The westerners have pasta with bolognese sauce, we have ‘Zha Jiang Mein’… Much like its western counterpart, the Chinese version is as tasty and easy to prepare… This dish is also popular in Korea where black bean sauce is used and it’s called ‘Ja Jang Myun’… I have never tasted the Korean version but I was told it’s slightly sweeter… Although the name of this dish suggests that it is fried, it’s actually not oily, just the way it is cooked… With the julienned vegetables served as topping, this dish is actually quite healthy and balanced…
In China, the noodles are made fresh although a variety of noodles go well with the sauce… Personally, I love it with dried wheat / longevity noodles… I don’t have any longevity noodles in my kitchen so I used spaghettini instead…
Noodles with Fried Meat Sauce (Zha Jiang Mien)
Ingredients:
| 200g noodles (dried wheat noodles or pasta) |
| 200g ground meat (best is slightly fatty pork but I use lean) |
| 1 packet pickled mustard, chopped (char choy) |
| 3 pcs dried shiitake mushroom, soaked and sliced |
| 1 cucumber, 1 carrot and 2 red chillies, julienned |
| |
| Seasoning: |
| 1 tblsp garlic, chopped |
| 1/2 tblsp ginger, chopped |
| 2 tblsp chili bean paste (tau ban cheong) or soya bean paste |
| 1 tblsp shiao shing wine |
| 1 tblsp hoisin sauce |
| 1/2 tblsp sugar |
| 500 ml chicken stock or water |
| 1 tsp sesame oil |
| 1/2 tsp dark soya sauce |
Method:
1. Cook noodles in boiling water according to manufacturer’s instruction. Rinse the noodles under cold tap water and set aside.
2. Heat up 2 tblsp oil in a wok. Sauté garlic, ginger and mushroom until fragrant. Add in ground meat and stir-fry, then add in pickled mustard.
3. Add seasoning and stock. Cook until sauce is thick and dish out. Place a bed of noodles on a serving plate, top with enough fried sauce and julienned vegetables. Serve hot.
Serves 3.
Cost/serving: RM 3.50
