[2][3] It is so called because the dish has bits of ground meat clinging to noodles, evoking an image of ants walking on twigs.

[2] The dish consists of ground meat, such as pork,[3] cooked in a sauce and poured over bean thread noodles.

To make the "ants", meat is marinated for a short time at room temperature while the noodles are soaked to soften.

Dry noodles that have not yet been softened can also be fried in hot oil to add texture to the dish.

The noodles will puff immediately and can be removed with a bamboo or stainless wire skimmer, then set on paper towels to drain before adding to the rest of the dish.