Minced Pork Noodles—Zha jiang mian 炸酱面 is a famous noodle dish across the country. However, you may see many restaurants offer it as Beijing style Zhajiangmian on their menu. But its territory is far beyond Beijing.
The highlight of this noodle lay in the minced pork sauce or pork gravy. And this pork gravy changes from northern China to Southern China with the most two essential sauces stay the same: sweet bean sauce and soybean paste. We have a very similar soup noodle in Sichuan cuisine “杂酱面”. Although they sound similar, but they are two different dishes.
To make authentic zha jiang mian, we need yellow soybean paste(黄豆酱). There are several varieties here. In generally, they are called “黄豆酱”. The three ones in the following picture are the most famous and popular ones.
The most famous one used for Beijing Zha Jiang Mian is the dried yellow soybean paste “干黄酱” from a famous brand “六必居”. If you are living in China or visiting China, purchasing several packages should be a good option. But it might be quite hard to find outside China. The paste is very thick with strong aroma.
Other types of soybean paste are much thin but much easier to find. Just search your local Asian markets and ask for “黄豆酱”.
Another important of this dish is Tian Mian Jiang “甜面酱”, a fermented wheat paste. This one is much easier to find in markets. Just show them the characters. No matter which brand you get, it should be 100% ok for this recipe. If you cannot find it in nearby markets, check this one and purchase it directly from China.
The best ratio of the two sauces recommended are 2:1 (yellow bean paste VS sweet wheat paste). Firstly, mix 2-3 tablespoons of yellow bean paste and 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of sweet wheat paste with 300ml warm water. Stir to combine well.
Then prepare your vegetables, cucumber, cabbage, carrots, celery and scallion all works fine.
Steps:
Add around 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in pan and fry the diced pork until withered and slightly browned. This is the process why we say it is “fried” sauce. Pour in Chinese cooking wine for a more pure taste. Move the pork to the edges of the pan, add garlic and ginger, fry over slow fire until aromatic. Slow down the fire, otherwise the ginger and garlic might be burnt.
Pour in our mixed sauce, dark soy sauce and let it simmer for 15 minutes over slowest fire. Mix in sugar.
If necessary, turn up the fire and thicken the sauce slightly.
Blanch the vegetables and cook the noodles. I highly recommend you using fresh handmade noodles. Top the sauce and serve immediately. Since this is a dry-mixed noodle dish, I high recommend matching it with a warm soup. I cook lotus root soup this time, but egg drop soup, and tofu soup are also great matches.
Zhajiangmian—Minced Pork Noodles
Ingredients
- fresh noodles for serving ,instruction for handmade noodles
Side vegetables, adjust the amount accordingly
- fresh cucumber as needed ,shredded
- carrots as needed ,shredded
- scallion white as needed ,shredded
Pork Sauce
- 400 g minced pork ,or diced pork belly
- 1 inch root ginger ,finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic ,minced
- 2-3 tbsp. yellow bean paste ,see Note 1
- 1-1.5 tbsp. sweet wheat paste ,tianmianjiang
- 300 ml warm water
- 1 tbsp. cooking wine
- 1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
Instructions
- Add around 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in pan and fry the diced pork until withered and slightly browned. This is the process why we say it is “fried” sauce. Pour in Chinese cooking wine for a more pure taste. Move the pork to the edges of the pan, add garlic and ginger, fry over slow fire until aromatic. Slow down the fire, otherwise the ginger and garlic might be burnt.
- Pour in our mixed sauce, dark soy sauce and let it simmer for 15 minutes over slowest fire. Mix in sugar. If necessary, turn up the fire and thicken the sauce slightly.
