← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 200 g dried alkaline or plain wheat noodles (egg-free)
• 4 baby bok choy or other leafy greens, halved
• 3 tbsp chilli oil with plenty of sediment
• 1 tbsp Chinese sesame paste (or tahini)
• 4 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Chinese black vinegar
• 2 tsp Toasted sesame oil
• 1 clove Garlic, finely grated
• 1 tsp Ginger, finely grated
• ½ tsp ground Sichuan pepper
• ½ tsp Sugar
• ¼ tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Zha cai (pickled mustard tuber), finely chopped
• 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, chopped
• 1 Spring onion, sliced
• 120 g minced pork, for a meaty topping (optional)

Method

1. If using pork, stir-fry it in a hot pan with a splash of oil and a dash of soy for 4–5 min, until browned and crisp. Set aside.
2. Divide the chilli oil, sesame paste, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, Sichuan pepper, sugar and salt between two big bowls.
3. Cook the noodles in a big pot of boiling water until just tender, adding the greens for the last 1 minute.
4. Ladle about 120 ml of the hot noodle water into each bowl and stir to loosen the sauce into a thin, glossy broth.
5. Lift the noodles and greens into the bowls and top with the zha cai, peanuts, spring onion and the pork if using. Toss well before eating.

Tips

• Leave out the optional pork for a vegan bowl; with it, it becomes the popular "za jiang" version.
• Contains peanuts and sesame.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Omnivore's Cookbook What To Cook Today