Even before I lived in Beijing I loved Chinese food. Living there only increased my fondness for the cuisine as it is so much more varied and interesting than what we are used to being served in American-adapted Chinese restaurants in this country. Chinese food is far more flavorful and vegetable-filled and far less heavy, fried and saucy than we are led to believe based on what is available here.

Up until recently, I seldom cooked Chinese food for lack of a good cookbook. I now have one that I love thanks to my dad who found The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco by Cecilia Chiang (complete with an Alice Waters foreword). The cookbook is full of stories from the author’s childhood, which, I will admit, I’ve only skimmed, as I have been completely focused on the wonderful recipes and beautiful photos that accompany them. The recipes are well written with clear explanations of any out-of-the-ordinary ingredients or procedures that make them virtually foolproof. The book covers all of the expected categories including soups and noodles. There’s a great chapter on street food that contains one of my personal favorites: Zha Ziang Mian.

Zha Ziang Mian is a noodle dish topped with ground pork cooked in a soy-bean-hoisin-garlic sauce. It’s completely irresistible if not too photogenic. I made a little adaptation and used thinly sliced pork tenderloin instead of ground pork and added a few extra toppings for color. But if you stick to the original, you can’t go wrong either.

Zha Ziang Mian (adapted from The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco by Cecilia Chiang)
(serves 4)

2 Tbs bean sauce
2 Tbs hoisin sauce
2 Tbs soy sauce

3 Tbs peanut oil
1 Tsp minced garlic
½ lb coarsely ground pork shoulder (pork butt) or ½ lb pork tenderloin, sliced thinly
1 Tbs Shaoxing wine
1 Tsp peeled, minced fresh ginger
1 Tbs minced green onions
½ pound fresh 1/8-inch-wide Chinese noodles
½ English cucumber, partially peeled, cut into 2-inch-long julienne pieces (about ½ cup)

Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

Have remaining ingredients pre-measured and standing by as cooking the pork takes just a few minutes.

Boil water for the noodles.

Heat a large wok over high heat, add oil and swirl to coat pan. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and slightly golden, about 10 seconds. Add pork and stir constantly to break the meat apart. Cook pork until just a bit of pink remains and it begins to brown (about 2 minutes). Add wine and ginger and continue to stir for a few second more. Pour in the reserved sauce, bring the liquid to a boil, and stir to thoroughly coat the pork. Add the green onions and toss to combine well. Remove pan from the heat.

Cook the noodles until tender (about 2 minutes). Immediately drain. I like to put the noodles in individual serving dishes, top with the sauce, and garnish with the cucumber, allowing each person to toss their own noodles to combine them with the sauce.

Serve warm, cold or at room temperature as desired. Labels: Cecilia Chiang, Chinese food, noodles, pork, The Seventh Daughter, Zha Ziang Mian Looks like it was worth the wait.

July 21, 2008 6:31 PM larryb said...

This recipe looks and sounds delicious. I'll bet your noodles were home made! Great photo!

July 22, 2008 7:42 AM ummm simply divine!

July 22, 2008 9:21 AM Looks fantastic and sounds fairly easy to prepare - thanks for the idea.

July 22, 2008 9:41 AM Il gatto goloso said...

Hi, i put you into my prefer blog!

July 22, 2008 9:45 AM Textures, colors, and the froth on the beer are all terrific. Cold food when it's hot out is the best. Thanks for a great summer recipe. Auntie

July 22, 2008 10:19 AM Jescel said...

hmnn.. now, i'm craving chinese food.. your food looks so yummy!

July 23, 2008 11:52 AM The last couple Asian recipes you've posted have looked so tasty, and not too complicated. I'm going to have to challenge myself to try one sometime soon!

July 25, 2008 2:52 PM Now that is a gorgeous plate of food! The cookbook sounds fabulous...I tend to read them like novels anyway, so this one sounds perfect! :)

July 29, 2008 3:11 AM Thanks for all your comments guys and sorry for the lag in responding.
I am glad you are finding some ideas here. Erin: all of these recent ones are indeed quite easy (although they have the extra benefit of looking a bit impressive!).
Canarygirl - good to see you here. Sounds like a good cookbook for you!
Il gatto galoso: thanks so much - I really appreciate that!
Hi Meeta and Graeme - thanks for stopping by.
Jescel: glad this gave you cravings!
Family: thank you for your support!

July 29, 2008 10:44 PM SteamyKitchen said...

That's one of my fav Chinese cookbooks!
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