Name: 北京炸醬麵
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 400 g All-purpose flour; 200 ml Water (warm, 35°C / 95°F); 1 tsp Salt; 1 tbsp Vegetable oil; 300 g Pork belly (diced 1 cm); 120 g Tian mian jiang (sweet bean paste); 60 g Yellow soybean paste (huang dou jiang); 20 g, minced Ginger; 4 cloves, minced Garlic; 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine; 1 tsp Sugar; 150 ml Water; 3 tbsp Vegetable oil; 1 large, julienned Cucumber; 100 g, blanched Edamame (shelled); 1 small, julienned Radish; 100 g, blanched Bean sprouts; 3 stalks, cut into 5 cm strips Scallions

食材

份量

人份

倍率

採購清單：all-purpose flour, salt, pork belly (or ground pork), tian mian jiang (sweet bean paste), yellow soybean paste, ginger, garlic, Shaoxing wine, sugar, cucumber, edamame, radish, bean sprouts, scallions, vegetable oil

A. Hand-Pulled Noodles

All-purpose flour

400 g

Medium gluten content for stretch and bite

Water (warm, 35°C / 95°F)

200 ml

Warm water for pliable dough

Salt

1 tsp

Strengthens gluten network

Vegetable oil

1 tbsp

For coating resting noodles

B. Zha Jiang Sauce

Pork belly (diced 1 cm)

300 g

Traditional cut; fattier than ground for richer sauce

Tian mian jiang (sweet bean paste)

120 g

Sweet fermented flour paste — the primary flavor

Yellow soybean paste (huang dou jiang)

60 g

Adds salty-savory depth

Ginger

20 g

Aromatics; cuts pork richness

Garlic

4 cloves

Background warmth

Shaoxing wine

2 tbsp

Deglazing and depth

Sugar

1 tsp

Balances fermented paste bitterness

Water

150 ml

Loosens sauce to coating consistency

Vegetable oil

3 tbsp

Frying medium

C. Vegetable Toppings (Ma Er)

Cucumber

1 l

Cool crunch contrast

Edamame (shelled)

100 g

Sweet and green

Radish

Peppery bite

Bean sprouts

100 g

Mild crunch

Scallions

3 stalks

Sharp allium freshness

步驟

Make the Noodle Dough

Combine flour and salt. Create a well and pour in warm water gradually while mixing with chopsticks. Knead by hand for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for 30 minutes minimum.

Warm water at 35°C (95°F) accelerates gluten hydration and makes the dough more extensible — critical for hand-pulling. The 30-minute rest allows gluten strands to relax from kneading tension, making the dough pliable enough to stretch without snapping. Salt tightens the gluten network, giving noodles their characteristic chew.

Pull the Noodles

Roll the rested dough into a rectangle 1 cm thick. Cut into 1 cm wide strips. Oil your hands and the strips lightly. Take each strip, stretch it gently to about 30 cm, then slap it against the work surface repeatedly while pulling to create a noodle roughly 60 cm long and 5 mm wide. Set aside on an oiled tray.

The slapping-and-pulling technique works because of gluten's viscoelastic properties — it resists quick force (elasticity) but yields to slow, sustained force (viscosity). Slapping against the surface aligns gluten strands longitudinally, creating noodles with directional strength that hold up to boiling and sauce without becoming mushy.

Cook the Zha Jiang Sauce — Render the Pork

Heat oil in the wok over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 180°C (356°F). Add diced pork belly and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes until the fat renders and edges begin to crisp.

Starting pork belly in a hot wok renders subcutaneous fat before the lean meat toughens. The rendered fat becomes the cooking medium for the bean paste, carrying its flavor more effectively than vegetable oil alone. Crispy edges provide textural contrast in the finished sauce.

Fry the Aromatics and Paste

Push pork to one side. Add ginger and garlic to the cleared space, fry 30 seconds until fragrant. Add both bean pastes to the center of the wok. Stir-fry the paste vigorously for 3-4 minutes, pressing it against the wok surface.

Frying fermented bean paste directly against the hot wok surface (a technique called "chao jiang") triggers Maillard reactions between the amino acids in the fermented soybeans and residual sugars. This transforms the paste from raw and harshly salty to complex, sweet, and deeply aromatic — the defining step of authentic zha jiang mian.

Simmer the Sauce

Add Shaoxing wine and let it sizzle for 10 seconds. Add water and sugar. Stir everything together, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oil visibly separates from the paste and pools on the surface.

Oil separation (liang you) is the visual indicator that the sauce is properly cooked. It means the emulsion has broken in a controlled way — the oil carries dissolved flavor compounds from the paste and pork, intensifying the sauce's aroma. This also means the raw starch in the paste has fully cooked, eliminating the chalky texture of under-fried sauce.

Boil the Noodles

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil at 100°C (212°F). Drop in the hand-pulled noodles, stirring immediately to prevent sticking. Boil for 2-3 minutes until noodles float and are chewy but not raw in the center. Drain and rinse briefly with cold water.

