Chong Qing Noodle, also known as Chong Qing Small Noodles or Xiao Mian, refers to various noodle dishes that originated in Chong Qing, China. Chong Qing is a municipality that was part of Sichuan Province before 1997.
Chong Qing noodles can be served with or without soup, but all have a well-balanced spicy flavor called Ma La. Ma, meaning numbing, comes from Sichuan peppercorns, while La is spicy from Chinese chili peppers.
If you love the Ma La flavor, you should definitely try this noodle recipe that uses Sichuan peppercorn oil. However, if you have a low tolerance for spicy food, don't worry; this recipe is mildly spicy. Gradually increase your tolerance level, and one day, you can confidently walk into any spicy food restaurant and order like a pro.
CHONG QING NOODLE RECIPE
Ingredients - 4 Servings
Omit chickpea to make a simpler version. Omit pork to make a vegan version.
16 to 20 oz fresh noodles or 8 to 10 oz dried noodles. Round and medium-thick/thin noodles are preferred.
1 cup of canned chickpeas. I am using chickpeas as a shortcut instead of cooking the traditional yellow peas used in Chong Qing Noodles.
1 cup of ground pork (beef or chicken)
1 handful of leafy vegetables like spinach, bok choy, cabbage
Ya Cai (Sichuan pickled mustard greens)
6 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp of minced ginger
2 scallion, finely chopped
4 tsp of Chinese chili flakes (use more or less as you prefer)
50Hertz Red or Green Pepper Oil (green pepper is more numbing and refreshing, red has a more floral aroma)
Sichuan broad bean paste (Pi Xian dou ban jiang)
Light Soy Sauce
Zhenjiang Vinegar
Shaoxing cooking wine
White pepper powder
Sugar
Salt
Instructions
1.Finely chop 1 Tbsp of ginger and 2 Tbsp of garlic. Mince 4 cloves of garlic and set aside.
2. Heat 4 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a wok. Saute ginger and 2 cloves of chopped garlic over medium heat. When you can smell the aroma of the aromatics, add ground pork.
3. Saute the pork until pale, breaking it into small pieces. Add 2 Tbsp of broad bean paste and continue stir-frying until the meat is red and fragrant and the fat is rendered.
4. Add 1 ½ tbsp of Ya Cai, stir, then add 1 Tbsp of Shaoxing cooking wine. Continue to stir-fry until fragrant. Remove pork and set aside.
5. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. The noodles can be cooked upon serving, so instead of boiling 4 servings, you can boil 1 or 2 servings. As the noodles boil, prepare the serving bowls.
To assemble one serving, add 1 tsp of Chinese chili flakes (more or less to your preference) to a bowl. Add 1 clove of minced garlic.
6. Heat 1 ½ Tbsp of oil until smoking hot. Pour the oil onto the garlic and chili flakes to make a simple chili oil. Add 1 Tbsp of light soy sauce, ½ Tbsp of Zhenjiang vinegar, ¼ tsp of salt, ¼ tsp of sugar, and ⅛ tsp of white pepper powder. Mix well.
7. Drain cooked noodles and add them to the serving bowl. In the same pot, blanch 1 serving of green vegetables.
8. Add the vegetables, pork, and chickpeas to the noodles. Finely cut some scallions.
9. Add this game-changing pepper oil. Use ½ tsp to 1 tsp for each serving.
10. Mix everything together and enjoy!
You can add 1 ½ cup of the noodle-cooking water and turn this into a soup noodle dish. Add more salt to taste.
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