Sichuan Meat Sauce Noodles (杂酱面)

Quick Overview

The video provides a detailed tutorial on making Sichuan Zajiang Mian (spicy meat sauce noodles), emphasizing the complexity of the Sichuan sauce which combines chili bean paste and sweet bean paste, contrasting it with the simpler Beijing style, and concludes by demonstrating the final assembly of the spicy, flavorful dish.

Key Points: The Sichuan Zajiang Mian sauce requires a combination of 1.5 tbsp red miso, 1/2 tbsp Northern-style sweet bean paste, 1/2 tbsp douchi (fermented black soybeans), 1 tbsp Sichuan chili oil, 1/4 tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder, 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil, 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp MSG, and 1 cup stock. The cooking process involves three main stages: rendering 500g of coarsely ground fatty pork for about 5 minutes until the fat renders and the pork is loose, adding 15g minced ginger and frying for another few minutes until the pork is light brown and crispy. Next, the chili bean paste (25g) is fried for one minute, followed by the sweet bean paste (15g), then mixed with the rendered pork, and finally simmered with 1/2 cup stock for about 3 minutes to combine flavors. A thickening slurry of 1 tbsp potato starch and 2 tbsp water is added to achieve a consistency similar to the sauce shown in the video. For the soup version of Sichuan Zajiang Mian, the base seasoning (garlic water, dark vinegar, chili oil, peppercorn powder, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, MSG) is mixed first, and 1 cup of stock is added. Noodles (60g dry per serving) and bok choy are boiled together, then placed over the sauce base, topped with the meat sauce, scallions, and cilantro. The video contrasts the Sichuan style with Beijing Zha Jiang (which uses a darker, sweeter sauce) and Korean Ja Jang (which uses a black bean paste).

Context: This video serves as a cooking tutorial, specifically detailing how to prepare Sichuan Zajiang Mian (Sichuan-style meat sauce noodles). The host compares this spicy version to the milder Beijing Zha Jiang and Korean Ja Jang, focusing heavily on the precise ingredients and three-stage process required to create the complex, flavorful Sichuan meat sauce (Zajiang).