Taiwanese “Fried Sauce” Noodle Zha Jiang Mian 炸醬麵
I love this delicious 15 Minute Taiwanese “Fried Sauce” Noodle, or Zha Jiang Mian 炸醬麵, because it’s my mom’s recipe! This mushroomy meat sauce made with ground pork and dried mushroom is super aromatic in every bite. Mixed with fresh noodles and sliced cucumbers, this bowl of noodles reminds me of childhood dinners. The best part? It’s the easiest thing to meal prep! Freeze this meat sauce, and you’ll have delicious homemade Taiwanese food ready anytime!
Mama Chen’s Taiwanese “Fried Sauce” Noodles
Welcome to Day 8 of cooking Street Food for 21 days! Today I am making a Taiwanese version of “Fried Sauce” Noodle – Zha Jiang Mian 炸醬麵. This dish is a combination of a yummy mushroom packed meat sauce, freshly cooked noodles, and sliced cucumbers that adds such a nice crunch. There are so many variations on how to make this dish but this recipe is Mama Chen’s recipe that I grew up eating!
This meat sauce freezes so well, so it is perfect for meal prepping! When you’re ready to eat, cook up the noodles, slice cucumbers, and reheat the sauce. I always like to make this in bulk if I am ever away from my finance to put a tasty dinner together super quickly!
Zha Jiang Mian Ingredients
- 500 g Ground Pork
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 cup Dried Shiitake Mushroom soaked and sliced, don't throw out mushroom water
- 1/2 cup Shiitake Mushroom Water
- 4 piece Marinated Firm Tofu Cut into cubes
- 1.5 tbsp Spicy Fermented Bean Sauce aka La Doubanjiang
- 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- ½ cup Chicken Stock
- ½ Cucumber sliced
Cooking with Shiitake Mushrooms
I highly recommend using dried shiitake mushroom for this dish as it adds A LOT of flavor. To cook with dried shiitake mushrooms, you first rinse the dust off of the mushrooms, then soak them in hot water. Make sure not to throw away the water after soaking!!! This is where a lot of the flavor comes from.
However, if you can’t find these mushrooms dried, you can also use fresh shiitake mushroom. You won’t get that mushroom water, but you’ll get that nice fresh mushroom texture.
How To Make Taiwanese Meat Sauce Noodles
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and drizzle oil in a pan. Once the pan is hot, add in the ground pork and saute together for 2-3 minutes while breaking it apart.
- Next, add in garlic, mushroom, and tofu. Sautee together for another 2-3 minutes.
- Drizzle in soy sauce, dark soy sauce, la doubanjiang, and sugar, and mix.
- Add in mushroom water and chicken stock, and once it starts simmering, turn the heat to low and let it cook for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the noodle.
- To put it all together, start with the noodle, add on the meat sauce, and serve with a side of cucumber.
ENJOY!!
“Fried Sauce” Noodle – Zha Jiang Mian
By Tiffy Cooks
Ingredients
- 500 g Ground Pork
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 cup Dried Shiitake Mushroom soaked and sliced, don't throw out mushroom water
- 1/2 cup Shiitake Mushroom Water
- 4 piece Marinated Firm Tofu Cut into cubes
- 1.5 tbsp Spicy Fermented Bean Sauce aka La Doubanjiang
- 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- ½ cup Chicken Stock
- ½ Cucumber sliced
Instructions
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and drizzle oil in a pan. Once the pan is hot, add in the ground pork and saute together for 2-3 minutes while breaking it apart.
- Next, add in garlic, mushroom, and tofu. Sautee together for another 2-3 minutes.
- Drizzle in soy sauce, dark soy sauce, la doubanjiang, and sugar, and mix.
- Add in mushroom water and chicken stock, and once it starts simmering, turn the heat to low and let it cook for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the noodle.
- To put it all together, start with the noodle, add on the meat sauce, and serve with a side of cucumber.
Video
@tiffycooks Day 8/21 “Fried Sauce” Noodles, full recipe on Ig #tiktokcooks #myrecipes #fyp #noodles #food #asianfood #asiancooking #Artober #yum #ClassicalMusic
♬ Classical Music – Classical Music
Delicious!
I looked at 10+ videos, and this looks closest to what my mom used to make. I mix sesame paste (thinned with water) into the noodles before adding the meat sauce, then finish with vinegar and minced garlic (as needed).
Hi Moose, I’m so happy that it’s close to your mom’s flavor! Thank you for the review! It means so much to me! I also love your addition of the sesame paste, vinegar, and minced garlic! I have to try that next time.
Tiffy
The recipe calls for marinated tofu. I was wondering what you marinate the tofu with?
Hi Rebecca, so this is actually a type of tofu sold pre-marinated/braised and dried. It’s extra firm compared to normal firm tofu. You should be able to find it in Asian supermarkets. If you can’t find it, you can also use the firm tofu braised in this recipe: https://tiffycooks.com/taiwanese-braised-cold-dish/
Tiffy