Zha Jiang Mian(炸酱面)

Zha Jiang Mian(炸酱面), one of the traditional noodle dishes from northern China, has a long history. It features a rich soybean paste sauce served over smooth, chewy noodles, often accompanied by seasonal vegetables. Simply mix everything together, and it's ready to eat. Despite its simplicity, it's full of flavor and is a favorite among many people.

6 Reviews
6 Comments
POSTED:30/05/2024
Level:Medium
Yield:1-2 servings
Total:45 min
(includes chilling time)
Active:15 min

Many people love eating Zha Jiang Mian(炸酱面), but there are some important tips to keep in mind when making it. Once you master these techniques, you'll be able to make it easily! Let's learn together!


1、How to Store the Fried Sauce?

Store the prepared sauce in the refrigerator. Use a clean spoon each time, and it will last for 3-5 days.


2、What Meat to Use for the Fried Sauce?

Choose streaky pork for the sauce because its balance of fat and lean meat ensures the sauce won't turn out dry or tough.


3、Should You Use Sweet Bean Paste or Yellow Soybean Paste for the Fried Sauce?

You can use a combination of broad bean paste, yellow soybean paste, and sweet bean paste, following a ratio of 1 part broad bean paste, 2 parts yellow soybean paste, and 4 parts sweet bean paste. 


4、Do You Fry the Meat or the Sauce First?

Fry the meat first, then the sauce.


5、How Long Should You Cook the Fried Sauce?

Cook for about 15-20 minutes. 


6、Do You Need to Skin the Streaky Pork for Making the Fried Sauce?

Yes, skin the streaky pork. Without skinning, the pork rind can become tough and affect the texture after the fat renders out.


7、How to Control the Heat When Stir-Frying the Fried Sauce?

Use low heat and stir in one direction to avoid burning the sauce, ensuring a better taste.

With these tips, you'll be able to make authentic Zha Jiang Mian(炸酱面) quickly. You can also adjust the seasoning and ingredients according to your taste. Now, let's get started!

INGREDIENTS

MAIN INGREDIENTS

  • 400g streaky pork
  • 200g all-purpose flour

ACCESSORIES

  • 1/3 onion
  • 2/3 stalk of green onion (white part)
  • A small handful of soybeans
  • A small handful of edamame
  • A small handful of bean sprouts
  • 1/2 carrot
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 1/2 watermelon radish
  • 1/2 celery stalk
  • Appropriate amount of water

SEASONINGS

  • A small piece of ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 star anise
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon cooking wine
  • 150g dry yellow soybean paste
  • 100g yellow soybean paste
  • 100g sweet bean paste
  • 2-3 rock sugar pieces
  • 1g salt

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

Prepare all the ingredients.

Instruction to prepare all ingredients for a recipe.

STEP 2

Soak the soybeans overnight.

Soak soybeans in water overnight for use.

STEP 3

Cut the streaky pork into small cubes, separating the fat from the lean meat. Chop the green onions and onion. Mince a slice of ginger and slice the rest. Peel and slice the garlic. Cut the leftover green onion pieces into segments for later use.

Tips:

Separating the fat and lean meat prevents the lean meat from becoming dry and tough when frying.

Prepare pork by cutting into cubes, separating fat and lean meat. Chop vegetables and slice ginger and garlic for stir-fry.

STEP 4

Prepare the sauce in a large bowl. Combine the three types of paste (broad bean paste, yellow soybean paste, and sweet bean paste) with water or yellow wine according to your preference.

Tips:

①Adjust the ratio of the three pastes to your taste; for a sweeter sauce, add more sweet bean paste. Taste and adjust the sweetness with sugar if needed.

②Dry yellow soybean paste is solid and can be difficult to mix; add it gradually to the water while stirring.

Mix bean pastes with water or yellow wine, adjust sweetness with sugar; blend carefully.

STEP 5

Heat a pan with more oil than usual for stir-frying. Add ginger, green onion, garlic, and spices. Fry on low heat until fragrant, then discard the solids, leaving only the flavored oil.

Tips:

Do not skip this step; the flavored oil adds depth to the sauce.

Heat oil with aromatics, discard solids for flavorful oil; essential step for sauce depth.

STEP 6

Add the diced fat to the pan and fry until golden brown. Then add the lean meat cubes and fry until they change color. Add a tablespoon of cooking wine and some minced ginger to remove the odor.

Fry diced fat until golden brown, add lean meat cubes and cook until colored. Add cooking wine and ginger to remove odor.

STEP 7

Add minced onion and half of the minced green onion, and stir-fry briefly. Add the prepared sauce in three batches, stirring well after each addition to fully combine the meat and sauce. Cook on low heat, stirring to prevent sticking. Once the sauce thickens and you can see a layer of oil on top, add the remaining minced green onion and a bit of rock sugar for flavor. Fry until the green onion is fragrant, then turn off the heat.

Tips:

Rock sugar can be substituted with regular sugar.

Stir-fry meat with onions, green onions, and sauce in batches. Add rock sugar for flavor.

STEP 8

Prepare the noodles. Mix the flour, water, and salt in a mixing bowl, and knead the dough until smooth using a stand mixer.

Tips:

Don't add too much water; the noodles should be firm and chewy.

