Grandma’s Zha Jiang Mien (aka Chinese Spaghetti)
My favorite meal as a child, and still today, is my grandma’s Zha Jiang Mien (aka Chinese Spaghetti). She made it often when we were growing up. While I was visiting from college, she would make extra for me to take down to Austin. When you’ve been eating the same dorm food day in and day it, having grandma’s Zha Jiang Mien was heaven! I would make noodles in my electric noodle cooker since we didn’t have a stove.
Grandma’s Zha Jiang Mien is a little different than what you’ll find in restaurants. She puts lots of dried tofu and diced vegetables in it, which gives it so much more texture and flavor. I look for the cleanest ingredients at the Chinese grocery store. Here is what I use:
Instructions:
First, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan. add 3 cloves of crushed garlic and 2 teaspoons of crushed ginger. Then add the carrots and cook until just starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add in the bamboo, shitake mushrooms, and bean curd and cook another 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Heat the other tablespoon of oil in a dutch oven. When hot, add 3 cloves of crushed garlic, 2 teaspoons of crushed ginger, and 2/3 of the chopped green onions and cook for 1 minute. Then, add the ground pork and cook until brown. Add the sweet bean sauce and hot bean sauce and combine.
Transfer the diced vegetables over into the dutch oven and combine. Add in the cornstarch and fill the dutch oven with water until you cover all of the contents. Combine well. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer with lid on for at least 30 minutes or longer if you want a deeper flavor.
Cook noodles according to package instructions. Put noodles in serving bowl and top with a healthy amount of sauce and some of the liquid to coat the noodles. Use the remaining uncooked green onions and julienned cucumbers as a garnish.
Another recipe you may enjoy: The Best Instant Pot Beef Noodle Soup
| Prep Time | 45 minutes |
| Cook Time | 90 minutes |
| Passive Time | 60 minutes |
| Servings | servings |
- 1.5 pounds ground pork
- 4 large carrots
- 8 whole bamboo shoots or 32 oz frozen bamboo shoots
- 24 shitake mushrooms
- 8 squares thick soy bean curd also known as dried tofu
- 1 large can sweet bean sauce
- 1 small can hot bean sauce
- 4 cloves crushed garlic
- 2 teaspoons crushed ginger
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch
- 6 cups shitake mushroom liquid use water if you don't have enough
- 3 stalks green onions
- baby cucumbers very thin julienned, for garnish
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil olive or canola oil works too
Ingredients
|
- Heat 1 tbs of oil in a large pan. add 2 cloves of crushed garlic and 1 teaspoons of crushed ginger. Then add carrots and cook until just starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add in the bamboo, shitake mushrooms, and bean curd and cook another 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Heat the other tablespoon of oil in a dutch oven. When hot, add 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 teaspoons of crushed ginger, and 2/3 of the chopped green onions and cook for 1 minute. Then, add the ground pork and cook until brown. Add the sweet bean sauce and hot bean sauce and combine.
- Transfer the diced vegetables over into the dutch oven and combine. Add in the cornstarch and fill the dutch oven with the shitake mushroom liquid or water until you cover all of the contents. Combine well. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer with lid on for at least 30 minutes.
- Cook noodles according to package instructions. Put noodles in serving bowl and top with a healthy amount of sauce and some of the liquid to coat the noodles. Use the remaining uncooked green onions and julienned cucumbers as a garnish.