Zha Jiang Mian is a popular Chinese noodle dish with meat sauce that I grew up eating. It’s my Dad’s signature dish that I remember the most when I was growing up. Even as an adult, he would send me care packages with a container of his Zha Jiang Mian. A few weeks ago, we celebrated my Dad’s 90th birthday down in Maryland. At his age, there’s nothing he really needs, so I decided to cook a few authentic Chinese dishes for his birthday celebration.
My niece from Taiwan provided me with an authentic recipe for Zha Jiang Mian. Since my Dad is the master chef of Zha Jiang Mian, and he heartily approved of the one I made using this recipe, I am pretty sure this is as authentic a recipe as I’ve ever tried.
I had been using hoisin sauce in the past, not sweet bean sauce (Tian Mian Jiang). The first time I learned about sweet bean sauce was when we had a caregiver from Shanghai living with us to take care of my in-laws. Chinese products are often generically labeled so it can be difficult to know if you’re buying the right ingredients. Take “bean sauce” for example. There are so many cans labeled “bean sauce,” yet they are all different kinds. However, the Chinese characters tell you exactly what is in the can.
Tian Mian Jiang gives Zha Jiang Mian the deep rich color and flavor.
Zha Jiang Mian is often served with cucumber strips and shredded egg crepe. I like scallion as a garnish too. My niece’s recipe also includes garlic water as a accompaniment, which is just smashed garlic, water and a little salt. Â If you’re a garlic lover, give this a try.
I’ve made this Zha Jiang Mian three times in the last week, including this past weekend when I gave a fun cooking lesson to some friends who were staying at our house.
Zha Jiang Mian is traditionally made with ground pork, but I used ground turkey as a healthier option. This simple Chinese noodle meat sauce is easy to make and economical. My college-age son, Kyle, will be making this for himself and his roommates this coming school year.
Zha Jiang Mian
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh Chinese noodles
Za Jiang Meat Sauce
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 pound ground turkey or pork
- 1/4 cup sweet bean sauce (tian mian jiang)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons shaoxing wine
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup water
Egg Crepe
- 3 eggs
- dash shaoxing wine
- dash salt
- 2 teaspoons oil
Garnishes
- 1/2 cucumber cut into thin strips
- 1 scallion chopped
Garlic Water
- 6 cloves garlic
- dash salt
- water
Instructions
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Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Za Jiang Meat Sauce
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Heat oil and stir fry onion until softened. Add ground turkey and break up until crumbled. Cook until brown. Add sweet bean sauce and soy sauce; cook for 2-3 minutes. Add shaoxing wine and sugar; cook 1-2 minutes. Add water and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 1/2 hour. Toss meat sauce several times during cooking, especially towards end of cooking time.
Egg Crepe
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Beat eggs with shaoxing wine and salt. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add eggs and swirl around in pan to cover bottom of pan and form a thin crepe. Cook until egg is cooked. Turn out onto cutting board; let cook; cut into thin strips.
Garlic Water
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Grind garlic and salt to a paste using a mortar and pestle. Add a few tablespoons of water and stir. Transfer to small bowl.
To Serve
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Divide noodles among four bowls. Top with Za Jiang Meat Sauce. Garnish with egg crepe, cucumbers and scallion. Drizzle with garlic water.
Recipe Notes
Traditionally pork is used for this dish, but I used ground turkey for a lighter dish.
That meat sauce looks super! An excellent recipe, Jeanette.
Thanks Angie – this is a keeper!
Hi Jeanette…What a treat to make this! I love to cook, and this was a new challenge for me, but my husband and I loved it!
I cannot wait to try more of your delights.
I improvised on the sweet bean sauce…..hold your hat, I picked up Iron Chef’s sweet chili sauce……I couldn’t find the sweet bean sauce in my Stop and Shop in Torrington, so hence, I went for the chili sauce, which was sweet, but gave it that hot chili taste as well! My husband loved it!
Any suggestions where I can find the sweet bean sauce in my neighborhood?
Thank you sooo much!
Hi Amy, so glad you enjoyed this recipe even though you couldn’t find the sweet bean sauce. You can substitute hoisin sauce which I’ve seen in the Asian section of the grocery store.
I want to thank you for publishing this recipe. I made it for 100 servings tonight, followed the meat sauce measurement to the tee (x25), two industrial woks later, it came out perfectly. The only addition I made was to add one small block of five spice tofu. That really made the dish taste that much more unique. All the kids from middle school to college all raved about this recipe. Thank you for your kindness again on producing one of the best noodle dish I’ve ever made.
Wow – 100 servings!! That is impressive. So happy everyone enjoyed it. Love your addition of five spice tofu – I’ll have to try that next time