Recipe: Little Hong Kong in Cudahy

One of the things I miss from our trip to Asia last year, besides my family, is having char siu noodle soup for breakfast. While in Hong Kong, we had it every morning. It was filling, satisfying, comforting and delicious. The scrumptious morsels of barbecued pork, the savory broth, the tender noodles...mmmmm! My mouth is currently watering.

Milwaukee is not known for having traditional, authentic Hong Kong style restaurants. In fact, I believe, there are none. What we have are grease pots filled with sesame chicken, sweet and sour meat and crab rangoons. No thanks.

So when that insatiable craving for Cantonese cuisine strikes, all we can do is look at the pictures and reminisce. Until I tried making it myself. It may not be the most authentic noodle soup, but the savory qualities are there.

This is my semi-homemade very easy recipe for Char Siu Noodle Soup:

Note: I prefer purchasing my meats from Whole Foods. I know it's more expensive, but the quality is exponentially better. I don't mind paying a few extra dollars more for meat that is more tender, better tasting and juicier.

For the marinade:
1 package Char Siu marinade (available at Asian Stores, it comes in powder form)
2 lbs pork shoulder roast cut into two long cylindrical pieces
2 Tbsps. hoisin sauce
2 tsps. sugar

For the broth:
Note: When I have the time and enough chicken bones, I do make my own stock. However, I can't do that all the time so here's my alternative:

1 carton chicken broth
1 carton chicken stock
soy sauce to taste, about 3 Tbsp (start with one and go from there)
1 tsp sesame oil

For the noodles:
I like purchasing Chinese yellow noodles, dried, not fried

Sliced Scallions for garnish

Combine the marinade ingredients together and marinate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put pork in a roasting pan with a rack, so that the fat drips and you're not left with soggy, oily pork.

Roast the pork for approximately 45 minutes to an hour, basting with the following mixture:

3 Tbsps vegetable oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce

When the pork is done, let it rest before slicing into it, to let the juices reconstitute.

While the pork is cooking, make the soup broth. Combine ingredients together in a small stockpot or whatever you have available that can hold that much liquid.

Also, cook the noodles in boiling water. When cooked to al dente, strain and pour cold water to stop the cooking process.

To assemble the soup:
Put a serving of noodles in a deep bowl
Put thinly sliced pork on top of noodles
Sprinkle scallions on top of pork and noodles
Ladle broth into bowl

Enjoy!!