Friday, January 29, 2010

Zha Jiang Mian 炸醬麵 Noodles With Chinese Mince Sauce


Zha jiang mien (炸醬麵) meaning 'fried sauce noodle' in mandarin is a popular everyday noodle dish from Northern China. Chinese migrants brought them to Japan and Korean at the turn of the last century and you'll be able to get versions very different from the original one despite the name continues being used - for the Korean version jajangmyeun click here. This Chinese spaghetti Bolognese as one of my friend once described it, is the ultimate comfort food for me; the meaty sauce that is hot, salty and slightly sweet with the tingling sensation of added Sichuan peppercorn is something I can never get enough of. Make some jiaozi  to go with this and you'll have a very satisfying meal time and time again.

serves 4 generously
for the sauce you'll need;
1 kg of mince pork (rump), brown lightly (optional)
3 tbs of hot bean paste
2 tbs of sweet bean paste
4 tbs of light soy
2 tbs of dark soy
4 shallots, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
knob of ginger, minced
1 tsp of Sichuan pepper, toasted and crushed
1 cup of water


you'll also need;
2 packets of shanghai noodles 
3 lebanese cucumbers, removed seeds and sliced
300g of bean sprouts, blanched and refreshed
300g of spinach leaves, blanched and refresh

Fry shallots, garlic and ginger til fragrant, add in the minced pork and mix well.

Add seasonings and mix well.

Add water and simmer for 45 minutes; a film of red oil should appear by now, check for seasonings.

Cook noodles according to instructions on the packaging and drain well. Ladle some sauce over, add toppings and mix well.

I prefer to add extra chili oil and a drizzle of Chinese black vinegar.

49 comments:

  1. WOW! Getting hungry after looking at this delicious zhajiang mian.

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  2. My very favourite, looks so much better than what I have been getting from the restaurant!

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  3. This is the best Zhajiangmien I have seen :)

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  4. Look at the sauce.....divine......
    I can eat lots.

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  5. ahhh I love noodles! anytime better than rice for me!

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  6. Chinese spaghetti...I can see that this is going to become a firm family favorite very soon!!! Thanks for sharing this divine recipe.

    Best wishes and happy weekend,
    Natasha.

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  7. Anncoo,
    Oh thank you! Eat something now :)

    rosa,
    Thank you! It is always much better to cook it at home!

    LMH,
    Thank you very much! :)

    tigerfish,
    Thank you!
    Me too! haha

    zurin,
    Thank you! Noodles are great I agree!

    Natasha,
    Haha I am glad to hear that :)
    you have a great weekend too!

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  8. I have to order this every time we are at a Sichuan restaurant! I'll attempt to make this soon :)

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  9. Despite my name, zhajiangmian isn't one of my faves. That said your version looks tastier than the stuff I've tried in Beijing.

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  10. Love it! love it! love it! I can do with a bowl of that right now!

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  11. This has to be one of my favourite noodle dishes! Haha it is pretty much a Chinese spaghetti bolognese lol

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  12. Found many new and interesting recipies here...following you...

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  13. Your zhajiang noodle looks truly authetic!

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  14. CW,
    Haha you must try making it then!

    Mr Noodles,
    Oh san mien is on the way! Thanks haha!

    Mike,
    Thanks! Me too!

    KL girl in MELB,
    Thank you! Glad you think so too!

    cicily,
    Thank you very much! :)

    Angie,
    Thank you for your compliments!

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  15. Soup diet week is over! We still haven't found a really good zhajianmien here, I would like to try making this!

    love
    Sophia xxx

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  16. Un plat de nouilles absolument magnifique.
    Je note ta recette.

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  17. That looks so good!! Happy Friday!

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  18. scrumptious..A few days back my friend was showing this beans paste and was explaining how to make a sauce...This looks too good and I should get the bean paste soon :-)

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  19. Chinese Spaghetti Bolognese is a great way to describe the dish. It looks really amazing.

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  20. I had vegetarian dinner tonight and now I want a bowl of meaty noodle like this!

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  21. Wow!!! thats a great meal..Simply superb

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  22. Wow the noodles look so delicious, spicy, sourish .... very appetising!

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  23. Oh, what a meal that must have been.Final look of the dish and noddle is drool worthy.

