Zha Jiang Mian

I've been reconnecting with my kitchen since my return. Nothing beats familiarity than cooking and savoring familiar foods. You're probably tired of me Paleo-fying everything, so I now give you...noodles!

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground pork

1 Tbsp rice wine or mirin

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp non-spicy bean paste sauce

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Noodles of choice - I like the Wu-Mu brand

Toppings

1 Persian cucumbers, julienne'd

1 carrot, julienne'd and sauteed

1 stalk green onion 

Instructions

1. Marinate ground pork in rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar for at least 10 min at room temperature. 

2. Heat a pan at medium-high with oil and garlic until aromatic. Add pork to the pan. 

3. Add bean paste afterwards. Mix until evenly coated and pork is thoroughly cooked (4-5 min). 

4. Add a little bit of water to thin the sauce out. Top with green onions. Turn off stove. 

5. Meanwhile, boil water in a large pot. Add salt and cook noodles according to the packet's instructions (Wu-Mu takes about 3 min).

6. Coat the drained noodles with 2-3 Tbsp of sesame oil. 

7. Portion out your noodles. Add a quarter of the cooked pork to your dish. Add vegetable toppings. 

Note that I didn't add salt -- I find a lot of sauces already high in sodium so things are usually flavorful enough. Also, I do the unspeakable and instead of noodles, I shred romaine lettuce and use that as my 'noodles'. It's still tasty, I promise!