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

Hot and dry noodles (Wuhan noodles) is a famous Chinese hot sesame noodles
4.80 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Hot and Dry, noodles
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 2
Calories: 770kcal
Author: Elaine

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

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, 1/4 teaspoon vinegar (optional), 1 teaspoon garlic water, 1/8 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: 770kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Sodium: 3839mg | Potassium: 266mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin C: 3.2mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 5.1mg

wuhan noodles, hot sesame noodles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

38 Comments

  1. 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!

    1. 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.

  2. 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

    1. 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.

  3. 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

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

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

  5. 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

    1. 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!

  6. 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!

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

  7. 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

  8. 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.

  9. 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?