Broiled Pork and Cabbage with Crisp Rice Noodles
Savory pork mince broiled with ginger and soy until the edges char, piled over tender cabbage and soft rice noodles. A fast, high-protein one-pan dinner that is not spicy.
- Total
- 16 min
- Prep 7 · Cook 9
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Sautéing
- Savory
- Quick
- Asian
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Bring 800 ml water to a boil in a small pot over high heat.
~4 min
-
While step 1 cooks
While the water heats, core and shred the cabbage into 1 cm strips and peel and cut the carrots into thin 3 mm coins. Peel and grate the ginger. In a small bowl, stir the pork mince with the grated ginger, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 0.25 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper.
~4 min
Salting the pork and letting it sit while vegetables are prepped seasons it through and helps the mince hold its shape when pressed into the pan.
-
Add the rice noodles to the boiling water and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes, then drain in a colander.
~3 min
Cooking noodles just to tender keeps them firm so they do not turn mushy when tossed with the hot pork and soy at the end.
-
Heat the vegetable oil in an oven-safe skillet over high heat until it shimmers. Add the cabbage and carrots and cook, stirring, until the cabbage wilts and picks up browned edges, about 3 minutes. Push the vegetables to the sides of the pan.
~3 min
High heat and a shimmering pan drive off moisture fast so the cabbage browns instead of steaming, building sweet roasted flavor.
Sautéing Keep the pan hot and stir only occasionally so the cabbage wilts and picks up browned edges rather than turning limp and watery.
-
Press the pork mixture into an even layer in the center of the skillet and cook without stirring until the underside is browned, about 2 minutes. Drizzle the remaining 0.5 tbsp soy sauce over the pork and vegetables.
~2 min
Pressing the pork into one even layer maximizes contact with the hot pan, so the underside browns deeply before the broiler finishes it.
A hot, dry skillet is what gives the pork its browned crust; let it sit untouched for the first two minutes before stirring so the mince develops a deep savory edge.
Searing Press the pork into one flat layer and leave it untouched so a browned crust forms; moving it too early steams the meat and it will not release cleanly.
-
Slide the skillet under a hot broiler set to high, about 10 cm from the element, and broil until the pork is charred at the edges and cooked through to 71°C/160°F, about 4 minutes. Toss the drained rice noodles through the pan and serve hot.
~4 min
Broiler heat is intense and dry, charring the pork surface quickly while the thin layer cooks through without stewing in its juices.
Rice noodles soak up the soy and pork juices fast, so toss them in at the very end and serve immediately to keep them from going soft.