Spicy Buckwheat Noodles (Suan La Qiao Mian)
Author: Karen Christensen
I made these buckwheat noodles tossed in a little sesame oil to go with “Hot and Numbing Chicken.” I didn’t have dried buckwheat noodles on hand, but I did have Japanese soba (buckwheat) noodles. I was happy with the results.
Ingredients
  • 5 ½ oz (160g) dried buckwheat noodles
  • A little cooking oil
  • 1 Tbsp. light or tamari soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. Chinkian (Zhenjiang, Chinkiang) vinegar (black vinegar)
  • ½ tsp. sugar
  • 4 Tbsp. chili oil (with its sediment, if desired)
  • 1 – 2 tsp. finely chopped garlic, to taste
  • 3 Tbsp. finely sliced spring onion greens
  • A little cold, cooked chicken meat, torn into shreds (optional)
  • 2 tsp. finely chopped fresh red chili, plus a few chili slices to serve
Instructions
  1. Bring a pan of water to a boil and cook the noodles to your liking. I cooked them al dente (slightly firm). Rinse in cold water and shake dry.
  2. If you want to eat the noodles cold, sprinkle a little plain oil on them and mix well with chopsticks, before spreading the noodles out to cool (the oil will stop them from sticking together).
  3. Place the noodles in a deep bowl and add all the other ingredients, except the chili slices. Mix well, turn on to a serving dish, and top with the chicken shred (if using) and the sliced chilies.
Notes
Source of recipe: Fuchsia Dunlop, Every Grain of Rice
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