Zha Jiang Noodles (杂酱面）

This was the second dish cooked at my new Unilodge 2 Home, after the Risotto (see below)! Loved it when my mum cooked it for me in Melbourne so I bugged her for the recipe and tried it out myself. Delicious!



Ingredients (serves 2):

Minced Pork/ Chicken- 300g (about half a pack)
Sweet Bean Paste - 3 table spoons
Soy Bean Paste - 2 table spoons
Noodles/ Instant Noodles- 2 packs
Cucumber strips (about 1/4 of a cucumber)
Corn flour (about one table spoon)
Chilli powder

Instructions:

1) Marinate the minced pork/ chicken with the pastes in a bowl. Mix thoroughly.
2) Heat oil in a pan, then stir fry the minced meat.
3) After frying for a bit, add about 1/4 cup of water, and continue cooking. Stir occasionally. Use medium heat.
3) In another pot, heat water till boiling and cook the noodles simultaneously.
4) Check the pan. When it is almost done, taste a little and add salt/ pepper as necessary. Add chilli powder if you want it a little spicy. Turn to low heat.
5) Meanwhile, pour one table spoon of corn flour into a bowl. Add 5 table spoons of water and stir until smooth. Then pour the starch mixture into the pan. This will thicken the sauce.
6) Remove noodles from pot and drip dry. Drench in cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking.
7) Put the noodles into a bowl, pour some of the sauce in the pan onto it and finally sprinkle some cucumber strips on top.
8) Mix well before eating!

Yummy! =))