Pad kee mao–style pork and rice noodles with stir-fried vegetables

Bring a large sauce pot of lightly salted water to a boil for the rice noodles.

• Remove the stem, ribs, and seeds from the bell pepper; thinly slice the pepper.
• Peel and thinly slice the shallots.
• Strip the broccoli leaves from the stems; coarsely chop the leaves.
• If using, thinly slice the jalapeño. Wash your hands after handling.
• Strip the basil leaves from the stems; coarsely chop the leaves.
• Juice half the lime; cut the remaining half into wedges for garnish. [Juice 1 lime; cut the remaining lime into wedges.]

To the pot of boiling water, add the rice noodles and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

While the noodles are cooking, cook your protein and vegetables.

• Cut a small corner from the ground meat packaging and drain off any excess liquid. Transfer to a plate; pat dry with a paper towel.

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 to 2 tablespoons oil until hot but not smoking. Add the ground meat, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until lightly browned but not yet cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Add as much jalapeño as you like and cook for 30 seconds. Add the shallots and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pepper starts to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broccoli leaves and confit and cook until the leaves are just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.

To the pan with the vegetables, stir in the rice noodles and cook for 1 minute. Add the “oyster sauce” blend and 2 tablespoons [¼ cup] of water and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened slightly and coats the noodles, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the pad kee mao stir-fry to individual plates and serve with the lime wedges.