You Po Mian (Hot Oil Noodles)
You po mian — Shaanxi hot-oil noodles: wide chewy noodles piled with garlic, scallion and chili flakes, then awakened by a ladle of smoking oil. The sizzle IS the recipe. 15 minutes.
Prep Time10m
Cook Time10m
Yield2 bowls
CuisineShaanxi
Spicy:
🌶️🌶️
Ingredients
- Wide wheat noodles 300g (fresh biangbiang-style or dried wide noodles)
- Coarse chili flakes (Chinese) 2 tbsp
- Garlic 4 cloves, minced
- Scallions 2, finely chopped
- Light soy sauce 2 tbsp
- Chinese black vinegar 1 tbsp
- Salt ½ tsp
- Sugar ½ tsp
- Neutral oil 4 tbsp
- Bok choy or bean sprouts a handful (optional)
- White sesame (optional)
Steps
- Boil noodles until chewy-tender; blanch greens in the same water at the end. Drain into a heatproof bowl.
- Pile minced garlic, scallion and chili flakes in a mound on top of the noodles; add salt and sugar.
- Heat oil in a small pan until it just begins to smoke (~200°C).
- Carefully pour the hot oil straight over the garlic-chili mound — it should sizzle violently and bloom the aromatics.
- Add soy sauce and vinegar, toss everything well so the noodles are coated in the fragrant red oil. Serve immediately.
Tips
The oil must be smoking-hot or the chili won’t bloom and will taste raw. Use coarse Chinese chili flakes (fragrant, not just hot). Keep the garlic/chili in a tight mound so the oil hits it all at once.
