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    Zhajiangmian

    炸酱面 (zhájiàngmiàn)

    Thick fresh wheat noodles with a spoonful of pork mince fried with sweet bean sauce, topped with crisp cucumber. Literally 'fried sauce noodles', a home-style dish of Beijing; the quantities are Adam Liaw's.

    Thick wheat noodles with dark minced-pork bean sauce, green cucumber strips, pink radish julienne and spring-onion rings in a white bowl.
    Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.
    Servings
    4
    Preparation
    15 min
    Cooking
    10 min
    Total
    25 min
    Difficulty
    Easy

    Equipment

    • Wok
    • Large pot of boiling water for the noodles
    Servings4

    Ingredients

    • Sauce

    • Noodles and toppings

    Shopping list

    Method

    1. Heat the wok over high heat, add the oil and fry the white spring onion, garlic and ginger for 1 minute until fragrant.

    2. Add the pork and fry until lightly browned. Stir in the bean sauce and stock.

    3. Simmer 5 minutes until thick and saucy.

      Timer · 5 min5:00

    4. Meanwhile cook the noodles as the packet directs, drain well and divide between bowls.

    5. Top each bowl with a small amount of the sauce, the cucumber and radish, and a sprinkle of green spring onion. Mix at the table.

      Why The sauce is salty and concentrated: a little is enough, and the cucumber cools it.

    To drink & serve with

    Substitutions

    • Watermelon radish → Leave it out, or add blanched bean sprouts or sliced radish.

    Common mistakes

    • Drowning the noodles in sauce: it is a seasoning, not a soup.

    Storage & reheating

    Cool the sauce within 2 hours; it keeps 2 days in the fridge (UK FSA). Cook the noodles fresh.

    Safety

    Pork mince must be cooked through (UK FSA). Contains gluten (noodles, bean sauce) and soy; many wheat noodles also contain egg.

    Allergens

    Gluten · Soy

    Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

    Fried sauce noodles

    Adam Liaw translates zhajiangmian literally as "fried sauce noodle" and calls it a classic home-style dish "popular with peasants and nobility alike", made with thick fresh wheat noodles, pork and bean sauce, "kind of like a Beijing bolognese".

    [1]

    A spoonful of sauce, a handful of cucumber

    The sauce is quick: aromatics, pork, sweet bean sauce and stock simmered for five minutes until thick. It goes on top of the noodles in a small amount with raw cucumber, and each diner mixes the bowl. Liaw's version uses only sweet bean sauce; the dish exists in many family versions.

    [1]

    How it connects

    Place

    • origin Beijing In preparation

    Recipe

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