Hot Dry Noodles (Re Gan Mian, 热干面)
A classic breakfast dish, hot dry noodles deliver exciting flavours, pleasant textures and are very easy to make!
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 2 portions alkaline noodles see note 1 for substitutes
For the dressing
- 2 tablespoon sesame paste see note 2
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- Salt
- Ground white pepper
- homemade chili oil optional
For the toppings
- Pickled long beans (酸豇豆), chopped See note 3
- Preserved daikon radish (萝卜干), chopped See note 3
- Scallions, finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat up a large pot of water. While waiting for the water to boil, add sesame paste, sesame oil and 1 tbsp of water to a bowl. Stir to thin the paste until it reaches a smooth and runny consistency.
- Put minced garlic into another small bowl. Once the water starts to boil, spoon out 2 tbsp of hot water and pour over the garlic. Set aside.
- Add alkaline noodles to the boiling water. Cook until they’re “Al dente” (just cooked and firm in the middle when bitten).
- Rinse the noodles under running water for a few seconds then drain. Divide them into 2 serving bowls (see note 4).
- For EACH bowl, add 1 tbsp of light soy sauce, ½ tsp of dark soy sauce, 1 pinch of salt, 1 pinch of ground white pepper and a dash of chili oil if using.
- Divide the thinned sesame paste and garlic water and add to the 2 bowls of noodles.
- Garnish with pickled long beans, preserved radish and scallions. Stir the noodles to evenly distribute the dressing. Serve immediately.
Notes
1. The traditional recipe calls for fresh alkaline noodles. You may use dried ramen noodles, round rice noodles, or even spaghetti as a substitute.
2. You can find more information about this unique condiment in my post “Chinese Sesame Paste and 3 Substitute Ideas”.
3. Preserved mustard stem (Zhacai/榨菜) is a good alternative and it’s more commonly available. Pickled chilies could work too.
4. Read the main post content above if you wish to follow the traditional two-step cooking procedure.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 550kcal
