Hoisin noodles topped with a pan-fried sauce mixture featuring ground pork and edamame. It’s quick, easy, and comforting.

Hoisin noodles topped with a pan-fried sauce mixture featuring ground pork and edamame. It's quick, easy, and comforting.

If you like Chinese food, you have probably heard of Zhajiang Mian, a very popular Chinese main dish literally translated as “fried sauce noodles”.

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The Original Zhajiang Sauce

Do we have to stir-fry some type of sauce to make this dish? Yes, we do! But we don’t just sauté a store-bought hoisin sauce. Instead, we are going to stir-fry a sauce mixture containing ground pork and edamame in our heated sautépan.

Let’s see what’s in the sauce mixture. As Zhajiang Mian goes into different regions of China, each region has its preferred sauce. Here are some examples.

In Beijing, yellow soybean paste is used.
In Shanghai, sweet bean sauce (Tianmianjiang) is the main sauce for Zhajiang Mian.
In other parts of China, hoisin sauce, or broad (fava) bean sauce may be used in place of the yellow soybean paste or Tianmianjiang.

Hoisin noodles topped with a pan-fried sauce mixture featuring ground pork and edamame. It's quick, easy, and comforting.

Hoisin Noodle Sauce

The question is what we can use to make a legitimate Zhajiang Mian at home? I looked at all the Asian sauces that are available in a Chinese store in the US and I found hoisin sauce combined with soy sauce could do the trick very well! They are pretty accessible to you, right? Great! Let’s move on to the sauce mixture.

Hoisin noodles topped with a pan-fried sauce mixture featuring ground pork and edamame. It's quick, easy, and comforting.

Ground pork
Extra firm tofu
Onion
Edamame

That’s it? Yup! With these four common ingredients, you are good to go. Sauté onion, and brown pork, and then mix tofu and edamame with hoisin sauce plus soy sauce. It’s that easy!

Hoisin noodles topped with a pan-fried sauce mixture featuring ground pork and edamame. It's quick, easy, and comforting.

The sauce mixture is
sweet
salty
soft and crunchy
easy and quick
uber savory
perfect with noodles
last but not least, LEGIT!

StreetSmart Cooking Tips

  • I used Thai stir-fried rice noodles in this recipe, but any type of rice noodle works fine.
  • This sauce mixture freezes well. If you don’t have 4 people to serve, slim down the noodle amount and freeze the rest of the sauce for later, or double the recipe to make more sauce.
Hoisin noodles topped with a pan-fried sauce mixture featuring ground pork and edamame. It's quick, easy, and comforting.

Want some heat? Drizzle some Sriracha on top. Oh My! Believe it or not, my mouth is watering already! This recipe yields enough sauce mixture to serve 4 people. I usually make 2 noodle bowls and divide the rest of the sauce to freeze. Next time, just defrost one package and make some noodles. Woohoo! You have a nice and quick lunch right there!

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Hoisin noodles topped with a pan-fried sauce mixture featuring ground pork and edamame. It's quick, easy, and comforting.

Hoisin Noodles (Zhajiang Mian) Recipe

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  • Author: Sharon Chen
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Main Course
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Chinese
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Description

Hoisin noodles topped with a pan-fried sauce mixture featuring ground pork and edamame. It’s quick, easy, and comforting.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 8 ounces ground pork
  • 8 ounces edamame, shelled
  • 8 ounces extra firm tofu, diced
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 5 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • shredded cucumbers for garnishing
  • 8 ounces wide rice noodles (please refer to the noodle package for serving amount)

Instructions

  1. Cook noodles according to the package instructions. Drain, divide into 4 bowls, and set aside.
  2. While cooking the noodles, start preparing the sauce mixture. In a sauté pan, heat up vegetable oil over high heat, add onion, and sauté until fragrant (about 1 minute).
  3. Add ground pork. Stir to brown (about 2 minutes).
  4. Stir in hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and tofu. Mix and cook for another minute.
  5. Add edamame, and stir until even. (Don’t cook edamame for too long, otherwise they get mushy.)
  6. Divide the sauce mixture into 4 portions and add to the noodle bowls. Top with shredded cucumbers and serve immediately. Mix well before eating. Enjoy!

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About the Author

Sharon Chen, StreetSmart Kitchen
Sharon Chen

Sharon Chen is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and author of the Complete Sous Vide Cookbook. She believes food not only brings healing but also connection. As the creator of StreetSmart Kitchen, she aims to make meal prep easier than ever and help you find balance, ease, joy, and simplicity in the kitchen as you improve your well-being.