This is, by far, one of my most favorite meals to cook. It might be a lot of prep work, but once you have all the ingredients ready it comes together pretty quickly!
My mother-in-law has a subscription to Cook's Country, the sister site to Cook's Illustrated, and gets their bi-monthly magazines. This recipe was in their June/July 2019 edition, and we were floored the first time we made it. It's so creamy, and has multiple layers of flavor that you wouldn't expect out of a pork and spaghetti recipe. It has just the right amount of heat too, but you can definitely make it more spicy if that's what you prefer!
If you've never made a recipe like this before, it's probably going to cost you a bit to get all of the ingredients together. However, it makes it a lot easier later on when making other Asian-style recipes, since you'll already have most of the ingredients in your pantry. There are also a few substitutions you can make, which I've listed in the ingredients list.
What you need
For the pasta –
1 lb spaghetti
1/4 TSP table salt, plus more for cooking pasta
2 TBSP toasted sesame oil
For the pork –
1 lb ground pork
5 TBSP soy sauce, can substitute with low sodium
2 TBSP hoisin sauce
2 TBSP dry sherry
For the tahini mixture –
2 TSP hoisin sauce
1/4 cup tahini
2 TBSP rice vinegar
1 TBSP Asian chili-garlic sauce
2 TSP sugar
1 cup hot water
For the oil mixture –
1/4 cup vegetable oil, can substitute for canola
6 scallions, white and green parts sliced thin and separated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 TSP red pepper flakes
Directions
1) Whisk 1 cup of hot water, tahini, rice vinegar, chili-garlic sauce, sugar, salt, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of hoisin sauce together in bowl and set aside.
2) In a small measuring cup, stir together 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce and the dry sherry. Set aside.
3) Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add the pasta, stirring often, until tender. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the sesame oil and toss to coat. Cover the pot to keep warm.
I use gluten-free spaghetti since my husband is sensitive to gluten. It tastes just the same!
4) Cook the ground pork in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. Add the sherry mixture and cook until all the liquid has evaporated and the pork is well browned. Transfer the pork to a bowl and set aside.
5) Combine the vegetable oil, scallion whites, minced garlic and red pepper flakes in the now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
6) If the tahini mixture has cooled off by this point, reheat it in the microwave for 1 minute. Add the oil mixture and tahini mixture to pot with pasta and toss to coat. Top with the pork and scallion greens. Adjust the consistency with additional hot water as needed.
Makes 6 servings.
Nutrition facts per serving*
Calories: 639
Total fat: 38.1g
Saturated fat: 8.4g
Polyunsaturated fat: 2.8g
Monounsaturated fat: 5.4g
Cholesterol: 63.7mg
Sodium: 818.4mg
Total carbohydrates: 54g
Dietary fiber: 3g
Sugars: 3.7g
Protein: 22.3g
Calcium: 4.4%
Iron: 10.3%
Potassium: 178.5mg
Vitamin A: 3.3%
Vitamin C: 5.3%
*Nutrition facts are based on recipe using canola oil, low-sodium soy sauce and gluten-free pasta.