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    Home » Recipes » Pantry

    Hot and Dry Noodles - Wuhan Noodles

    Last Modified: October 10, 2018 by Elaine| 38 Comments

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    Famous in China wuhan style hot sesame noodles—hot and dry noodles.

    Chinese loves noodles!!

    There are so many yummy Chinese noodles dishes, presenting in soups, fried noodles and noodle salad. This one is originated from Hubei province, where my husband was born. It is considered as one of the most ten famous noodles in China officially. Just for information, the other nine ones are Beijing fried sauce noodles, Knife cut noodles, Henan stewed noodles, Lanzhou hand pulled noodles, Hangzhou Pian’er noodles, Sichuan Dan Dan noodles, Kunshan Aozao noodles, Zhenjiang Pot Cover noodles (锅盖面) and Jilin cold noodles. Those ten most famous noodles are officially selected from more than 3000 types of noodles. But eaters have their own ranking.

    wuhan noodles, hot sesame noodles

    Wuhan noodle is known as Hot and Dry noodles (热干面) in Chinese, mainly describing the texture. The main seasoning is tuned sesame paste. And usually we top with picked spicy radish also from Hubei (酱萝卜) and sometimes pickled long Chinese green beans. During every Spring Festival, we spend the holiday with my husband’s parents. And our favorite breakfast is a bowl of hot and dry noodles just under our building.

    wuhan noodles, hot sesame noodles

    This noodle seems quite simple, but the ratio and the texture of sesame paste is a key step. If the sesame paste were too dry, it would be quite hard to combine. However too much water will make the noodles not dry at all. Sesame paste should completely stick to the noodles. We have Sichuan style cold noodles (凉面) using very similar ingredients and seasonings. But with different seasoning ratio, the noodles present different tastes.

    热(rè)面(miàn): hot noodles

    凉(liáng)面(miàn): cold noodles

    wuhan noodles, hot sesame noodles

    When finishing, there should be no sauce left in the bowl.

    IMG_1447

    The noodles called for Wuhan noodles is called alkaline noodles(碱面). Alkaline noodle is less time-sensitive and quite popular in Szechuan province too. It can be replaced by spaghetti if unavailable.

     

    Hot and Dry Noodles–Wuhan Noodles

    Elaine
    Hot and dry noodles (Wuhan noodles) is a famous Chinese hot sesame noodles
    4.80 from 5 votes
    Watch Video Print Recipe
    Prep Time 2 hrs
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Total Time 2 hrs 15 mins
    Course Breakfast
    Cuisine Chinese
    Servings 2
    Calories 770 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 200 g alkaline noodles , light yellow ones (either dried or fresh ones)
    • 2 tbsp. sesame oil

    Garlic water

    • 2 garlic cloves
    • 2 tbsp. warm water

    Sesame paste

    • 2 tbsp. sesame paste
    • 1 tbsp. sesame oil
    • 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
    • 1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
    • 4 tbsp. warm water
    • ⅛ tsp. Chinese five spice powder
    • small pinch of salt

    Serve with

    • pickled radish
    • green onion
    • sugar
    • vinegar optional
    • Chinese Chili oil I use my homemade version

    Instructions
     

    • Cook the dried noodles for 4-5 minutes or fresh ones for 3-4 minutes. Transfer out and drain.
    • Place the noodles to a clean operating board, add sesame oil and combine well. This process can cool down the noodles quickly and creating a chewy texture. Set aside to cool down completely.

    Tune sesame paste

    • In a large bowl, first mix 2 tablespoons of sesame paste with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Stir until well combined. And then add light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, continue stirring in one direction until well combined. Add around 4-5 tablespoons of warm water by three batches. Each time after adding water, stir in one direction until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
    • Add Chinese five spice and a small pinch of salt based on personal taste. Combine well.

    Other serving ingredients

    • Mince green onion and chop the pickled radishes. You can also add smashed peanuts, pickled green beans or other toppings.

    Garlic water

    • Smashed 2 garlic cloves and then soak with warm water.

    Assemble the noodles

    • Bring water to boil in a large pot, and re-cook the noodles for around 10 -15 seconds until hot. Shake off extra water and transfer to serving bowl.
    • Add around 2 tablespoons of tuned sesame paste mixture, ¼ teaspoon vinegar (optional), 1 teaspoon garlic water, ⅛ teaspoon sugar and 2 teaspoons of chili oil. Top with green onion and pickled radish.
    • Combine well before enjoying.

    Video

    Notes

    As we do not add salt directly in the noodles, it is pre-added in sesame paste. However since soy sauce has salinity, only a small amount is needed.
    You can boil a larger amount of noodles and cool down for later recipes.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 770kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 15gFat: 48gSaturated Fat: 12gSodium: 3839mgPotassium: 266mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin C: 3.2mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 5.1mg
    Keyword Hot and Dry, noodles
    Tried this recipe?Mention @ChinaSichuanFood

    wuhan noodles, hot sesame noodles

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Miles

      October 25, 2018 at 6:56 am

      5 stars
      Hi Elaine, great recipe! Quick question: what brand of sesame paste do you use? Mine seems to contain a bit more oil than what yours looks like in the video, and I cant seem to find one that has a good wet-dry balance.

