Saozi Mian is a noodle soup from Shaanxi province made with a wide variety of colorful ingredients. The soup itself is spicy, fragrant, and slightly sour.
The combination of many textures make it uniquely satisfying. It’s a meal all in one bowl, with pork, noodles, mushrooms, potato, carrots, and bright green chives and scallions.
Note: We originally published this recipe in March 2021, but we’re bubbling it up here because it’s a great fall/winter dish that we’re really enjoying now!
What is Shaanxi-style food?
If you’re a fan of biang biang noodles or Xi’an Famous Foods in New York, you’ve eaten the food of Shaanxi province.
In the local Shaanxi dialect, “saozi, 臊子” describes the pork in this noodle soup. It’s the centerpiece of the dish.
If you’re looking for a meatless adaptation though, you can omit the pork and use our Asian vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
You can also try a different local Shaanxi specialty that is just as beloved: You Po Mian (油泼面). Also known as “Hot Oil Noodles.” It’s deliciously saucy, but skips the meat (and it only takes 15 minutes)!
But, I will say, without a doubt, you must try both of these noodle dishes! They didn’t become this famous without good reason!
What is Saozi Mian?
A fine bowl of saozi mian has a few signature features that everyone looks for:
- No skimping on the large assortment of colorful ingredients (the texture of all the ingredients should be very fresh, and just cooked through)
- A tangy soup base, with a bit of heat and fragrance from the spices
- When the pork fat renders out, it floats on the surface of the soup
- The noodles should be thin and chewy (al dente)
While each restaurant and family will add their own unique spin, their recipes never stray too far from these basics.
Prep is Key
Unlike 15-minute You Po Mian, this recipe has a fair number of ingredients, so you may need to plan ahead a little bit.
When you eat noodle dishes like this at street stalls in China, the boss will effortlessly add a little of this and a little of that to make an incredible noodle dish, but they rarely shine a light on the prep work that it takes.
Now you get a peek behind the curtain on this iconic noodle soup. But trust me, this recipe is well worth it!
Recipe Instructions
1. Make the meat sauce:
Heat ¼ cup oil in a wok over low heat. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, and bay leaves. Infuse the oil for 2 minutes, or until you can smell the aroma of the spices. Take care not to burn them.
Add the ginger and pork. Cook over medium heat until the pork turns opaque. Follow with the salt and chili flakes. Keep cooking for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the Shaoxing wine, five spice powder, light soy sauce, ⅓ to ½ cup black vinegar (more or less depending on your taste preferences) and sugar. Stir well. Reduce the heat slightly, and cook for 5-6 minutes, until the sauce reduces.
Remove from the heat. Discard the cinnamon, star anise, and bay leaves if desired. (I just left them in!)
Note:
The meat will taste very salty and sour at this point. Don’t worry. You didn’t mess anything up! It will be mellowed out by all the other ingredients in the soup.
2. Prepare the egg omelette:
Heat a 10-inch nonstick pan over medium heat. In a small bowl, mix together ½ teaspoon cornstarch with 2 teaspoons water until combined. Crack 1 egg into the bowl, and beat everything together until well-combined.
When the pan is hot, spread 1 tablespoon oil evenly around the pan to coat. Pour in the egg and immediately swirl it around to completely cover the pan. Cook until the egg is just set. Flip it, and cook it for another 10-20 seconds. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
3. Make the soup base and assemble:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook the noodles. Keep the boiling water covered and at a low simmer while you make the soup base.
In a wok, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add the ginger, and fry for 30 seconds.
Add the carrot and potato, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring periodically. They will take the longest to cook.
Add the wood ears, rehydrated lily flowers, and oyster sauce. Cook for 3 minutes.
Add the chicken stock, soy puffs, and the meat sauce you made earlier. Bring everything to a boil.
Add salt (and/or more vinegar) to taste. Once the soup base boils, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes (cooking any longer will not yield better results).
As the soup simmers, cook the noodles according to package instructions. Noodles are always best a little chewy or al dente. The key is timing the noodles alongside the soup base.
Once the noodles are cooked, drain, and divide into individual serving bowls. Ladle over the soup base. Top with the egg slices, diced garlic chives, a pinch of scallions, and chili oil if desired. Serve your saozi mian immediately!
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Recipe
Shaanxi Saozi Mian (陕西臊子面)
Ingredients
For the meat sauce
- 1/4 cup oil (any neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola oil)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 star anise
- 3 dried bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons ginger (minced)
- 1 pound pork belly or boneless country ribs (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons Sichuan chili flakes (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine
- 1 1/2 teaspoons five spice powder
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1/3-1/2 cup Chinese black vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
For the egg omelette:
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon oil
For the soup base and noodles:
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
- 1/2 cup carrot (diced into 1/2 inch cubes)
- 2/3 cup potato (diced into 1/2 inch cubes)
- 1 1/2 cups rehydrated wood ear mushrooms (10g dried; rinsed and torn into small pieces after reconstituting)
- 1/4 cup rehydrated dried lily flowers (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 8 cups homemade chicken stock (alternatively, 4 cups chicken stock and 4 cups water)
- 8 fried soy puffs (cut into quarters)
- salt to taste
- 5 servings thin wheat noodles (or rice noodles, if you need a gluten-free option)
- 1/3 cup garlic chives (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
- 1 scallion (finely chopped)
- homemade chili oil (optional, to taste)
Instructions
Make the meat sauce:
- Heat ¼ cup oil in a wok over low heat. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, and bay leaves. Infuse the oil for 2 minutes, or until you can smell the aroma of the spices. Take care not to burn them.
- Add the ginger and pork. Cook over medium heat until the pork turns opaque. Follow with the salt and chili flakes. Keep cooking for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the Shaoxing wine, five spice powder, light soy sauce, ⅓ to ½ cup black vinegar (more or less depending on your taste preferences) and sugar. Stir well. Reduce the heat slightly, and cook for 5-6 minutes, until the sauce reduces. Remove from the heat. Discard the cinnamon, star anise, and bay leaves.
Prepare the egg omelette:
- Heat a 10-inch nonstick pan over medium heat. In a small bowl, mix together ½ teaspoon cornstarch with 2 teaspoons water until combined. Crack 1 egg into the bowl, and beat everything together until well-combined.
- When the pan is hot, spread 1 tablespoon oil evenly around the pan to coat. Pour in the egg and immediately swirl it around to completely cover the pan. Cook until the egg is just set. Flip it, and cook it for another 10-20 seconds. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
Make the soup base and assemble:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook the noodles. Keep the boiling water covered and at a low simmer while you make the soup base.
- In a wok, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add the ginger, and fry for 30 seconds. Add the carrot and potato, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring periodically. They will take the longest to cook.
- Add the wood ears, rehydrated lily flowers, and oyster sauce. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock, soy puffs, and the meat sauce you made earlier. Bring everything to a boil. Add salt (and/or more vinegar) to taste. Once the soup base boils, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes (cooking any longer will not yield better results).
- As the soup simmers, cook the noodles according to package instructions. Noodles are always best a little chewy or al dente. The key is timing the noodles alongside the soup base.
- Once the noodles are cooked, drain, and divide into individual serving bowls. Ladle over the soup base. Top with the egg slices, diced garlic chives, a pinch of scallions, and chili oil if desired. Serve immediately!
