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Yibin Burning Noodles (Yibin Ranmian, 宜宾燃面)

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Makes 1 serving 1x

Units Scale

Ingredients

Nutty Chili Oil (makes enough for 4–6 servings)

  • 60 g (2 oz.) vegetable oil or roasted rapeseed oil (caiziyou)
  • 3 tablespoons Sichuan chili flakes
  • 1 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorns
  • 1 knob of ginger, smashed
  • 25g (1/4 cup) walnuts
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon pork lard (optional)

If using store-bought or ready-made chili oil, add a bit of sesame oil and pork lard for flavor.

For one serving of noodles

  • 1 tablespoon suimi yacai
  • 1 tablespoon skinless peanuts
  • 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
  • 100g fresh thin wheat noodles with alkaline (or 80g dry)
  • 2–3 teaspoon nutty chili oil
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1/8 teaspoon MSG
  • 1 tablespoon zajiang meat sauce (optional, see recipe below)
  • 1 teaspoon chopped scallion greens

Instructions

  1. Make the chili oil: In a heatproof bowl, add chili flakes. Heat the vegetable oil until 230ºC / 450ºF, then turn off the heat (for neutral oil, about 200ºC/400ºF). Add ginger, Sichuan pepper, and walnuts. When the oil cools down to 150ºC / 300ºF, strain solids, pour oil over chili flakes, and stir. Mix in sesame oil and pork lard while the oil is still warm. Set walnuts aside.
  2. In a small pan, toast sesame seeds until slightly golden, then transfer to a mortar and pestle to grind into a coarse powder, set aside. In the same pan, toast skinless peanuts until golden brown, and pound into small pieces (or use a knife to roughly chop them).
  3. Wash and drain Yacai, then in a pan, add about 1 tsp of oil and fry until fragrant. Remove and set aside.
  4. Cook the noodles: Set a big pot of water to boil, cook the noodles until al dente (30 seconds or 1 minute less than package instructions). Use a colander, or a big sieve, to remove the noodles and shake off vigorously to remove excess water.
  5. Add to the bowl and dress immediately. For each bowl of noodles, add 2 tsp chili oil and toss until well combined. Then season with 1/8 tsp MSG and 1 tsp soy sauce for each bowl, and top with sesame and peanuts, yacai, and chopped scallion greens. Add blanched vegetables and ground meat sauce to your liking.

Recipe variations

How to make ground meat sauce (makes for 4 servings)
Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok over medium heat, then add ground pork (or beef), breaking it apart with your spatula, and fry until it turns pale. Add 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine and 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, and cook for 2 minutes until the liquid evaporates. Add 1 tablespoon minced ginger and 1 tablespoon sweet flour sauce (tianmianjiang), and fry until the fat renders. Add 1/3 cup of stock or water and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the liquid reduces. Remove from heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.

You can save any leftover meat sauce for future use, for hot and sour noodles, steamed egg and zajiang noodles.