Szechuan Zha Jiang Mian
A friend of mine came over the other day and gave me cucumbers and carrots they grew, two things I did not have the chance to plant this year (nor do I have the space, currently, as the annual bed is full.) I can understand why he wanted to give them away, as what amounted to 2 bags of carrots and one bag of cucumbers were indeed, a bit much. Thankfully, I had just the recipe I was craving to use up a portion of it.
This is one of my dad’s favorite dishes, and I like it very much too because it reminds me of my childhood. Oddly, it’s quite delicious during the summer months and refreshing, despite the spiciness of it. Zha Jiang Mian has many different recipes depending on where you are (and there is even a Korean version), but this is the one I grew up with.
My husband, who is on a low carb diet, forewent the noodles and replaced it with more shredded carrots and cucumbers.
Recipe
This can be made in a vegetarian version, without meat as well.
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1 package (about 6 pieces) of Five Spiced Dried Tofu, diced to 1/4 inch pieces
- 4 tablespoons spicy broad bean sauce (Dou Ban Jiang), more if you like it spicier
- 1/2 cup sweet bean sauce (Tian Mian Jiang)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Szechuan peppercorn
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 sprigs of spring onion, finely diced (or 1/4 of an onion to substitute)
- 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, for pot
- 1 cup water mixed with 1 tablespoon flour, for thickening
- 1 scrambled egg (I used a duck egg since that’s all I have)
- 1 cucumber, julienned or shredded
- 1 carrot, julienned or shredded
- 1 portion fresh Asian noodles
- Rice wine vinegar on the side (optional)
1. In a pot, sautee garlic, minced green onion, and ginger in vegetable oil over medium high heat until aromatic, about 3 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning.
2. Add ground pork and sautee together until cooked. Add finely diced Five Spiced Tofu.
3. Add Dou Ban Jiang, spicy broad bean paste, Tian Mian Jiang, sweet bean sauce, water and flour mixture, Szechuan peppercorn, and simmer until sauce is thickened.
4. While simmering, prepare noodles according to package instructions, and scramble an egg.
5. When noodles are done, arrange in a bowl topped with shredded or julienne cucumbers and carrots, the scrambled egg, and ladle zha jiang sauce over it.
6. Serve with optional rice wine vinegar (at the discretion of the person who is eating.)