How to Make Zhajiangmian

Estimated Cooking Difficulty: ★★★

Essential Ingredients and Tools

Diced pork / ground pork
Noodles (dried noodles or fresh noodles)
Garlic
Garnishes (choose 4-10 types according to preference, such as cucumber, napa cabbage, radish, etc.)
Doubanjiang (fermented broad bean paste)
Tianmianjiang (sweet bean sauce)

Before each preparation, determine how many servings you wish to make. One serving is sufficient for 1 person.

Per serving:

Julienne the garnishes and set aside.
Chop the green onion. Heat oil in a pan, add the green onion and pork, and stir-fry until the meat is fully cooked (no pink remains).
Add the Doubanjiang and Tianmianjiang, and continue stir-frying until the mixture becomes slightly thick. Remove from heat to create the zhajiang (fried sauce).
Take a large bowl and add cold water; set aside.
Boil the noodles until just cooked through (no white raw center). Transfer the noodles into the bowl with cold water from Step 4.
Immediately drain the noodles and transfer them to a clean bowl.
Add the zhajiang from Step 3 to the bowl and mix well. Then add the garnishes from Step 1 and mix again.

Lean diced pork is recommended for better texture; it is best to buy and use it fresh.
Fresh noodles are recommended.
The key to good noodle texture is chewiness. Avoid very thin noodles like Longxu noodles.
If you have the equipment (a second pot) and are experienced, Steps 2 and 3 can be performed simultaneously with Steps 1, 4, 5, and 6.
Preferences for sweet and savory flavors vary. You may need to adjust the ratio of the two sauces to suit your taste.

If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improvement while following this guide, please submit an Issue or Pull Request.