Yibin Ranmian (Burning Noodles From Yibin, Sichuan)
Adapted from the YouTube Channel Chinese Cooking Demystified
The Mala Market
Ingredients
Yibin fragrant chili oil
- ⅓ cup Sichuan ground chilies
- ⅔ cup caiziyou (roasted rapeseed oil) or Chinese peanut oil
- 2 inches ginger, peeled and smashed
- 2 inches cassia bark (or cinnamon stick)
- 2 star anise
- 1 Chinese black cardamom (optional)
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped walnut pieces
- ⅓ cup high-quality melted pork lard
Noodle bowl per serving
- 100 grams (3.5 ounces) Chinese alkaline wheat noodles (medium-weight round is traditional)
- 2 tablespoons Yibin fragrant chili oil (above)
- 1 tablespoon Chinese soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 heaping tablespoon Yibin suimiyacai (minced mustard stem pickle)
- 1 heaping tablespoon toasted and crushed walnuts (and/or a mix of peanuts, cashews, etc.)
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 heaping tablespoon scallions, thinly sliced
Instructions
Fragrant chili oil
- Add ground chilies to a heat-proof jar or bowl. Heat rapeseed oil (or Chinese peanut oil) over a medium heat until it begins to lightly smoke, at about 450°F, and cook for 2 minutes. (This step mellows its vegetal taste, and is not necessary for a neutral oil.) Turn off heat and let oil cool down to about 300°F.
- Turn flame back to medium and add ginger, cassia bark, star anise, black cardamom, Sichuan peppercorn and 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts. Simmer spices and nuts in oil for about 10 minutes, taking care not to burn them.
- Measure temperature to make sure the oil is at about 300°F, which it probably will be naturally, then pour oil through a strainer and directly over the ground chilies. They will fizzle up and lightly roast. Give the oil a good stir, then add the melted lard and stir again. You can use the fragrant oil immediately or store in the refrigerator until needed. For later use, remove the amount needed and heat it to re-liquify.
Noodle bowl
- Prepare nuts by toasting them in a dry wok or in the oven until lightly golden. Toast the sesame seeds in the same manner. When cool, place the nuts into a small plastic bag, seal, and crush the nuts into small bits by rolling over them with a heavy object such as a rolling pin.
- Taste the suimiyacai and if you find it too salty, give it a quick rinse. (We do not do this.)
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook noodles until done to your liking. While noodles are cooking, add fragrant oil (including some of the flakes), soy sauce and sesame oil to each serving bowl and stir to combine.
- When noodles are done, remove them from the pot, give a shake but leave them slightly wet, and add directly to noodle bowl. (Retain some noodle water in case you need to thin your sauce.) Mix noodles into sauce. Arrange small piles of suimiyacai, mixed nuts and sesame seeds, and scallions separately on top of the noodles. Serve warm, and mix all ingredients into the noodles before eating.