Ultimate Comfort Noodles, Zha Jiang Mian

We’re looking to ultimate comfort foods and there’s nothing more comforting to me than a big bowl of zha jiang mian. For me, this dish was almost a weekly staple growing up and there is so much to love about the complexity in textures and flavors. It’s a simple and some would say humble dish, but the super concentrated flavors in the meat sauce, tossed with fresh noodles and crisp carrots and cucumbers is bold perfection. This particular style of zha jiang mian comes from the Beijing region.

I’m all about proportions with this dish, so every bite needs the perfect amount of noodles to meat sauce to julienned veggies. Some people love a thicker hand cut noodle, but for me the ultimate iteration is a thinner noodle with the perfect chew to match the bits of pork belly and dried tofu. The rendered pork belly fat infuses in the sauce and creates a super tangy and salty sauce that coats the noodles. To balance the concentrated flavors of the pork and soy bean paste used in the sauce, I pair it with a citrus soy edamame for a bright finish.

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ZHA JIANG MIAN

SERVES 4

ingredients

• 4 servings of fresh noodles

• 1/2 lb pork belly, 1/2” cubes

• 1 lb ground pork

• 1 cup of dried tofu, diced finely

• 2 green onions, green portion sliced thinly at an angle

• 1 star anise

• 2 tsp ginger, minced

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 4 Tbsp dry yellow soy bean paste (黄豆酱)

• 2 Tbsp sweet bean paste (甜面酱)

• 4 Tbsp dark soy sauce

• 2 tsp Shaoxing wine

• 1 1/2 cup water

• Carrots, sliced into thin strips

• English cucumber, sliced into thin strips

Citrus Edamame Ingredients

• 1 lb of frozen edamame

• 2 Tbsp sesame oil

• 4 Tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tsp minced ginger

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• Zest and juice of one navel orange

  • In a skillet, heat oil and cook ginger and garlic until slightly cooked. Toss edamame and soy sauce in the skillet until heated through. Add the juice of one orange and finish with the orange zest.

STEPS

1. In a deep skillet or large saucepan, cook the pork belly cubes until lightly browned. Set aside and let drain on a paper towel.

2. Heat the vegetable and sesame oil along with the rendered pork belly fat. Add the ginger, garlic, green onion, and star anise and let it cook through until slightly softened.

3. Add the ground pork and cook down until browned.

4. In a bowl, combine the yellow soy bean paste, sweet bean paste, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and water.

5. Add the sauce mixture into the skillet and combine.

6. Add the dried tofu and the cooked pork belly back into the skillet.

7. Bring the sauce to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes or until the sauce has cooked down.

8. In a stock pot, boil water and cook the fresh noodles for 3-5 minutes or until slightly al dente.

9. Drain and gently toss the noodles with sesame oil. Serve the noodles topped with the meat sauce, edamame, and thinly sliced carrots and cucumbers.