We’ll start with the pork because it needs a little cooking before being added to the broth and its vegetables.

So, add the oil to a large skillet and set it on a medium-high heat. I used a deep, heavy, 12-inch skillet that was big enough to hold all the cubed pork in a single layer. Let the oil heat for about 90 seconds and then stir in the pork.

You’re aiming to give the pork a sizzling, fairly leisurely stir-fry for 3 minutes on that medium-high heat, so that the cubes just begin to pick up a little golden color and their fat starts to melt.  As soon as that happens, stir in the cayenne peppers, ginger, five spice powder, and sugar.

Continue stir frying for another 2 minutes, drop the heat to low, and add the bay leaves, light soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine (or dry sherry) and the rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar.) Give it all a good stir and drop the heat to low. You now want the mix to come up to a slowly bubbling simmer on that low heat. When it does, turn off the heat and let the skillet sit while you sort out the broth and its vegetables.

For this you want to use a saucepan that’s easily big enough to hold all the broth, its vegetables. and the pork with all its liquid.

Set your big pan on a medium heat and add the oil. Let it heat for a minute then add the ginger, carrots, and mushrooms and gently stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and continue that gentle stir frying for another 3 minutes.

Stir in the pork and all the liquid it in which it was simmered. (You can use some of the chicken stock to make sure everything from your skillet goes into the big saucepan with the broth and vegetables.)

Keep the heat on medium, add the stock and, when the saucepan comes to the boil, drop the heat to low. You now want to let everything cook at a gentle simmer for 10 minutes. While that’s happening, you can cook the noodles and the omelette so that they’re both ready to be served as soon as your big saucepan finishes its slow simmer.

And just before the noodles are cooked, check your loaded broth for saltiness and sourness, adding a little more salt and vinegar to suit your taste.

For this, follow the instructions on the pack, and bear in mind that you’ll need to use a pan that will hold enough water to cover the noodles by 2 inches.

Typically, the pack instructions will say to set the water to boil on a high heat, add the salt, and when the water boils, add the noodles. Then drop the heat a little so that the noodles cook at a steady, rolling boil for about 4 minutes. That’s a good time to check if the noodles are al dente – just a touch chewy. If not, let them boil for another minute or so until they are. Drain them in a colander and they’re done.

This only take about 3 minutes, so I’d do this while the noodles are cooking.

You want the omelette to be fairly thin, so use a wide frying pan – a 10-inch pan would be grand.

Beat the eggs together with the water, chives and salt in a small mixing bowl. Add the sesame oil to your frying pan so that it covers the base and set the pan on a medium-high heat for 90 seconds. Now pour in the beaten egg mix and swirl the pan so the mix flows right to the edges.

Drop the heat to medium and let the omelette fry for 1 minute, then turn off the heat. The pan will still be hot enough to continue cooking the omelette for another minute until it sets completely. Turn the omelette onto a large board and cut it into strips about 2 ½ inches long and an inch wide. Time to serve.

Large, warmed soup bowls will be just dandy for this.

Add a serving of noodles to each bowl, and then ladle the pork and vegetable broth over the top of the noodles.

Arrange some sliced scallions / spring onions on top of each bowl and add a few slices of omelette. Sprinkle the chives and sliced cayenne peppers over the lot and serve immediately.