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tossed reganmian in ceramic bowl
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Famous Wuhan Reganmian Hot Dry Noodles (热干面)

Servings: 2
Author: Kathy Yuan | The Mala Market | Inspiration & Ingredients for Sichuan Cooking

Equipment

  • sieve strainer ideally
  • fan manual or electric, makeshift with any magazine or book works too
  • large plate, cutting board or clear surface area for spreading noodles to dry and tossing with oil

Ingredients

Stock recipe (OR use 1/2 cup of existing braising stock)

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil enough to coat pot bottom
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 small black cardamom, lightly crushed
  • 1 star anise
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 inch cassia bark
  • ½ tablespoon whole huajiao (Sichuan pepper)
  • ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 2 whole scallions, divided, just the white parts for stock save the green parts for garnish
  • ½ thumb fresh ginger, washed and sliced
  • 1 clove fresh garlic, peeled and sliced
  • splash any liaojiu (rice cooking wine)
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (Zhongba preferred)
  • 1 teaspoon rock sugar optional

Reganmian (2 servings)

  • 2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 150 grams dried alkaline noodles ~75g per person. Hungrier folks may want up to 100g each, in which case you should adjust the sauce quantities up accordingly.
  • 5 teaspoons sesame oil, divided approx. 7g
  • 2 tablespoons sesame paste approx. 20g
  • ½ cup simmered stock from above or existing braising stock
  • 1½ teaspoons light soy sauce (Zhongba preferred)
  • ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce (Zhongba preferred)
  • 1 tablespoon homemade chili oil, optional, more or less to taste
  • dash ground white pepper
  • 3 tablespoons spicy pickled radish, chopped or spicy pickled mustard tuber if radish is unavailable
  • 2 tablespoons pickled jiangdou (long beans), chopped approx. 2 long beans
  • 2 scallions, just the greens, finely chopped

Instructions

  • In a small pot, bloom the dry spices starting in cold oil. When the spices are sizzling and have started to release their fragrance, add the fresh aromatics (scallion whites, sliced ginger and garlic) and stir-fry to release the flavor. When you can smell the garlic and ginger, add a splash of liaojiu. Add the beef stock, light soy sauce and rock sugar, then simmer on low for 30 minutes. Strain all the spices before using and save the extra for future purposes!
  • While the stock simmers, prepare the rest of the dish. Soak the chopped garlic in 1 tablespoon cool water or just enough to barely cover, then set aside. Bring a large pot of water to boiling and add the dried alkaline noodles. Stir immediately to make sure they don't stick to the bottom or each other. Parboil them to 80% cooked by subtracting 1 minute from the package's recommended cook-time.
    If using The Mala Market's dried alkaline noodles, boil for 4 minutes.
  • Ready your handheld fan (or turn on electric fan facing workstation). Strain the parboiled noodles (DO NOT dump them out into a colander, you need to reserve the boiled water), letting excess water drip out. Spread the noodles flat over a large plate or cutting board and immediately begin lifting them up to cool with one hand (chopsticks, tongs, whatever) while rapidly fanning the lifted noodles with the other hand. Repeat until the noodles are no longer hot to the touch, about 1 minute.
    Lightly drizzle 1 teaspoon of the divided sesame oil over the cooled noodles, then toss the noodles to coat and separate each strand, moving quickly while still fanning with the other hand, 1-3 minutes. Set aside.
  • In a small bowl, mix the remaining 4 teaspoons sesame oil with the sesame paste until it runs smoothly. In another bowl, mix ½ cup of the prepared stock with the soy sauces. Return the pot of noodle water to boiling.
  • At this point, the stock is strained and the noodles are ready for assembling. To get the dish hot for hot dry noodles, dunk each serving of noodles back in the boiling noodle water for 8 seconds. This is easiest if you lower them directly in the strainer/spider skimmer. Shake off excess water and transfer to serving bowls. Evenly divide the soy/stock mix, garlic water, chili oil (optional, to taste), sesame paste, dash of ground white pepper, pickled radish, pickled long beans and scallion greens atop the noodle bowls.
    Enjoy immediately, mixing well and lifting the noodles from the bottom up to bring up the sauce!

Notes

To make Kathy's family's Sichuan homestyle lajiaoyou using roasted rapeseed oil and fragrant-hot ground chilies, see her Traditional Sichuan Chili Oil recipe. Or, for the ultra-mouthwatering 香辣 (xiānglà)/fragrant-hot version, see the Aromatic Sichuan Chili Oil recipe!