Zha Jiang Mian | Fried Sauce Noodles

Zha Jiang Mian are also known as fried sauce noodles, according to Pippa Middlehurst. This dish is popular in Beijing, and was very popular at our table.

Zha Jiang Mian
Zha Jiang Mian
Head straight on to the Recipe For ♥ Zha Jiang Mian ♥

On the 17th of April, British Airways cancelled our flight to the UK. This was to be expected so I was not that let down by the cancellation. We had booked for the flight using Avios and cash, and had paid for our seats using Avios. Avios are the British Airways miles. The following day we requested that the cash portion be refunded to us. This request was acknowledged a day later and we did not have to wait too long for our credit card to be credited. The initial refund for miles was done on the 29th of April but getting our seat miles given back to us was a lengthy process. At first I thought I would just call their offices here and get it done. But they are closed due to Covid! And they do not have their phones diverted to the people working from home.

Today’s inspirational recipe from Lavender and Lime ♥ Zha Jiang Mian ♥ #LavenderAndLime Share on X

And there was no ways I was going to call the UK! Finding how to lodge a claim was not that easy and eventually I found a link on their site where I could contact someone about the refund. This person was not in the refunds department and I could not make a direct request. The reply came straight away with an apology, and a request to please be patient. And I was, for the first few weeks. Every Monday I sent a follow-up message. And every Monday I got a copy and paste reply to please be patient! Which ended up frustrating me, rather than placating me. This simple process took until the 11th of June  to be resolved. A wait that was far too long in my opinion. But thankfully soon enough for us to book our next flights.

 

Hand Cut Noodles With Zha Jiang Mian

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Zha Jiang Mian

These saucy noodles are chewy in texture with a seriously meaty sauce
Recipe Category: Asian
Makes enough for: 4 people
All Rights Reserved: Adapted from Dumplings and Noodles page 106

Ingredients

for the noodles

  • 300 g bread flour
  • 3 g salt
  • 160 mls water
  • corn flour for dusting
  • salt for the water

for the zha jiang mian

  • 15 mls canola oil
  • 480 g coarsely minced pork
  • 8 cm fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
  • 45 mls Shaoxing rice wine
  • 95 mls black bean sauce
  • 45 mls sweet bean sauce
  • 400 mls chicken stock
  • 3 star anise
  • 15 mls dark soy sauce
  • 1 pinch white pepper

Method

for the noodles

  • Place the flour and salt into a stand mixer and mix with a dough hook to combine
  • With the machine running on a low speed, slowly add the water until the dough comes together
  • Knead for 10 minutes, then cover the bowl with a damp towel
  • Set aside to rest for 30 minutes then divide the dough in half
  • Using a rolling pin, or pasta roller, roll out the dough to 2mm thick
  • Sprinkle generously with corn flour and with the short edge facing you, fold the dough lengthwise so it is 8cm wide
  • Continue folding all the way up, trim the edges and then cut 5mm strips along the width
  • Unravel the noodles, coat with corn flour and shake off the excess
  • Set aside while you do the second batch of dough
  • Once all the noodles are cut, set aside and bring a large pot of water to the boil

for the zha jiang mian

  • You can start making the sauce while the dough is resting
  • Place the oil into a large frying pan and heat over a medium to high temperature
  • Brown the pork and once browned, lower the temperature slightly and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
  • Once crispy, add the ginger, stir to combine and cook until you can smell the ginger
  • Pour in the rice wine, increase the temperature slightly, stir into the pork to deglaze the pan and continue cooking until the rice wine has disappeared
  • Add the bean sauces and stock and stir to combine
  • Add the star anise, soy and white pepper and stir to combine
  • Reduce the temperature and allow the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
  • (By now your noodles should be ready for rolling and cutting and the water should be boiled)
  • Add a generous amount of salt to the water, and leave the sauce simmering
  • Drop the noodles into the water and cook for 60 seconds
  • Drain, reserving some of the cooking water if needed to thin the sauce out, and add to the sauce
  • Take off the heat, toss to coat the noodles (adding some of the cooking water if necessary) and serve straight away

Notes

You can cook the noodles for 60 seconds in advance of making the sauce. Drain (reserving some of the cooking water to use if needed) and drop into ice cold water to stop the cooking process. When completely cold, drain again and set aside to use when needed.
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime July 19:

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19 thoughts on “Zha Jiang Mian | Fried Sauce Noodles

  1. Making your own noodles sounds very ambitious. We had a pasta maker for a while, and made Italian-style pasta, but eventually found it too much trouble to do it, so now we just buy our Italian pasta, Asian noodles, or American macaroni.

    best… mae at maefood.blogspot

  2. I’ve never tried to make my own noodles- I can only imagine how good they taste. Your recipe looks delicious and filling. What an ordeal with the cancellation. Are things really bad in UK again?

  3. This new world of traveling is really getting to me. I was on the phone for several hours today for my QR code for being vaccinated. It’s unbelievable! I still don’t have it. Your noodles look fantastic. What a treat?

    1. I would expect something much better from the US! We have a vaccine passport app here which I will activate once I have had my second jab. So far it looks simple to install and use.

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