Project Sichuan #9 - Ants Climbing A Tree: it’s a bug’s life….
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So many recipe names can be confusing to unknowing diners perusing the menu of a good Chinese eatery. Husband and Wife Lung, for example contains no lung nor any married couple sharing it; There is no wall in Buddha Jumps Over The Wall — not to mention any Buddhas bouncing around. And Virgin Chicken, well, you get the point. Suffice it to say that the names of these wonderful dishes don’t reveal what they are all about and many diners are left to experiment — often blindly. Ants Climbing A Tree is no exception, since the recipe for this classic Sichuanese dish neither includes a tree nor has any ants on it. It represents a classic Sichuan staple, albeit modest and inexpensive, and while many people in the West may have heard about it, not that many have eaten it. That’s because, despite its popularity on household dinner tables across Sichuan, Ants Climbing A Tree is less common in the West — though in my book it’s an indicator of legitimacy in any eatery who serves it.
Like so many interesting food items that have come out of Sichuan Province, there is a tale behind this much-loved dish. While the details are a little hazy, the origin story which seems most likely is that of a young woman who wanted to cobble together something for her aged mother-in-law to eat, but could only afford a very small cut of pork, some noodles and a few scallions. So to stretch the ingredients into a meal, she hand-chopped the pork to tiny bits and stir fried them with some soy and chili paste, then mixed them in with the noodles and tiny cuts of scallion. The old woman, her eyesight beginning to fail, was alarmed that her son’s wife was serving her twigs with ants crawling up them. The green scallions looked like leaves on slender branches and the pork mince appeared like ants. It wasn’t until she dared take a bite that she realized her suddenly-new-favorite daughter-in-law was on to something delicious. So that’s the story, and we’re sticking to it….
But wherever the name came from, Ants Climbing a Tree showcases a milder side of Sichuan cuisine and defies the mis-aligned reputation that all of the food of Chengdu is burn-your-ass spicy. We are talking about mung bean noodles soaked in water until they expand and turn clear like glass. When mixed in a wok with soy and red chili paste they absorb some of the liquid, giving them a gentle, savory flavor with just a tickle of vinegary chili heat. The bits of pork sticking to the glinting noodles can actually be felt on the tongue, tiny but savory. And the deep richness of the umami sauce coating it all, highlighted by a gentle brightness of fresh scallions is, in a word, delightful.
Okay, perhaps the name and related history is a little romantic, and poetic license is required to see it the way the old lady did. But there is a kind of joy to eating this dish – especially when one pictures ants clinging to the slender “twigs” of noodles as it’s heading into your mouth. Every bite is tasty and mild — kind of like the mac & cheese of Chengdu. And eating it makes kids of all ages feel at home, safe and warm. As such a comfort food, it is hard to understand its absence on menus these days. But whenever I do find it being offered I immediately skip other noodle temptations, squint my eyes a little and go for the ants. And so should you.
