Noodle soup made with deep-fried pork

‘Soup made from deep-fried meat is a little unusual’, writes culinary journalist Bas Robben alongside this recipe in his new cookbook Vet. But in East Asia, people love it. In Taiwan, Bas also slurps down a bowl of this noodle soup. He thinks it’s fantastic and brings the recipe back to the Netherlands. 

Bas: ‘It’s not complicated to make, so definitely give it a try. You will need a cleaver for it, though, sorry. You can also ask your butcher to take care of that macabre job.’

Method

1. Place all the ingredients except the onions in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and add the onion rings. Leave to cool completely in the pan. Use a cleaver to cut through the spare ribs so that you have half-ribs. Then separate them from one another.

2. Halve and peel the shallots and cut them into 2 cm pieces. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or wok to 180 °C. Deep-fry a handful of halved spare ribs (about a quarter) for 6 to 7 minutes, until they are intensely golden brown all over. Then remove them from the pan and place them in a colander lined with kitchen paper. Repeat with the remaining spare rib pieces, keeping the temperature constant at 180 °C. Then deep-fry the shallot for 2 to 3 minutes, until it is also completely golden brown.

3. For the broth, preheat the oven to 80 °C. Heat 1 tablespoon of the frying oil in a medium-sized casserole (one that can go into the oven with its lid). Fry the grated ginger root and white pepper for 1 minute, until fragrant. Pour 1.5 litres of water into the pan and bring to the boil. Add the deep-fried spare rib pieces and bring just to the boil. Put the pan, with the lid on, in the oven and leave to infuse for 2 hours.

4. Ten minutes before the broth is ready, cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package. Divide them among four deep bowls. Remove the soup pan from the oven and taste. Season the soup with salt. Don’t be alarmed: it needs a lot of salt. Stir some of the deep-fried shallot into the soup. Ladle the soup over the noodles and arrange a few pieces of spare rib among them in strategic places. Garnish with the deep-fried shallot, green parts of the spring onions, pink pickle, bean sprouts and bimi. Eat the soup with chopsticks and a spoon.

Title: Vet
Author: Bas Robben
Publisher: Good Cook B.V.
Price: €24.95

Image: Jeroen van der Spek