Making Grandma's Zha Jiang Mian Recipe

A bowl of zha jiang noodles with cucumbers and scallions — (Photo: Kimberly Wang)

I haven’t been here in quite some time, but what better time to return than on Chinese New Year. Happy Year of the Tiger, everyone! In honor of the occasion, I’m bringing a classic Chinese/Taiwanese recipe that I find myself making over and over again: zha jiang mian (炸醬麵). White noodles with crunchy fresh cucumbers, spiced tofu dice, and the finest, tastiest meat sauce every — this recipe is so good, you seriously will never need another one. This particular recipe was passed on to me years ago by my incredible cook of a grandmother, who is originally from Hubei Province but spent decades of her life in Taiwan. This recipe is both simple and has some Grandma Wang specific touches that make the recipes infinitely better IMHO.

Ingredients

Makes 8 servings

2 tbsp cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water
1 tbsp of grated ginger juice (Squeeze out the juice, discard the fibers)
2 lbs ground pork
1 1/2 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
4 squares of extra firm spiced tofu (豆腐乾), finely diced
3 tbsp of high heat cooking oil, like Canola

11 oz. dou ban jiang (豆瓣醬), you can also opt for the spicy version la dou ban jiang (辣豆瓣醬)
11 oz. tian mian jiang (甜麵醬)
1 pack of wheat noodles
1 teaspoon of cooking oil to stir into noodles
1 Persian cucumber cut into matchsticks for garnish
3 stalks of scallions, trimmed and sliced for garnish (optional)

Easy trick for peeling ginger: use a spoon. (Photo: Kimberly Wang)

Directions

1. Start by prepping your cornstarch slurry by mixing 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and set aside. Next, after peeling and grating your ginger into a bowl, squeeze the juice out the grated ginger. Keep the juice and discard the fibers. The ginger will eliminate the gamey taste of the pork.

2. Place your ground pork in a large mixing bowl and start stirring in clean, distilled water a half cup at a time using a fork. You want to keep adding water and mixing it into the pork completely until you get almost an creamy oatmeal or congee-like texture. This is grandma’s secret step for getting a very fine meat sauce texture. Adjust the amount water until you get to the right texture. I’ve included a photo here for reference.

3. Next, add cornstarch slurry, ginger juice, and salt to the bowl with the bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside.

4. Add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil to a large wok or pan. Heat on medium high heat for about 1-2 minutes, or until the oil begins to shimmer. Add in the dou ban jiang and tian mian jiang to the pan and fry the sauces in the oil for another 2 minutes.

5. Add in the diced tofu and the meat mixture and combine well. Turn heat to medium and stir regularly to keep the sauce from burning. Continue stirring your sauce on medium heat for about 15 minutes. When it’s finished, turn off the heat and set aside.

6. While your meat sauce is cooking, boil a pot of salted water to cook your noodles. When your water is boiling, cook the noodles according the the instructions on the package. When the noodles are done, drain and drizzle a teaspoon of cooking oil and give it a toss to keep your noodles from sticking to itself.

7. Finally, plate your noodles and ladle a generous serving of the meat sauce over it. Top with chopped scallions and your julienned cucumbers and serve immediately.

I’ve made this recipe countless times, and honestly, while I wish I could say I’ve improved on it, it’s actually the perfect recipe as it is. Grandma really knows what she’s doing in the kitchen. I hope you and yours enjoy making this as much as my family has.

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(Featured photo: Kimberly Wang)