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  24. à berlin j'ai gouté aux nouilles chinoise bien épicée et parfumée c'etait délicieux ton assiette a l'air bien savoureuse
    bonne soirée

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  25. It's exactly the kind of recipe that my husband loves and me too !
    And, like every time I look at your recipe, your photos are so gorgeous, I just want to taste !

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  26. I have not had this noddles for so long, that forgot all about it...I absolutely love this flavor of noodles, the sauce is sooo tasty :-) Your pictures are so yummie that I almost feel going through my screen ;-)

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  27. Looks so good! You got me craving for zha jiang mien! I love extra chili oil too =)

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  28. that looks sooooo good! i wanna try to make it too

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  29. I've just eaten my dinner but hungry again after I see this noodles. the sauce looks so delicious!

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  30. I have no words... to even start telling you how good that looks. Chinese food is my favorite, now I don't want my mom to know this cos I swear to her I love her cooking. (I do but there is this leaning towards chinese which is dangerous) Your dish looks fantastic...I am going to run and check how to blanch the sprouts...why do we have to do that? Thankyou very much.. its fantastic if I just had one word to describle how much I love that dish of your today.

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  31. Sophia darling,
    Congratulations! Try making this now the diet is over! xxx

    Ju,
    Thank you very much! :)

    Saveurs et Gourmandises ,
    Merci ! :)

    Michael,
    Thanks! You have a good weekend too!

    Gulmohar ,
    Thanks! It is a wonderful sauce to have in your fridge, get some!

    CheapAppetite,
    Haha thank you! :)

    Kenny,
    That's often how I think after a vegetarian meal!

    Sarah,
    Thank you! :)

    Cheah,
    Thanks for the compliments!

    pravs,
    Thank you! I didn;t even have a second helping :)

    Aux délices des gourmets,
    Merci! Essayez d'en faire autant!

    chapot ,
    Oh thank you! I hope you will make some for Mr. Chapot! Haha!

    Juliana,
    Thank you! Oh you mustn't forget about this noodles :)

    pigspigscorner,
    it is so great on a cold night too :) Thank you!

    and this blog ,
    Thanks and you must try, it is so simple!

    Mary,
    Thank you! I'm sure your children will like this too!

    Nostalgia ,
    Oh thank you very much! I won't tell your mum about that :)
    To blanch the bean sprouts, just pour boiling water over the bean sprouts then run them under running water right away. The reason is to get rid of the rawness but retain the crunch.

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  32. Wow! That is quite a bowl of zhajiangmian you have there! I'm craving some for lunch now!

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  33. 好一碗美味的炸醬麵!看了我胃口大開呀!

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  34. Haha you are so right calling this the Chinese spaghetti bolognese! I'm having a big craving after looking at this!

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  35. Oh gorgeous~! Looks more like the 'Hakka' noodles..absolutely tasty good. I've never tried the Korean original version. I wonder is it the same!

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  36. Oh, this looks really good. I like it!!!!

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  37. omygosh!! that looks soooo good I just love your blog :)

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  38. Looks devine easy to prepare and satisfying to eat ..

    Thank you for sharing your recipe :)


    Have a wonderful day !!

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  39. My dear friends,
    Thank you for the compliments :)

    My Little Space,
    Hakka mee is drier and the noodle is quite different, I'll post that soon :)

    GypsyFox The Glamorous Betty Crocker ,
    Oh thank you! I'm so happy to hear that!

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  40. Mmm your zha jiang mian looks really authentic and yummy. I suddenly crave for this after looking at yours :D

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  41. noobcook,
    Thank you very much! Make some soon!

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  42. One of my fav noodle dish...Oriental Spaghetti bolognese!...Hehehe!

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  43. Hallo
    just wondering where can you get the sweet bean paste? i am in melb and couldn't find it in my local asian grocery..
    what brand did you use? thanks

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  44. I am wanting to add fresh mushroom. Shitake or maybe king oyster...is it acceptable?

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  45. This was so, so delicious! I have a couple of different versions of this dish on pretty regular rotation and this recipe will certainly be added to the mix. Loved the perfect balance of flavours - we did add plenty of home made chilli oil though as we like our zha jiang mien spicy, especially on a cold Melbourne night with broken heating! This made enough for 3 generous meals for the two of us & I can't wait to eat the leftovers. Loving cooking from your blog, keep up the great work!

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  46. Beck

    Thanks for trying out another one of my recipe. Look like you are mad about noodles too! Chili oil is a must for me too.

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  47. where to buy shanghai noodless?

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