If I had to decide on a noodle that I might title as my primary high consolation meals and eat endlessly and ever it could be zha jiang mian aka “fried sauce noodles.”
It’s an absolute breeze to make the sauce and it retains effectively within the fridge which implies bowls of salty, candy, and savory noodles are prepared in a flash.
What’s zha jiang mian?
Translated, zha jiang mian means “fried sauce noodles” in Mandarin and basically that’s what it’s: a bunch of sauces fried up collectively and served tossed with noodles. It’s initially from Beijing and made with two sorts of fermented bean paste: ganhuang jiang (fermented yellow soy bean paste) and tianmian jiang (candy fermented flour and bean paste). These two pastes mix collectively into an AMAZING salty, candy, punchy, complicated sauce.
The meat sauce is sort of paying homage to a Chinese language Bolognese besides it solely takes quarter-hour to make. For this model we’re going for fast and straightforward. This zha jiang mian is loopy scrumptious even when it’s simplified by utilizing simple to seek out Chinese language substances – the sort you will discover at Goal. Make a double batch and maintain it within the fridge: you’ll be able to add as a lot or as little sauce as you wish to your noodles. In case you love noodles and meaty sauce, you’ll love this. It’s stuffed with umami, candy and salty flavors, and it tastes like consolation in a bowl. The deep punch of flavors is offset however crunchy, juicy cucumbers and the distinction between the freshness of the cucumbers, the savoriness of the sauce, and the chewiness of the noodles will make you need to eat increasingly more.
Zha jiang mian substances
- shallots and garlic – shallots and garlic collectively are the last word aromatics. Shallots are sweeter and extra pungent but mellow in comparison with onions and garlic, effectively, everybody is aware of how superb garlic is. Simmered in scorching oil till tender, the aromas of shallots and garlic let you understand one thing good is on the way in which.
- floor pork – floor pork is my favourite meat for zha jiang mian due to it’s candy porky taste and fats content material. It’s extra tender than utilizing floor beef and has extra taste than floor hen or turkey. You should utilize any minced meat you want, however pork is the basic.
- hoisin sauce – hoisin sauce is a Basic Chinese language sauce that provides a lot taste. Hoisin is just about offered in all places now, from Goal to your fundamental grocery retailer, and naturally, on-line. It’s a thick, candy brown sauce that’s utilized in marinades and as a dipping sauce. It’s tremendous flavorful: candy, savory, and barely tangy.
- oyster sauce – that is the key ingredient that provides an enormous quantity of umami and seafood taste to the sauce. extra on this under
- darkish soy sauce – not simply your common soy sauce, extra on this under
- sugar – slightly little bit of sugar provides some sweetness making this dish one which each youngsters and adults love
- noodles – you’ll discover zha jiang mian served with wheat noodles in Beijing, however you’ll be able to serve them with any noodle you want. If you wish to go the normal noodle, search for a white wheat noodle within the fridge part at your native asian grocery retailer.
- cucumbers – julienned cucumbers add crunch and freshness that contrasts with the meaty sauce, highlighting the sauces savoriness.
Oyster sauce
Oyster sauce is good and thick and stuffed with complexity. It may be discovered within the Asian aisle of any grocery retailer or on-line. In case you see the Lee Kum Kee bottle with the 2 individuals in boats, go for that one. It’s the premium oyster sauce which lists oysters as its first ingredient. Oyster sauce doesn’t style tremendous seafood-y but it surely undoubtedly provides an additional oomph to this sauce that you just received’t be capable to put your finger on.
Darkish soy sauce
It is a thicker, darker soy sauce that’s not as salty as gentle soy sauce and it’s used largely so as to add an exquisite shade to your noodles, but it surely additionally has a caramel word too it. It’s available on-line and at effectively stocked grocery shops. You possibly can sub common soy sauce if you happen to don’t have darkish, but it surely’s what provides these noodles their gloss.
Find out how to make zha jiang mian
- Fry the aromatics. Fry some shallots and garlic in oil till tender and aromatic.
- Prepare dinner the pork. Add the bottom pork and cook dinner it, breaking apart, till browned.
- Fry the sauces. Add hoisin, oyster, darkish soy sauce, sugar, and a little bit of water and simmer till the sauce thickens and all of the flavors meld.
- Combine. Whereas the sauce is doing it’s skinny, cook dinner your noodles and drain effectively. When the sauce is prepared, combine a beneficiant portion with the noodles.
- Get pleasure from. Slurp and revel in topped with cucumbers and inexperienced onions or cilantro!
What sort of noodles?
I like this meat sauce with all kinds of noodles. Historically zha jian mein comes with thick wheat flour based mostly noodles (look within the fridge part of your native Asian grocery retailer), however the sauce tastes unbelievable with spaghetti and I’ve been recognized to combine it up with rice noodles as effectively. Go wild, it’s a tasty savory meat sauce that pairs effectively with just about any noodle. Attempt it with:
- Chinese language wheat noodles
- udon
- rice noodles
- vermicelli
- egg noodles
- lo mein noodles
- pasta
Greens
Often you’ll see zha jiang mian served with recent greens, a rarity in Chinese language meals, however the freshness of cucumbers goes so superb with the tremendous umami meaty flavors – the distinction is simply insane. Another greens you’ll be able to attempt:
- shredded carrots
- shelled edamame
- sliced radishes
- bean sprouts
- thinly sliced celery
- shredded cabbage
- inexperienced onions
- cilantro
- shredded zucchini
Zha jiang mian vs jajangmyeon
In case you’re a fan of Korean meals, you’ve most definitely had jajangmyeon, these tremendous flavorful noodles coated in black bean sauce. Jajangmyeon is a Korean tackle zha jiang mian utilizing the substances they’d again when globalization wasn’t fairly was it’s immediately. Jajangmyeon is noodles coated in a thick sauce made with diced pork chunjang (black bean paste) served with greens.
Vegetarian zha jiang mian
In case you’re vegetarian, you’ll be able to completely make this zha jiang mian with tofu. I discover that further agency tofu, crumbled, is one of the best when it comes to texture and taste. Crumbled tofu actually mimics floor meat and the bottom tofu soaks up all of the sauce substances completely.