Hong Kong ‘Zha Jiang’ Noodles (炸醬麵)

Make sure not to over-cook the noodles because you don’t want them mushy. You might like to rinse under cold running water to help keep their springy texture.The key element of this noodle dish is the sauce. Make more to mix with the noodles. Hope you’ll love it as much as I do.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

• 100 gm pork fillet, shredded
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 cakes egg noodles
• sesame oil, to taste, optional
• spring onion, diced

Marinade:

• ½ tsp light soy sauce
• ½ tsp cornflour / corn starch
• ¼ tsp sugar
• ½ tsp Shaoxing wine
• pepper, to taste

Sauce:

• 100 ml water
• 2 Tbsp chilli bean paste
• 2 Tbsp ketchup
• ½ Tbsp tomato paste
• ½ Tbsp white rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• salt, to taste
• ½ tsp chilli oil

Thickening:

• 1 tsp cornflour / corn starch
• 2 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Mix the pork with marinade. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Sauté garlic until aromatic. Add the pork and stir fry until its surface turns white. Set aside. Discard the garlic.
3. In the same pan. Pour the sauce ingredients. Cook over medium heat and bring it to boil. Continue to cook for 5 minutes.
4. In the meantime, blanch the noodles in boiling water. With chopsticks or tongs, give the noodles a stir to loosen them up. Following the instructions on packaging, cook the noodles until al dente. Mine needs cooking for about 2 to 3 minutes. Lightly mix with a dash of sesame oil if desired. Place noodles onto 2 to 3 serving plates.
5. Add the pork into the sauce. When it boils again. Add thickening and cook to preferred consistency. Drizzle over the noodles. Sprinkle spring onion for garnish. Serve immediately.

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