Noodle
Beijing Zhajiangmian Beijing Zhajiang Noodle
- Serves 3-4
Author Notes
Ok, what on earth is Zhajiang then?
It is cooked yellow soybean paste sauce. First of all, the yellow soybean paste is a fermented paste made from cooked yellow soybeans, wheat, and salt. The fermentation process takes months for the beans to be perfectly mature owing to the different seasons the colors of the paste turn out quite different range from light to dark brown or even black. The premier yellow soybean paste is the one matured during spring season in February and March which has an amber color and soft with unified consistence. You can find them from your local Chinese store.
—Wei Lei
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- Noodle:
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500 grams
strong flour (gluten and protein content>10)
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200 grams
cold water
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1 teaspoon
salt
- Zhajiang sauce:
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250 grams
yellow soybean paste (please do not use dry paste)
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250 grams
skin off pork belly finely chopped into 0.5 cm diameter dices (No mice or machine ground meat please)
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2 tablespoons
cooking oil
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1 tablespoon
sugar
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2 tablespoons
minced fresh skinless ginger
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2
Spring onions using the white parts only, finely diced
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Supplementary sauces
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Sesame oil for taste, Chili oil for taste, Mustard sauce Chinese vinegar
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Garnish:
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Any available of the followings: De-shelled Edamame bean, Finely chopped cedar leaves, Garlic cloves, Bean sprout (root removed), Julienned cucumber, Sliced stem lettuce. Quick boiled and chopped long bean, Red radish, Finely chopped celery, Garlic chi
Directions
- Noodle Preparation:
- Mixed flour, salt and water into dough rest for 30 minutes
- Knead the dough till its surface become smooth
- Divide the dough into four equal pieces and roll each piece into 0.3cm-thick sheet
- Fold the sheet in zigzag way and make cuts at 0.5 cm intervals
- Bounce and loosen strands, cover them with cling film to avoid drying out.
- Zhajiang sauce
- Heat a sauce pot on medium heat and add cooking oil.
- Put ginger into pot cook for 20 second then add the diced pork.
- Turn to a low heat and cook the pork till you see oil and juice coming out from the meat.
- Add yellow soybean paste and keep stirring for about 20-25 minutes until all the moisture evaporates.
- Add sugar and spring onions.
- Cook for another 3 minutes
- Boil a big pot of water and cook the noodles until done. At this moment I bet you won't read this anymore. But one thing and the last one is to have a bowl hot water of which boiled noodle previously alongside your Zhajiangmian.
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