THE SAUCE
There’s not always meat, but when there is it’s fried in
a brown or yellow bean sauce made from zhajiang,
fermented soy beans, and wheat flour. A balance
of salt and sweet comes from the likes of onion,
garlic, ginger and sugar. Ground pork, or
sometimes beef, brings the protein.THE TOPPINGS
Coriander and thinly
sliced cucumber
tend to top the dish,
but take it up a
notch with spring
onions or green soy
beans. Want some
extra heat? Go in
with a spoon of Lao
Gan Ma chilli sauce.THE NOODLES
Chinese wheat noodles are the word
here. They should still have some chew
to them and their rough texture should
help pick up all that sauce.All noodles are good noodles, but this
particular bowl is extra special.
Zhajiang mian
A
warm bowl of al dente noodles
smothered in a rich sauce – what’s
not to love? Chef and food writer
Tony Tan refers to the dish, which
has origins in Shandong province, as “Beijing
noodles with Chinese Bolognese sauce,” but
the literal translation is “fried sauce noodles”.
Zhajiang, a soybean paste, is the typical base
for said fried sauce – the most commonly seen
uses sweet fermented yellow soy beans – and
the end product is thick, rich and full of
flavour. Variations abound, however; ketchup
is common in the Hong Kong version, for
example. Whatever your flavour, stir it
all up and slurp away.Anatomy of a dish
GOURMET TRAVELLER 43WORDS HARRIET DAVIDSON. PHOTOGRAPHY ROB SHAW. STYLING LISA FEATHERBY. ALL PROPS STYLIST’S OWN.
Chinese Noodle Restaurant in Sydney’s
Haymarket remains the city’s go-to for a
bowl, while in Brisbane, Little Valley’s take on
“Chinese Bolognese” has firm noodles with
a sauce of diced pork and tofu enriched with
’nduja and XO, all topped with prawn floss.Find
one