Bright red and vibrant green, with chewy noodles and a predominantly sour and spicy flavor profile—this dish is refreshing and appetite-stimulating.
This main dish is similar to Shaanxi-style saozi noodles, though certainly not as elaborate. Sour soup noodles require plenty of broth and just a modest amount of noodles to be truly flavorful—if you load up a big bowl with noodles and too little soup, the sourness will fall flat. If you don't care for garlic chives, you can substitute Chinese chives at the end; in Shaanxi, saozi noodles are finished with Chinese chives, and the flavor is excellent. Chili and vinegar are the absolute essentials—you must be able to taste the bold sour-spicy kick. If you skimp on either, the dish will taste bland and lifeless.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
Noodles to taste
For the best results, use homemade noodles and add a little alkaline water (or kansui) to the dough for a chewier, more resilient texture.
Additional Ingredients
Pork belly, dried daylily buds, wood ear mushrooms, potato, carrot, and green bell pepper — a small amount of each
Tofu, egg, and garlic chives - a small amount of each
For best flavor, use fattier meat.
Seasonings
20 g soy sauce
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) Shaoxing wine
60 g (about 1/4 cup) black vinegar
5 g salt
Scallion, ginger, chili flakes, Sichuan pepper powder, and five-spice powder - each to taste
Use aged vinegar for the best flavor, and freshly ground chili flakes are ideal.
Instructions
Instructions
Preparation
Step 1: Cut the pork belly into small fingernail-sized pieces (Image 3). Soak the daylily buds and wood ear mushrooms in warm water in advance until softened. Dice the carrot, potato, green bell pepper, wood ear mushrooms, and daylily buds into small cubes and set aside (Image 4).
*Do not cut the meat too large, as the cooking time is very short; larger pieces will be too tough to chew.
*There are many ingredients, so you only need a small amount of each—just balance the quantities appropriately.
② Cut the tofu into 1 cm thick slices, pan-fry both sides until golden brown, then dice. Beat the eggs, cook into a thin omelet, cut into small pieces. Cut the garlic chives into small segments, and finely mince the scallions and ginger for later use (Figure 5).
*Do not cut the tofu thicker than 1 cm (about 1/2 inch), otherwise it will not absorb the flavors well.
*When making the egg crepe, mix a little cornstarch with water and whisk it into the eggs — this will make the egg crepe firmer and less likely to tear.
Cook the noodles according to package directions until al dente, then drain and transfer to serving bowls.
Step 3: Add an appropriate amount of water to a pot, bring to a boil, add the noodles and cook until done, then drain and set aside.
To make the sour soup topping, bring a pot of water to a boil and add the prepared ingredients, then season with vinegar, salt, and white pepper to taste, simmering briefly before serving.
④Heat oil in a wok over medium heat, add the sliced meat and stir-fry for about 15 seconds, then add minced scallion and ginger and stir-fry for another 10 seconds. Next, add chili flakes and stir-fry over medium-low heat (Image 6) until the oil turns red, about 30 seconds. Finally, add five-spice powder and ground Sichuan pepper and stir-fry for about 10 seconds until fragrant (Image 7).
*Use a generous amount of oil when stir-frying the meat slices, as this is what makes the sour soup topping fragrant; otherwise, it will be watery and lack depth of flavor.
*When stir-frying the chili flakes, be sure not to use high heat, otherwise the chilies will burn, the red oil won't be released, and the aroma will be lost.
Use only a small amount of five-spice powder and Sichuan pepper powder; their main purpose is to remove any off-flavors and enhance the aroma, making the overall taste better.
Step 5: Turn the heat to high, add soy sauce and Shaoxing wine and cook until fragrant, then add vinegar and bring to a boil. Pour in hot water, bring to a boil again, then add all ingredients except the Chinese chives and egg sheets, along with salt (see Figure 8). Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the egg sheets and Chinese chives and cook for another 2 minutes (see Figure 9), then pour over the cooked noodles and serve.
*Garlic chives should not be cooked for too long, and the egg sheet is already cooked, so add these two ingredients at the very end.
*For this dish, be sure to use plenty of vinegar—just a splash won't do anything and you won't get that tangy aroma, so keep that in mind.
*Once the potatoes and carrots are tender, it's ready.