Make your chili oil by combining bay leaves, star anise, cinnmon stick, garlic cloves, ginger slices, and Sichuan peppercorn in a pot. Add in 1 cup of neutral oil and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Place the chili flakes in a heatproof bowl. Once oil is done, remove the aromatics and carefully pour hot oil over the chili flakes. Stir the chili flakes gently and let oil cool.
Once cooled, store chili oil in a clean air-tight jar. You can use immediately for this dish, but the flavors will develop better over time in the fridge.
Prepare Pork Topping
In a mixing bowl, salt pork and mix in minced ginger.
In a pan on medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Brown the ground pork until there is no pink left. Add Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, Sui Mi Ya Cai and ground Sichuan peppercorn. Cook until all liquid has evaporated. Lastly, add sugar. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Prepare Sauce Per Bowl
In each bowl, add 3 tablespoon homemade chili oil, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of chopped scallion, ½ teaspoon sugar, 1½ teaspoon light soy sauce and 1 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar. Set aside.
Prepare Noodles
Boil noodles according to package. Once done, remove noodles and shake out excess water. Use the same pot of boiling water to blanch bok choy for 60 seconds.
To assemble, split noodles evenly into four bowls, each bowl should contain the prepared sauce. Top with about pork. Finally, sprinkle on optional chopped toasted peanuts and toasted white sesame seeds. Add blanched bokchoy to the side.
Mix well so the noodles are coated with all the sauce at the bottom of the bowl. Enjoy!