A brief cold rinse halts cooking and washes away surface starch that would make the noodles gummy and clump together. Beijing-style noodles are served slightly cooler than the sauce — the temperature contrast between hot sauce and cooled noodles is intentional and traditional, especially in summer ("guo shui mian").

Assemble and Serve

Place noodles in individual bowls. Arrange julienned vegetables in separate piles around the noodles. Spoon the hot zha jiang sauce generously in the center. Serve with instructions to mix everything together before eating.

The separate presentation of vegetables (called "ma er" or "code" in Beijing dialect) is both aesthetic and functional. Each vegetable provides a different texture and temperature contrast to the rich, hot sauce. The diner controls their own ratio of sauce to vegetables, personalizing each bite — a hallmark of Beijing street food culture.

常見錯誤

Noodles break when pulling

原因：Dough not rested enough or too dry

解法：Rest minimum 30 min; adjust hydration to 52-55%

Sauce tastes raw and bitter

原因：Bean paste not fried long enough

解法：Fry paste against wok 3-4 min until oil separates

Sauce too thick and pasty

原因：Not enough water added

解法：Add water gradually; sauce should coat a spoon, not clump

Noodles stick together

原因：Not oiled or rinsed after cooking

解法：Brief cold rinse + light oil toss

Vegetables wilt before serving

原因：Prepped too far in advance

解法：Julienne vegetables immediately before serving; keep iced

中式麵飯

福建炒麵

Hokkien Mee (Malaysian Braised Noodles)

馬來西亞華人的靈魂美食——粗黃麵在濃郁黑醬油高湯中燜煮，配上豬油渣和脆脆的蔥油，一碗滿足。

25 分鐘

食材

份量

人份

倍率

A. Hand-Pulled Noodles

All-purpose flour

400 g

Medium gluten content for stretch and bite

Water (warm, 35°C / 95°F)

200 ml

Warm water for pliable dough

Salt

1 tsp

Strengthens gluten network

Vegetable oil

1 tbsp

For coating resting noodles

B. Zha Jiang Sauce

Pork belly (diced 1 cm)

300 g

Traditional cut; fattier than ground for richer sauce

Tian mian jiang (sweet bean paste)

120 g

Sweet fermented flour paste — the primary flavor

Yellow soybean paste (huang dou jiang)

60 g

Adds salty-savory depth

Ginger

20 g

Aromatics; cuts pork richness

Garlic

4 cloves

Background warmth

Shaoxing wine

2 tbsp

Deglazing and depth

Sugar

1 tsp

Balances fermented paste bitterness

Water

150 ml

Loosens sauce to coating consistency

Vegetable oil

3 tbsp

Frying medium

C. Vegetable Toppings (Ma Er)

Cucumber

1 l

Cool crunch contrast

Edamame (shelled)

100 g

Sweet and green

Radish

Peppery bite

Bean sprouts

100 g

Mild crunch

Scallions

3 stalks

Sharp allium freshness

步驟

Make the Noodle Dough

Pull the Noodles

Cook the Zha Jiang Sauce — Render the Pork

Heat oil in the wok over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 180°C (356°F). Add diced pork belly and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes until the fat renders and edges begin to crisp.

Fry the Aromatics and Paste

Simmer the Sauce

Boil the Noodles

Assemble and Serve

常見錯誤

Noodles break when pulling

原因：Dough not rested enough or too dry

解法：Rest minimum 30 min; adjust hydration to 52-55%

Sauce tastes raw and bitter

原因：Bean paste not fried long enough

解法：Fry paste against wok 3-4 min until oil separates

Sauce too thick and pasty

原因：Not enough water added

解法：Add water gradually; sauce should coat a spoon, not clump

Noodles stick together

原因：Not oiled or rinsed after cooking

解法：Brief cold rinse + light oil toss

Vegetables wilt before serving

原因：Prepped too far in advance

解法：Julienne vegetables immediately before serving; keep iced

北京炸醬麵

器具

食材

A. Hand-Pulled Noodles

B. Zha Jiang Sauce

C. Vegetable Toppings (Ma Er)

步驟

Make the Noodle Dough

Pull the Noodles

Cook the Zha Jiang Sauce — Render the Pork

Fry the Aromatics and Paste

Simmer the Sauce

Boil the Noodles

Assemble and Serve

常見錯誤

保存與加熱

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北京炸醬麵

器具

食材

A. Hand-Pulled Noodles

B. Zha Jiang Sauce

C. Vegetable Toppings (Ma Er)

步驟

Make the Noodle Dough

Pull the Noodles

Cook the Zha Jiang Sauce — Render the Pork

Fry the Aromatics and Paste

Simmer the Sauce

Boil the Noodles

Assemble and Serve

常見錯誤

保存與加熱

你可能也喜歡

炸醬麵

古早味蛋炒飯

鼎泰豐排骨蛋炒飯

蟹粉豆腐

紅燒豬腳麵線

福建炒麵