      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Elaine

        October 25, 2018 at 8:08 am

        Miles,
        It is 100% ok if the sesame paste contains more oil itself. Just decrease the amount of sesame oil added in later process. I use a very popular local brand which might be quite hard to find outside China.

        Reply
    2. jeff

      October 30, 2018 at 3:16 am

      it has been almost 10 years since i've last gone to my parent's hometown of wuhan. there is a special place in my heart, though, for the breakfast foods like reganmian that you can get on the street.

      re gan mian being one of my all time favorites, there are also other ones that are more soupy, more spicy - i cannot remember the name! since it seems like you're actually there, perhaps you would know? any chance you could share a recipe for other wuhan breakfast dishes as well?

      i also remember a whole table full of spices. the cooks would dump the noodles into a big pot of water, but only for a few seconds. they'd put it in a paper bowl, and then go along the table adding spices that you wanted. surely, there are more toppings than the ones you have listed.

      in any case, i'm excited to try out this recipe! thanks for sharing

      Reply
      • Elaine

        November 10, 2018 at 8:26 am

        Jeff,
        I am drooling when reading your comment. People in wuhan emphasis on their breakfast. My husband is from Hubei province. I will find a chance to look deeper about those yummy and delicious breakfast dishes.

        Reply
        • Andreas

          April 22, 2020 at 8:08 pm

          A woman in Wuhan seemingly ordered 76 different breakfast dishes after the lift of the corona lockdown https://www.jz7z.com/html/zhmje/20200408/548.html What a nice way to celebrate.

          I'd be very interested in learning more about those recipes, too.

          Reply
          • Elaine

            April 24, 2020 at 7:57 am

            That's the noodle of the city. We have our one too, Chongqing Xiao Mian.

            Reply
    3. sandesh

      March 10, 2019 at 1:07 pm

      is this same as reganmein.. they make a paste of peanut ..its almost 10 years now i miss it so much ,i was in yichang for almost 5 years reganmein was my breakfast lunch it cost around 2.50yuan ..i will be greatful if you send me the recepi of reganmain

      Reply
      • Elaine

        March 14, 2019 at 7:56 pm

        Yes,
        This is a homemade simplified Reganmian. Cannot product 100% same result and at least 80% similar.

        Reply
    4. Dani

      May 29, 2019 at 3:18 am

      I'm so excited to make these. I ate hot dry noodles in Wuhan many years ago and have been craving them ever since.

      Reply
      • Elaine

        May 29, 2019 at 8:25 am

        Sure Dani.
        They worth your missing. By the way, match your hot and dry noodles with a seaweed soup. They are classic combinations.

        Reply
    5. Matt McD

      June 16, 2019 at 9:56 pm

      Hi Elaine,

      Thank you for posting this video and recipe. My wife is from Wuhan and I am trying to surprise her with favorite regan mien for breakfast this week. Can you please provide any guidance on which brand of alkaline noodles you use (or where to buy them--I get blank stares when I go to Chinese grocery stores in the U.S.) or a recipe for making the alkaline noodles--I bought a noodle maker for this very purpose but cannot find anything on the internet. I really appreciate your help on this.

      Best,

      Matt

      Reply
      • Elaine

        June 17, 2019 at 8:23 am

        Matt,
        I really want to help but quite sorry about the brand information. Alkaline noodles are quite common in China and there are lots of brands, different in areas and I did not remember the exact brand I used for this recipe.
        But it is ok to choose any type of alkaline noodles, either thin or thicker. I found that the restaurants also use different types of alkaline noodles based on their own preference. Happy cooking!

        Reply
    6. Joey & Quỳnh Mollica

      February 01, 2020 at 7:47 am

      5 stars
      Hi Elaine!

      Really, really delicious on this one! We did not have Chinese sesame paste on hand, so used tahini instead. Not at all the same flavor, but I imagine it's really good with the proper ingredients 🙂

      Thanks for sharing this recipe. Definitely a do again for us!

      Reply
      • Elaine

        February 05, 2020 at 2:07 pm

        Tahini and Chinese sesame paste is quite different in flavors. Re-check the recipe once you make or have Chinese sesame paste.

        Reply
    7. Tombili

      March 22, 2020 at 5:35 am

      5 stars
      Hi.i m here for giving support .I will learn a recipe and cook, remember the ones who died or recovered or fought against corona ,paramedics doctors and nurses.
      hang in there
      i hope one day i can eat real Wuhan noodle

      Reply
      • Elaine

        March 22, 2020 at 8:15 pm

        Tombili,
        Thanks for your kindness!

        Reply
    8. Kalyani

      December 09, 2020 at 2:21 am

      This is so cool!

      Reply
    9. Mark

      January 27, 2021 at 9:49 am

      5 stars
      Very tasty! I've tried a few hot dry noodle recipes and taste-wise this might be my favourite, but it's too watery as written. I use either 1tbsp or even no water, and the consistency turns out better.

      Reply
      • Elaine

        January 31, 2021 at 9:41 pm

        Thanks Mark for your lovely feedback!

        Reply
    10. Denny

      October 16, 2021 at 9:59 am

      Elaine,

      Could please explain why these noodles are cooked, cooled and then reheated before they are combined with the sauce?

      Why couldn't you cook the noodles and combine them with the sauce directly?

      Reply
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