Zha Jiang Mian, or Fried Sauce Noodles, is a classic Chinese comfort food made from a luscious dark soybean sauce and ground pork, served over a bowl of thick wheat noodles. This recipe pumps up the meat and veggies per bowl to make a complete main dish serving.
3tablespoonscornstarchmixed with 3 tablespoons water
1/2teaspoonpure sesame oil
cooked zha jiang noodles or udon noodles
small cucumberjulienned
Instructions
Prep your veggies: Chop onions in 1/4" dice. Chop the leafy part of the napa cabbage in large pieces around 2 inches big and chop in 1/4" dice the stalk (white parts). Chop zucchini in 1/4" dice. Slice mushrooms in thin slices.
Over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Cook onions until softened; remove and set aside in a big bowl. Add a little oil and cook cabbage until almost translucent; remove and add to onions in bowl. Add zucchini and mushrooms, cook briefly until softened, add to the bowl.
Add a bit more oil to the skillet and cook ground pork until no more pink is visible, remove and set aside in a bowl.
Add 3 tablespoons of oil and the slices of ginger to the skillet. Mix in the ground bean sauce and hoisin sauce. Stir until the sauces are just bubbling. Mix the pork back into the skillet and cook for another minute. Remove the ginger slices and mix back in all the vegetables. Stir well until everything is coated.
Stir in the soy sauce, water and chicken broth. Mix cornstarch with water and add it to the skillet. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken. Stir in well the sesame oil at the end.
Slice cucumber thinly on the diagonal. Then take one little stack of cucumber slices at a time and cut thin matchsticks. Set aside for garnish.
Serve the sauce over a portion of cooked noddles and top with a small bunch of julienned cucumbers.