Mix flour, water, and salt, knead dough until smooth, for firm and chewy noodles. Various tips included.

STEP 9

Let the dough rest for half an hour.

Dough needs 30 mins rest.

STEP 10

Divide the dough in half, shape into balls, and roll flat.

Instructions for dividing dough, shaping into balls, and rolling flat.

STEP 11

Feed the flattened dough through the pasta machine to create smooth, flat sheets. It's normal for the dough to be irregular at first; repeated pressing will make it smooth and even.

Create smooth, flat pasta sheets by feeding the dough through a pasta machine. Repeat until smooth.

STEP 12

Dust both sides of the dough sheets with flour to prevent sticking, fold them into rectangles, and continue pressing. The dough will become thinner and smoother with each pass.

Tips:

Dust with flour each time to prevent sticking. Fold and press repeatedly.

Dust dough with flour, fold into rectangles, press to make it thinner and smoother. Repeat.

STEP 13

Feed the flattened dough through the pasta cutter attachment to make fresh, evenly thick noodles.

Make fresh noodles with a pasta cutter attachment.

STEP 14

Dust the fresh noodles with flour to prevent sticking.

Prevent fresh noodles from sticking by dusting with flour.

STEP 15

Prepare the toppings. Cook the soybeans and edamame, blanch the bean sprouts, and celery, Dice the celery.

Prepare toppings: Cook soybeans and edamame, blanch bean sprouts and celery, dice celery.

STEP 16

Rub the cucumber with salt to clean the skin, peel the carrot, and the watermelon radish, then cut into strips.

Clean cucumber, peel carrot and watermelon radish, cut into strips.

STEP 17

Use the pasta machine to julienne the vegetables in seconds.

Tips:

you can julienne them by hand.

Speed up vegetable julienning with a pasta machine; alternatively, do it by hand.

STEP 18

Place the julienned vegetables in a bowl; they add a refreshing crunch to the noodles.

Tips:

Adjust the amount and variety of vegetables to your taste.

Julienned veggies add crunch to noodles; customize quantity and variety to taste.

STEP 19

Boil the noodles. Add some salt and a few drops of oil to the boiling water. Stir the noodles to prevent sticking. Rinse the cooked noodles with cold water for a smoother texture.

Boil noodles with salt, oil, stir to prevent sticking, and rinse with cold water.

STEP 20

Place the rinsed noodles in a bowl.

Instructions to place rinsed noodles in a bowl.

STEP 21

Arrange the julienned vegetables on top of the noodles and add a generous spoonful of the flavorful sauce. The colorful presentation is very appetizing.

Top noodles with julienned veggies, add sauce for appetizing presentation.

STEP 22

Mix the noodles, sauce, and vegetables well before eating. The noodles are chewy and smooth, the savory sauce is aromatic, and the crisp vegetables and tender soybeans add a delightful texture.

Delicious noodle dish: chewy noodles, savory sauce, crisp vegetables.

Recipe analyzer

  • Recipes: Zha Jiang Mian(炸酱面)
  • Main Ingredients:12
  • Servings per recipe:1
  • Servings size:1.9 kg
Nutritional Summary of Recipe
Amount per 790 g= 1 serving(s)
  • Energy (calories):1608 kcal
    80%
  • Protein:124.55 g
    251%
  • Fat:46.53 g Why gray?
    108%
  • Carbohydrates:162.28 g
    71%
Calorie breakdown
  • Protein: 33%
    526 kcal
  • Fat: 26%
    418 kcal
  • Carbohydrates: 41%
    666 kcal
The chart shows the percentage of calories intake (energy) coming from the respective macronutrients (fats, protein and carbohydrates).
Omega 6 : Omega 3
1:1
20:1
13:1
Both fatty acids are essential, but nowadays the majority of western diets include excessive amounts of Omega 6 acid.

The ratio shows whether the proportion of both fatty acids in your diet is optimal. Red color means too much of Omega 6 or too little of Omega 3. The data are rounded off and approximate.

6 REVIEWS

Review
Your rating:
QuinnOctober 07, 2024

The flavor of fried noodles makes me feel like I am in a Chinese street food stall, every bite is a wonderful memory!
reply:
October 09, 2024
Fried Sauce Noodles does carry a strong Chinese street food culture and I'm glad you were able to experience this wonderful memory!
PatrickSeptember 26, 2024

The flavor of the sauce for my fried noodles is never strong enough, how should I adjust the flavor to add more layers?
reply:
September 29, 2024
Try increasing the proportion of seasonings such as soy sauce, sugar and vinegar in moderation, or adding a little sesame oil or sesame paste to enhance the aroma and flavor of the sauce.
PenelopeSeptember 14, 2024

when I make fried noodles, the sauce is always too thin, is there any way to thicken the sauce a bit more?
reply:
September 16, 2024
Try adding more peanut butter or bean paste when frying the sauce, and you can also thicken the sauce by adding starch water in moderation to make the sauce thicker.
AvaJuly 31, 2024

Is it okay if I don't have any sweet pasta sauce?
PatriciaJuly 18, 2024

Zha Jiang Mian's recipe tutorial guides the correct cooking steps and ensures that the noodles go perfectly with the sauce.
JackMay 30, 2024

This Chinese Fried Noodle is really authentic and tastes very good to my liking!
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