← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 350 g pork mince (or finely diced pork belly)
• 3 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp Ginger, finely chopped
• 3 Spring onion, whites finely chopped, greens sliced to serve
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 8 tbsp Sweet bean sauce (tian mian jiang)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 250 ml Water
• 500 g fresh thick wheat noodles (or 350 g dried)
• 1 Cucumber, cut into matchsticks
• 100 g Bean sprouts, blanched (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the pork and fry for 4–5 min, breaking it up, until browned and the fat has rendered.
2. Add the ginger and spring onion whites and stir for 30 seconds, then splash in the Shaoxing wine.
3. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the sweet bean paste. Fry it with the pork for 2 min, stirring constantly so it does not catch, until it darkens and smells rich.
4. Stir in the soy sauce, sugar and water. Simmer gently for 10–12 min, stirring often, until the sauce is thick and glossy and a little oil pools at the edges.
5. Meanwhile cook the noodles in plenty of boiling water following the packet, then drain. Rinse briefly under warm water if they are sticky.
6. Divide the noodles between bowls, spoon over the sauce and pile the cucumber, bean sprouts and spring onion greens on top. Mix everything together at the table.

Tips

• The sauce keeps for 5 days in the fridge and tastes even better the next day.
• Beijing cooks often mix sweet bean paste with yellow soybean paste for a saltier, deeper sauce; try half and half.

Sources

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

Omnivore's Cookbook Made With Lau Tiffy Cooks