Another Homestyle Sichuan Dish

In the anthology of childhood tastes, 蚂蚁上树 (mǎyǐ shàngshù) was long buried for me beneath louder crowdpleasers like 红烧排骨 (hóngshāo páigǔ) or 红油抄手 (hóngyóu chāoshǒu). “Ants climbing a tree,” its literal translation, are so named for the way finely minced accoutrements cling to the 粉丝 (fěnsī), gelatinous tendrils of mung bean starch noodles imitating tree limbs. Yet mayi shangshu took me years to miss, or even think about. It’s only now that its discreetness amid redder, oilier, spicier stalwarts appeals to me so highly.

This is the home cooking you don’t see on most restaurant menus—someone has to go through the trouble of feeding (which is to say, loving) you personally for mayi shangshu to appear on your radar.

Differentiating Glass Noodles

Slippery in soups and slightly springy on their own, fensi (above left) are fine threads of mung bean noodle that soak up liquids and flavor very well. In English you’ll commonly find them called bean thread noodles, cellophane noodles, glass noodles and vermicelli. The same starch base is usually used in 凉粉 (liángfěn), strips of chilled mung bean (or pea, or sweet potato) jelly dressed under a chili oil topping.

When purchasing “glass noodles”, survey the packaging ingredients carefully. Lower quality mung bean noodles are often cut with pea starch, pea starch noodles are popular on their own, and sweet potato noodles are known as glass noodles too. They look similar, but sweet potato noodles (粉条, fěntiáo)/红薯粉, hóngshǔ fěn) are thick and chewy, while mung bean fensi are thin and elastic. On restaurant menus and item packaging, you won’t know what type or size “glass noodle” you’re getting unless you ask or read carefully.

Served in a drier dish like mayi shangshu, mung bean noodles retain their springy mouthfeel while chewy sweet potato noodles get a little tacky. Shape, size and texture are crucial elements to the harmony in Chinese dishes, and traditionally you’ll find mung bean and split pea noodles complement the pork mince best in mayi shangshu. These days, however, the chewiness of fentiao is increasingly popular. Taylor has seen this dish served both ways in Chengdu, where sweet potato noodles of all shapes and sizes are beloved.

Feel free to make mayi shangshu with any of these neutral-tasting glass noodles; the overall flavor won’t change. If you use sweet potato noodles, simply add a little sesame oil to counteract the tackiness. Many families fry the soaked noodles in oil to help prevent it from sticking, but I’ve not found this extra step necessary.

When Ants Climb Trees

The most important part of “ants climbing a tree” are the ants—everything that goes into the wok must be finely minced for the dish to work. Otherwise, the ants won’t be able to “climb the tree.” My heart grieves seeing mayi shangshu with big pieces of machine-ground pork that tumble down the sides of the noodles when lifted.

The garlic, ginger and scallions all get minced beforehand, but the pork is traditionally double-minced: once before stir-frying, and again after. This is more important if you use store-bought ground pork, which comes ground together out of the extruding chamber, but not minced into tiny pieces. At home, I often skip the pre-mince for pork (and yacai) these days, but ideally it’s also minced before hitting the sizzling pan so you get more crispiness out of the pork.

If you are mincing your own pork, choose a leaner cut like pork tenderloin.

How to Cook Mayi Shangshu

First, soak the noodles in cold water while you prep the other ingredients. If you use hot water, the exterior will overhydrate while the interior remains hard. Next, dry-fry the Yibin suimiyacai until fragrant to remove moisture. Adding oil makes it sticky, so this step must be done before cooking the other ingredients. Depan the yacai and lightly fry the minced pork, adding light soy sauce and 黄酒 (huángjiǔ), yellow rice wine, if available or 料酒 (liàojiǔ) cooking rice wine if not. Depan the meat and mince again finely.

• Compared to other dishes that use yacai like 担担面 (dàndànmiàn), this may seem like a lot of yacai for one meal. However, you’ll notice there’s not that many other ingredients in this dish. Feel free to make mayi shangshu with whatever finely chopped veggies you desire, but this yacai-forward base combines two of Sichuan’s famous ferments (douban and yacai) for an unassuming dish full of concentrated flavor.

Heat the oil again and add the minced ginger and garlic, stir-frying until fragrant. Add the yacai, then the minced pork and finally the Pixian red-oil doubanjiang. Stir-fry until fragrant, then add the soaked noodles and 1.5 cups of water/stock (or until just covered). Stir well and cover with a lid to simmer 5 minutes on low-medium heat, or until cooked through and tender. Sweet potato noodles require a longer soak (at least 20 minutes), as well as more time and water to cook, so check in and add more water if needed.

Finally, turn off the heat and toss with the minced scallion plus a touch of sesame oil, if using sweet potato noodles. Plate the mayi shangshu with a bit of reserved scallion tips and ground huajiao to top. Serve immediately or keep warm until ready to eat.

For more Cooking with Pixian Doubanjiang dishes, see my other recipes for Second Sister Rabbit Cubes (Erjie Tuding, 二姐兔丁) and Braised Chestnut + Shiitake Chicken (Banli Shaoji, 板栗烧鸡).