hot and sour noodles

These Sichuan hot and sour noodles (酸辣粉/ suān là fěn in Mandarin) are spicy, aromatic, and mouth-numbing. This famous noodle soup originated from Chongqing, China. It often uses sweet potato noodles served in spicy, savoury and tangy broth, topped with roasted peanuts, coriander, pickled mustard and stir-fried minced pork.

I remember ordering these noodles with my friends after school one day, and once we began eating, our nose would be runny and we’d start sweating and crying because of how spicy it is. Despite going through all that, it was definitely worth it because of how delicious and addictive the noodles were.

ingredients for hot and sour noodles:

• 1 serving dried sweet potato noodles

for the noodle broth:

• 1 scallion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• ½ tbsp chilli oil
• 1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• ½ tsp Sichuan chilli flakes (or regular chilli flakes)
• ½ tsp toasted sesame seeds
• ¼ tsp sugar
• ⅛ tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
• pinch of white pepper powder
• 1 cup chicken/ pork bone/ vegetable broth

other toppings:

• roasted peanuts
• chopped scallion or coriander
• pickled mustard greens (or any pickled Chinese vegetables)

meat topping (optional):

• 2 tsp cooking oil
• 100g minced pork
• 2 tsp Shaoxing cooking wine
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce

why sweet potato noodles?

• The type of noodles traditionally used for this recipe are fresh sweet potato noodles. As they are made of sweet potato starch and water, the texture of these noodles when cooked are incredibly chewy and silky.
• Fresh sweet potato noodles may be harder to find in your local Asian supermarket, so you can definitely substitute it with the dried version. You can get any Chinese/ Korean/ Japanese brand, as long as it says dried potato noodles/ sweet potato noodles, you’re good to go!

what toppings should I use?

• Traditional toppings for this recipe are roasted peanuts, chopped coriander leaves, thin-sliced scallions, pickled mustard greens (also known as zha cai) and fried soybeans.
• Zha cai (榨菜) is a pickled mustard stem and it tastes spicy, sour and salty. You can find these in any Asian supermarket. However, you can skip this step and choose to not add it.
• If you like to include meat in this dish, you can add stir-fried minced pork as a topping as well.

steps:

for the noodle & broth:

1. Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.
2. To the bottom of your noodle bowl, add garlic, chili flakes, sesame seeds and Sichuan peppercorn powder. Then add the scallions on top. Heat 3 tbsp cooking oil and pour over the ingredients to sizzle.
3. Stir the ingredients, then add chili oil, black vinegar, soy sauces, sugar, and white pepper.
4. Pour the hot stock into the bowl and mix well. Add the noodles, then your toppings, and serve!

for the meat topping (optional):

1. Heat up some cooking oil on a pan and add the minced pork.
2. Break the pork apart with a spatula and cook for a few minutes, then add the shaoxing wine and dark soy sauce. Stir-fry until cooked, transfer to a plate and set aside.

tips:

• Cook the noodles to al dente, then rinse the noodles under cold water. This ensures the noodles are brought back to room temperature and prevents it from further cooking and making the noodles soggy.
• For the broth, you can use homemade stock or store bought chicken/ pork/ vegetable broth cubes and dilute them with boiling water.

other spicy recipes:

• Spicy mala century egg
• Spicy slinky cucumber salad

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