Ants climbing a tree facts for kids

Ants climbing a tree

Ants climbing a tree (simplified Chinese: 蚂蚁上树; traditional Chinese: 螞蟻上樹; pinyin: Mǎyǐshàngshù) is a famous dish from Sichuan cuisine in China. It gets its interesting name because of how it looks. The dish has tiny bits of ground meat that stick to the noodles, making it look like little ants are walking up a tree branch.

This tasty dish is made with ground meat, usually pork. The meat is cooked in a special sauce. Then, it's poured over thin, clear bean thread noodles.

What's in It?

Besides the meat and noodles, "Ants climbing a tree" uses several other ingredients to give it a rich flavor. These often include:

• Rice vinegar
• Soy sauce
• Vegetable oil
• Sesame oil
• Fresh scallions
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Chili paste (for a bit of spice!)

How It's Made

Making "Ants climbing a tree" involves a few simple steps:

• Preparing the "Ants": First, the ground meat is mixed with a special sauce. This is called marinating. It sits for a short time at room temperature.
• Softening the Noodles: While the meat marinates, the dry bean thread noodles are soaked in water. This makes them soft and ready to cook.
• Cooking Time: Next, a wok (a large, round-bottomed pan) is heated with oil until it's very hot.
• Adding Flavors: The chopped scallions, garlic, and ginger are quickly cooked in the hot oil. This adds a lot of flavor to the dish.
• Mixing It All: Then, the marinated meat is added to the wok and cooked. Finally, the softened noodles are added. They soak up all the delicious flavors and juices from the meat and sauce.

Sometimes, dry noodles are fried in hot oil before being added. This makes them puff up and adds a crispy texture to the dish. They are then drained and mixed with the rest of the ingredients.

Images for kids

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  Ants climbing a tree

See also

In Spanish: Hormigas subiendo al árbol para niños