

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add pork in single layer and cook, without moving, for 1 minute. Stir and continue to cook until pork is lightly browned around edges and little pink remains, about 3 minutes; transfer to bowl.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to now-empty skillet and heat over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add mushrooms and cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Push mushrooms to sides of skillet. Add garlic and ginger to center and cook, mashing mixture into skillet, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir mixture into mushrooms. Stir in bean sprouts, soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, and pork along with any accumulated juices. Cook until pork is just heated through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add noodles and salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente, about 4 minutes. Reserve ½ cup cooking water, then drain noodles and return to pot. Stir in pork-mushroom mixture and scallions and adjust consistency with reserved cooking water as needed. Sprinkle individual portions with shichimi togarashi. Serve.