Hot Dry Noodles, noodles in a sesame and garlic-based sauce. Topped with Chinese preserved vegetables, chilli oil and spring onions. A breakfast dish from Wuhan city that’s delicious eaten any time of the day.
Ingredients of Note
Hot Dry Noodles are topped with Chinese preserved vegetables. Any preserved vegetables work great in the dish. Ya Cai, pickled mustard stems, is popular and readily available online but we have used Zha Cai. Packets are usually around 80g each and come in small pouches. Our local Asian supermarket has a selection of different varieties that have all tasted great. Look for something labelled as preserved mustard stems or leaves. Preserved long beans are also good if you can source them.
Chinese black vinegar is a dark vinegar with a mild but complex flavour that’s used extensively in Chinese cooking. It can sometimes be labelled as Chinkiang Vinegar or Zhenjiang Vinegar and can easily be found in Asian supermarkets. If you can’t find black vinegar then a balsamic vinegar that’s not too sweet and syrupy can be used.
The sauce traditionally uses Chinese sesame paste which is different from tahini. However, we find using tahini creates a very similar taste and good quality tahini is much easier to find.
Traditionally Hot Dry Noodles are made with alkaline noodles but these can be hard to find. Fresh ramen noodles are a good alternative. Dry noodles will also work if you don’t have access to fresh noodles.
You can buy Chinese chilli oil easily online and in Chinese supermarkets. However, we believe it’s worth the extra effort to make your own chilli oil. You can add the flavours you like and balance the spice level to your own preference. We have an easy recipe for homemade chilli oil you can follow.
Serving Hot Dry Noodles
Hot Dry Noodles is a versatile dish that can be adapted to individual tastes. The ingredients are assembled over the noodles so everyone can decide how much of each topping they want. I enjoy spicy noodles so I like adding more chilli oil. Although if you don’t want them too spicy you can decide to add less or even no chilli oil.
Hot Dry Noodles (热干面, Re Gan Mian)
Ingredients
- alkaline noodles or fresh ramen noodles
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 4 tablespoons chilli oil
- 2 packets of Chinese preserved vegetables*
- 1 spring onion thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon agave syrup
- Pinch Chinese 5 spice
- Pinch white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon msg optional
- 4 tablespoons hot water
Garlic water
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons hot water
Instructions
- Make the sauce in a bowl. Add the tahini, sesame oil, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, agave syrup, a pinch of Chinese 5 spice, a pinch of white pepper, and the optional msg. Mix thoroughly to incorporate everything. Now add 4 tablespoons of boiling water. Add 2 tablespoons at a time and mix well to create a smooth sauce.
- In a separate bowl make the garlic water. Add the minced garlic then add 4 tablespoons of boiling water.
- Cook the noodles according to packet instructions. Usually 3-4 minutes for fresh noodles and 5-6 minutes for dried noodles. Make sure to not overcook the noodles. Once the noodles are cooked, drain them immediately into a bowl. Pour over 1 tablespoon of sesame oil then mix thoroughly for 2 minutes to cover all the noodles in the oil. This will also cool the noodles down to stop them from overcooking. You want the noodles to still have a bite.
- Assembly the dish. Add the noodles to serving bowls, pour over an equal portion of the sauce to each bowl along with an equal portion of the garlic water. Top the noodles with pickled vegetables and spring onions. Finally, drizzle over 1 tablespoon of Chinese black vinegar and 2 tablespoons of chilli oil in each bowl.
- Mix the noodles with the sauce and the toppings well before eating.
