smitten kitchen

Roast pork: Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 375F. Put 1/2 inch water in a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan and place a metal rack across top of pan (rack should not touch water).

Remove pork from marinade, reserving marinade, and arrange pork strips 1 inch apart on rack. Roast in oven 15 minutes.Meanwhile, bring marinade to a boil in a 1-quart saucepan, then boil 1 minute (marinade may look curdled).

Remove from heat.

Brush both sides of pork with some marinade and roast 10 minutes more. Generously brush both sides of pork with marinade again and roast, basting 2 or 3 times, 10 minutes more. I recommend brushing it as many times as it takes to use the marinade up; you wont regret it.Increase oven temperature to 400F and roast pork until strips are mahogany-colored and caramelized on edges, 10 to 15 minutes more (pork shoulder will need the most time, tenderloin the least; totally cooking time will be about 50 minutes).

Transfer to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 10 minutes.Make dressing while pork roasts: Blend together all dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth. (See Note below about an alternate dressing.)Cook noodles and beans while pork finishes roasting: Soak noodles in cold water to cover until pliable, about 15 minutes, then drain in a colander.

Cut noodles in half with kitchen shears.Cook beans in a 5- to 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes.

Transfer with a skimmer or slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, reserving cooking liquid in pot.

Drain beans and pat dry.Return bean-cooking liquid to a boil, then cook noodles, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 2 minutes.

Drain noodles in colander and rinse under cold water to stop cooking.

Cut as much pork as desired for salad across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Toss noodles with 1/4 cup dressing in a bowl. Toss long beans with 2 tablespoons dressing in another bowl. Arrange pork, noodles, beans, and remaining salad ingredients on a large platter.

Drizzle with some of dressing and serve remaining dressing on the side.Many notes (Updated 1/10/14):Pork tenderloin: As I mentioned in 2007, we made this with pork tenderloin rather than the pork shoulder called for and still do. As the cooking time is relatively short, and pork shoulder is so fatty, weve been concerned that the fat just wont render off in the amount of time that its in the oven. Pork tenderloin is gorgeous here; it already comes in about 2- to 3.5-inch wide strips, but I even enjoy halving it lengthwise into two strips that can be cut into small medallions, perfect for a salad. In the years since I shared this recipe (2011 to be exact), the USDA has (to the delight of cooks and restauranteurs, whove always preferred it this way) reduced the recommended internal cooking temperature of pork from 160F to 145F and this markedly improved the texture and flavor of the tenderloin.Meat vs. vegetable volume: While Im all for a vegetable-centric meal, and truly prefer meat as a side dish rather than a centerpiece, each time I make this, I think that the recipe would either benefit from double the pork or half the vegetables. Maybe its just that the pork is that good, so it goes quickly. Even if not doubling the pork, the amount of cucumber and green beans seems especially high for a salad of this size. Tweak the amounts to your anticipated tastes (meat-heavier, less green beans, or the like, etc.).The dressing: Its fine, you know? But in the years since I shared this recipe, Ive shared another noodle-meat-vegetable dish that has a sauce that Id prefer as a dressing here. The Dipping Sauce from these Cold Noodles with Peanut Lime Chicken (with fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, garlic and chiles) is boldly flavored and perfectly balanced. If those ingredients appeal to you, try it here as the dressing instead.Salt: Taste the hoisin-soy-sake sauce before adding the additional salt; you may find that you dont need it. (I found this even when using low-sodium soy sauce, and Id predicate this by saying that we probably already like salt more than we should.)Summer rolls: I remain convinced that leftovers from this salad would make for excellent summer rolls, wrapped in 8-inch rice paper rounds.Do ahead: Unsliced pork keeps, wrapped in foil and chilled, up to 3 days, or frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a sealed plastic bag, up to 1 month.See more: Date Night, Meat, Photo, Salad, Vietnamese

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