Zha Jiang Mian literally means fried sauce noodles. It is a umami and savoury Chinese noodle dish with irresistible sauce. My kid friendly version uses familiar, common ingredients to make this brown sauce that any kids will slurp up.
You can use any noodles but I strongly recommend using knife cut noodles for the added visual flair. You can find the link below in the recipe.
I love making this at home so I can make tweaks for everyone in the family.
Here are some recommended below, that you can explore to make zha jiang suitable for everyone.
How to serve mixed zha jiang mian for babies & toddlers
- For older toddlers or pre-school kids, cook noodle to a softer consistency. Cut up with scissors to make it manageable for them.
- Omit sauces or reduce the amount of soy sauce to reduce salt.
- Leave out the cooking wine if you prefer.
Frugal adult-friendly variations & add-ons for hungry teenagers
Oh there are so many possibilites!
You can dress up with shredded cucumber, lao gan ma spicy chilli oil and even top up with oven-baked grilled chicken for added protein.
You can also pair it up with a side of spinach egg drop soup or mixed seafood soup.
A simpler but equally delicious option would be to use either ikan bilis stock or chicken stock to make a simple fishball soup for local twist.
If you are feeling luxurious (I love doing this during festive seasons like Chinese New Year), top with some lightly blanched razor clams or abalone.
Budget tips for zha jiang mian
- Each pack has 6 pieces. Buy multiple packs so that you can cook 2 / 3 servings.
- Keep knife sliced noodles as a pantry staple. It is very versatile and you can use it with other noodle dressings or hot pot.
Busy day tips for zha jiang mian
Split up the prep work so that you don’t have to do it all at once.
You can also double the minced pork recipe and use the extra pork to drizzle on top of steam egg or in a hot plate tofu dish.
The pork sauce freezes well and you can pop them into silicone freezer cubes so that they are easy to remove and store for future use.
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Have fun cooking!
Kid Friendly Zha Jiang Mian
Equipment
- 1 large pot (for noodles)
- 1 medium size pot (to make the minced pork aka zha jiang)
Ingredients
- 4 pcs knife cut noodles ($3.93)
- 250 g minced pork ($2.25)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.07)
- 2 shallots ($0.12)
- 1 tbsp oil ($0.17)
- 1 cup water (for making zha jiang sauce)
- 4 l water (for cooking noodles)
- 2 tsp oil (for cooking noodles) ($0.06)
- 2 tsp salt (for cooking noodles) ($0.01)
Marinade Ingredients
- ½ tbsp soy sauce ($0.04)
- ½ tbsp sesame oil ($0.11)
- ½ tbsp shao xing wine optional ($0.02)
- ¼ tsp salt
- dash white pepper
Additional DIY Sauce for Noodles
- 2 tbsp soy sauce ($0.09)
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce ($0.13)
- 1½ tbsp sesame oil ($0.34)
- 1½ tbsp shao xing wine ($0.06)
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce ($0.23)
- ½ tsp sugar
Instructions
Prepare the meat
- Defrost the meat, drain and squeeze out excess water
- Marinate the meat with marinate ingredients and let it sit for about 30 minutes. This step is optional but adds flavour.
Prep Additional DIY Top Up Sauce
- Mix all the ingredients of the sauce together in a bowl while meat is marinated.
Cook the Meat
- Heat wok or deep pot thoroughly.
- Add oil and let it heat fully
- Add the shallots. Then the garlic. Lightly toast the aromatics in the oil. Do not brown them.
- Add the marinated minced pork and stir fry it until it is almost fully cooked.
- Add water, bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 15 min.
Prepare the noodles
- In a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil.
- Add in a 2 tsp of oil and 2 tsp of salt.
- Add in knife cut noodles and let them cook till they are al dente. I find it takes about 6 – 8 minutes.
- Once cooked, drain and add to serving bowls.
Assembly
- My kids love to assemble this on their own. So you can serve up the minced pork sauce, additional DIY sauce and noodles for them to make their own bowl.