Sweet Sauce Noodles

Tian Shui Mian (甜水面)

Thick stick noodles are tossed with a sweet and spicy chili oil sauce incorporating iconic Sichuan flavors in this classic street food dish.

Sweet Sauce Noodles, literally called Sweet Water Noodles (甜水面) in Chinese, are a cheap delicious street food dish from Chengdu. Most of the ingredients are prepared in advance, so the only cooking required is simply boiling the Noodles. Requiring only a few ingredients, Sweet Sauce Noodles can be prepared in mere minutes, making them ideal for noodle shops and street vendors serving countless customers. Additionally, ingredients like Red Soy Sauce, Chili Oil, and Garlic Slurry are common to most Chengdu Noodle Dishes, so vendors will typically serve more than one type of dish to maximize sales. Typically, they will serve Sweet Sauce Noodles and Jelly Noodles (凉粉), which can be made with the exact same Sweet Spicy Sauce as below and an additional garnish of Scallion pieces (葱花).

What truly sets Sweet Sauce Noodles apart from other Chengdu Noodle Dishes are its Thick Stick Noodles (棍棍面). These Noodles are silky smooth and soft, but toothsome and strong. They can absorb plenty of delicious sauce, but not break or become mushy. They start as a rather dense Noodle dough and transform as they cook, puffing up slightly and becoming glossy – almost semitranslucent – on the surface. For anyone who enjoys thicker Noodles, this is the perfect dish. I would highly recommend making this Noodles from scratch. Japanese Udon Noodles are a viable substitution for anyone simply wishing to experience the flavors. However, Udon Noodles just aren’t quite the same. They’re often slightly thinner and softer than the Stick Noodles used for this dish, and that noodle texture is really important to the overall experience.

There are really only five ingredients required for Sweet Sauce Noodles. These are: Thick Round Noodles, Red Soy Sauce, Chili Oil, Garlic Slurry, and Ground Sichuan Pepper. Other seasonings are quite common, but these five should be thought of as the core. Soy Bean Flour and Roasted Sesame Seeds are common toppings, sometimes used almost as a garnish. The Sweet Spicy Sauce is not mixed together on its own, but the ingredients are typically added one after the other atop the Noodles. The Noodles are always served like this and then mixed by the customer before eating. If you would like a somewhat nicer presentation, you can toss the Noodles with all of the Sweet Spicy Sauce ingredients (except for the last two) and then use the Soy Bean Flour and Sesame Seeds as a garnish.

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 5 min

Total Time: 10 min

Serving: 2 people

Ingredients

400 grams fresh Thick Round Noodles (OR Udon; 200 grams per Serving)

Sweet Spicy Sauce (Amount Per Bowl)
1 Tbsp. Red Soy Sauce (复制酱油)
1 Tbsp. Chili Oil with Chili Flakes
1 tsp. Garlic Slurry
1 tsp. watery Sesame Paste (Combine 1/2 tsp. Sesame Paste with 1/2 tsp. Water)
1/4 tsp. Ground Sichuan Pepper
1/4 tsp. MSG
1/4 tsp. White Sugar
1/4 tsp. Soy Bean Flour (黄豆面)
1/4 tsp. Roasted Sesame Seeds

Directions

1.) Fill a large pot with water and heat on high until the water is boiling. Add the Noodles to the boiling water, cook them just until fully cooked, and separate them into 2 serving bowls.

(It may be easier to cook one serving of Noodles at a time so as to avoid difficulty in separating the Noodles evenly among the bowls).

2.) Add all of the Sweet Spicy Sauce ingredients (Red Soy Sauce, Chili Oil, Garlic Slurry, Sesame Paste, Sichuan Pepper, MSG, Sugar, Soy Bean Flour, and Sesame Seeds) on top of the Noodles in each bowl, preferably in the order they are listed.

(The Sauce ingredients are never mixed together, but are instead added one after the other atop the Noodles. The Sauce ingredients will be combined as they are mixed into the Noodles. For presentation, all of the ingredients can be mixed into the Noodles except for the Soy Bean Flour and Sesame Seeds. The Noodles will be coated in a bright red sauce and the color of the Soy Bean Flour and Sesame Seeds will really pop).

3.) The Sweet Sauce Noodles can be served immediately along with chopsticks so that they can be mixed prior to eating.

 

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