- Blanch shredded carrot for around 30 seconds and cook the noodles according to the instruction. Top the sauce and serve immediately. Since this is a dry-mixed noodle dish, I high recommend matching it with a warm soup.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Instructions are confusing. I do a lot of cooking but have never seen a recipe that uses the word “section” to describe an amount of cucumber or carrots. How much is “2 sections of cucumbers. Also, number 5 on your list of instructions sys: ‘”Anise’ carrot shreds in boiling water…” In English the Word anise refers to a flowering plant. Anise seeds have a liquorish flavor, but this work has no meaning in a recipe. What does this mean in your recipe?
Thanks, Paul
Paul,
Thanks for your comment.
By using sections, I am hoping that you can adjust the amount accordingly. Chinese cooking is very different from baking or other western cuisine, each cook can adjust the ingredients and seasonings. Before this blog, honestly I never measure ingredients. I will try to be more accurate in later recipes. Appreciate for your correctness.
Hello! I am having a difficult time finding the sweet bean paste/sauce. I have scoured the local H Mart and only find chili bean paste/sauce or Toona Bean Paste or even just plain bean sauce. Is there a sub or will one of my findings work. Thanks!
Hi Jen,
I have not tried with those sauces, they might work but the taste might be slightly different. If you have Hosin sauce, you may use it as a sub. Besides, I found this oneline:http://www.posharpstore.com/en-us/sichuan-sweet-bean-paste-p1497.aspx.
I made this with the closest available things in my supermarket – hoisin sauce and chilli bean paste (toban djan), and it was absolutely delicious, even if not quite correct!
Smart choice!
Dear Elaine, thank you for the recipe. I was going through a few sharing of Zha Jiang Mian to cook for my children but yours is absolutely look delicious. The instruction is easy to follow and I will cook it tonight.
Great Cathy. I am looking forward to your feedback.
Hoison sauce is the sweet bean sauce, it is commonly sold in supermarkets.
Hi Rebecca,
The taste and texture of Hoision sauce is quite similar to sweet bean sauce, so it is Ok to interchange.
It looks like italian spaghetti, I will definitely try this and add chili for added kick!
I will definitely try this recipe— sounds very good. I especially like that you embed photos of some of the ‘bought’ ingredients. When I’m at the Asian grocery it helps to know what I’m looking for. Sometimes I even print out a picture of the can/box etc to take to show to the helpful owners of the grocery.
That’s ture Janet,
Sometimes it is a little bit difficult to find the ingredients. That’s why I always try my best to specify those information in the post. I am waiting for your feedback. This is a noodle I love very much!
Hi Elaine. From Melbourne, Australia we say hello. Fantastic site with great recipes.Zha Jiang Mian is something we make at least every week and is a fantastic quick meal. Your recipe is nearly the same albeit if the sauce is too salty we usually add a tablespoon of sugar and.leave out the oil. What goes great is some fish tofu slices and we usually eat it with udon noodles. Love your recipes and will continue to try them.
hi!
great recipe, i am wondering if using doubanjiang, when to add?
thanks in advance!
James
Hi James,
Mix it with the sweet bean sauce but you need to reduce the amounts of the sauces, otherwise the minced pork sauce might be too salty.
Hi,
Your recipe looks great & I’m looking forward to trying it. I just have one concern: Can I use korean soybean paste (sempio brand) & hoisin to make this? There seems to be a difference between chinese and korean soybean pastes and I’m wondering if it will significantly alter the taste (for example, saltiness)
Thanks 🙂
Hi Josh,
You can replace it with Korean soybean paste, as I know that soybean paste is quite hard to find outside China. The texture should be similar but taste might be slightly different.
What is soybean paste and can I use a substitute? I haven’t been able to find it in our local supermarket. Thank you
Hi Kandie，
unfortunately soybean paste is quite essential to this Zha Jiang Mian. If you cannot find it, replace with Korean style soybean paste.
When I looked for Korean soybean paste, I only got confused. Amazon has several different soybean paste’s but I’m not sure what I’m even looking for. Could you recommend a brand or provide a link where I can buy either the Chinese or Korean style? I ate something like this in Beijing and I’m dying to make this. Thank you!!