Zha Jiang Mian with Handmade noodles

Zha Jiang Mian (炸酱面，"Mian" means "Noodle" in Mandarin) is a very popular northern Chinese noodle dish with a mixture of ground pork stir-fried with fermented soybean paste(炸酱). There are different types of soybean paste. In Beijing, we normally used sweet bean sauce (甜面酱). It's also similar to Jajangmyeon in Korean, which is a variation of Zha Jiang Mian.

I am not a fan of fatty pork, so I used ground turkey instead. The ultimate secret to this dish, however, is my mom's homemade noodles, as shown in the pictures below. I would never have dreamed of eating a bowl of this until my mom was here. The noodles are absolutely the most al dente noodles I have in a long while and this is what I call: the ultimate comfort food.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp minced ginger
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 cup sweet bean sauce(甜面酱)
• 3 - 4 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1/2 -1 cup chicken stock
• 2 cucumbers, shredded into thin strips.
• handmade noodles (unbleached wheat flour and water)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a deep pan on medium high. Add garlic and stir fry until slightly brown. Add the ground turkey and stir fry till the meat are cooked. 
2. Mix sweet bean sauce, dark soy sauce, chicken stock in a mixing bowl and stir into the turkey. Cook and simmer for 5 minutes. 
3. Cook noodles in a pot of water. Drain well.
4. Serve the meat sauce over noodles and mix with shredded cucumbers.