Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Chinese spaghetti - zhajiang mian

Before going shopping tomorrow, I've been planning a menu for January. With another heating bill expected next month, I intend to cook cheap. I am also craving to try a new dish. While googling for pork cuts I came across a recipe for "Chinese spaghetti" - northern Chinese noodles with stir fried ground pork. See link for all possible ingredients of this dish, I will be using only the below, which I already have. This is what you need to do:

Dice scallions and garlic.

Stir-fry the ground pork until slightly brown, remove from wok.

Stir-fry the green onions and garlic until slightly brown (optionally, add shredded tofu or soybeans).

Return the meat to the wok.

Add hoisin sauce with some water and simmer until the meat is done.

Serve over noodles. If desired, add shredded carrots and/or cucumbers, bean sprouts, scrambled eggs, fresh soybeans/edamame and hot sauce.

Sounds really easy, albeit mild tasting. I think I will be adding hot peppers to the onion and garlic mixture, and perhaps some fish sauce to enrich the taste. I will post a picture when I make it.

Update: above, a picture of the ready dish. I decided to keep it mild and actually forgot to add the fish sauce. It's very quick to make. To me, it tastes better cold, as a filling for sandwiches.

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