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Chinese

Zhajiangmian (Beijing fried sauce noodles)

Non-vegetarian

炸酱面 · zhájiàngmiàn

Thick wheat noodles topped with a deep, salty-sweet sauce of pork fried slowly in fermented soybean pastes, served with crunchy shredded cucumber and blanched vegetables to mix through.

Zhajiangmian (Beijing fried sauce noodles) is a Chinese noodle dish from China, ready in about 45 minutes and made with pork belly, yellow soybean paste (huangjiang) and sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang). It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Bowl of zhajiangmian wheat noodles with dark fried bean sauce and cucumber
Photo: Archon6812 / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-3.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
30 min
Total
45 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
775

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Fry the diced pork in the oil over medium heat until the fat renders and the pieces turn lightly golden.

  2. Step 2

    Add the ginger and spring onion (opens in a new tab) whites, stir for a minute, then add the wine.

    • 1 min
    • medium heat

  3. Step 3

    Loosen the two bean pastes with the water and sugar (opens in a new tab), pour into the wok (opens in a new tab) and cook gently, stirring often, until the oil separates and the sauce is thick and glossy.

    • 15 min
    • low heat

    Low heat is key: the pastes scorch easily.

    Ingredients tossed in a hot wok
    How it looks · Photo: Aesthos AR. Photography on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Meanwhile cook the noodles in plenty of boiling water until tender, then rinse briefly in warm water.

    Pasta boiling in a pot of water
    How it looks · Photo: Gianpiero Ferraro on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Divide the noodles between bowls, spoon over the sauce and arrange the cucumber (opens in a new tab), sprouts and radish (opens in a new tab) alongside. Mix everything together at the table.

    • 3 min

About this dish

Origin
Beijing, China · Well documentedMore food from China
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Noodles · Main courses
Cooking method
Stir-fried, Simmered, Boiled
Taste
salty, umami, sweet & savoury
Diet
Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Pork belly · Yellow soybean paste (huangjiang) · Sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang) · Fresh ginger · Spring onion · Shaoxing wine
Techniques
Stir-frying · Boiling · Simmering · Bhunao

Allergens

  • Contains: Wheatfrom shaoxing wine, yellow soybean paste (huangjiang), sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang), udon noodles
  • Contains: Glutenfrom shaoxing wine, yellow soybean paste (huangjiang), sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang), udon noodles
  • Contains: Soyfrom yellow soybean paste (huangjiang), sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang)

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

775 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 312 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 10%
  • Carbohydrate 41%
  • Fat 49%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy775 kcal248 kcal
Protein18.7 g6 g
Carbohydrate79.1 g25.3 g
Net carbohydrate73.5 g23.6 g
Sugars——
Added sugars——
Fibre5.5 g1.8 g
Fat41.9 g13.4 g
Saturated fat12.9 g4.1 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol45 mg15 mg
Sodium2299 mg737 mg
Salt equivalent5.7 g1.8 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
453 mg
Calcium
58 mg
Iron
2.3 mg
Magnesium
50 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
12 µg
Vitamin C
5 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
0.5 µg
Folate (DFE)
30 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: bean sprouts, radish.
  • Shaoxing wine: Sake (FDC 167723) used as a stand-in for Chinese rice cooking wine.
  • Yellow soybean paste (huangjiang): Miso (FDC 172442) used as a stand-in; both are salty fermented soybean pastes.
  • Sweet bean sauce (tianmianjiang): Hoisin sauce (FDC 172886) used as a stand-in; both are sweet, fermented soybean-and-wheat sauces.
  • Udon noodles: Dry somen (FDC 168908) used as a stand-in; both are plain Japanese wheat noodles.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Make a double batch of sauce — it keeps a week in the fridge.

Common mistakes

  • Adding salt — the bean pastes are already very salty.

Food safety

  • Fry the pork until no pink remains before adding the pastes.
  • Refrigerate leftover sauce within 2 hours; it keeps 4 days and reheats until piping hot.

Storage

  • Sauce keeps 1 week refrigerated or 3 months frozen.

Reheating

  • Warm the sauce gently with a splash of water.

Variations

  • Jjajangmyeon (South Korea): The Korean-Chinese descendant made with caramelised black bean paste and lots of onion.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 4, 5

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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