Ants Climbing a Tree also known as Ma Yi Shang Shu is a classic Sichuan Chinese dish made with super crispy ground pork, plenty of soft cabbage and carrots, and noodles all intertwined in an intensely savory, salty, and spicy sauce. Easy to make and so much better than takeout!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Sichuan noodles, ants climbing a tree, spicy asian noodles
5cupsshredded cabbage or coleslaw mix (you can either use plain shredded cabbage or a mix of cabbage, carrots, and purple cabbage)
4largegarlic cloved, minced
1tspminced fresh ginger
2tbspDoubanjiang bean paste
1tbsptamari or soy sauce
2tsprice vinegar
1tspbrown sugar
1/2cupchicken stock
3green onions, sliced
Instructions
Cook noodles according to package instructions. Rinse, you don't need the extra starch.
Heat a large wok or saute pan to a high heat. Drizzle in sesame oil and swirl the pan to coat. Add pork. Use a spatula to bread the pork up into little pieces. Cook until brown and crispy, it should take about 5 minutes.
While the pork is cooking, add bean paste, tamari, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and chicken stock to a small bowl. Whisk to combine.
Add garlic and ginger, cook one minute. Add in cabbage mix. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to stir fry until cabbage is soft, another 3-5 minutes.
Add noodles and toss together. Pour in the sauce and continue to toss everything together until the noodles are coated. Add in green onions, toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper.