Biang Biang Noodles with Crispy Pork

Biang biang noodles are the broad, belt-like wheat noodles of Shaanxi province in northwest China, traditionally pulled by hand and slapped against the counter as they stretch. This home version takes a shortcut: packaged wide wheat noodles tossed with crispy ground pork in a dark, tangy chili-soy sauce. Packaged noodles are a substitute, not the hand-pulled original, and this is a weeknight interpretation rather than a traditional recipe. What it keeps is the idea: chewy, wide ribbons, a sauce built on soy, black vinegar, and chili oil, and plenty of scallion. It serves 4.

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The Short Version

Put a big pot of water on before anything else. While it heats, mix the sauce and prep the aromatics. The pork goes into a hot wok and is left alone long enough to form a real brown crust, then gets broken into uneven crumbles. Aromatics, chili crisp, and sauce follow, then the noodles and a splash of their cooking water. One minute of tossing and the sauce turns from a puddle into a glossy coating.

Ingredients That Matter

Noodles: Look for packages labeled biang biang, Shaanxi, knife-cut, or simply wide wheat noodles, about 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches wide. Brands vary a lot. Fresh and semi-fresh noodles from the refrigerated case can cook in 2 to 4 minutes; dried ones can take 6 to 12. Follow your package and start tasting a minute early. Twelve ounces of dried noodles is enough for 4; if yours are fresh, use about 1 pound.

Ground pork: Regular ground pork (around 80% lean) browns and crisps best. If a lot of fat renders out, spoon off all but about 2 tablespoons before the aromatics go in.

The sauce: Light soy sauce brings the salt; a tablespoon of dark soy sauce adds color and a deeper, less salty flavor. Chinese black vinegar (Chinkiang) is malty and mellow, not sharp like white vinegar. Oyster sauce, a little brown sugar, and sesame oil round it out, and chili oil adds heat and a red sheen.

Chili crisp and Sichuan pepper: Chili crisp is crunchy fried chili, garlic, and shallot in oil. One tablespoon of chili crisp plus one of chili oil gives a moderate, steady heat. Ground Sichuan pepper is optional; it adds a tingling, numbing quality rather than more heat.

Salt check: Between the soy sauces, oyster sauce, and chili crisp, the sauce carries plenty of salt. Salt the noodle water lightly or not at all, since some of that water goes into the wok.

How to Make Biang Biang Noodles

Brown the pork without touching it

Heat the oil in a wok over high heat until it shimmers. Add the pork, press it into a single flat layer, and leave it for 2 to 3 minutes, until the underside is deep brown and crisp. Moving it early makes it steam in its own juices instead of browning.

Break it up, then add the aromatics

Flip the pork in sections and break it into irregular crumbles, some small and some larger, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more, until no pink remains and it reaches 160°F. Drain off excess fat if needed. Add the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and stir for 30 seconds, then add the chili crisp and Sichuan pepper and stir for another 15 seconds. Keep it moving so the garlic doesn’t scorch.

Sauce, noodles, toss

Time the noodles to finish now. Reserve about 1/2 cup of their cooking water, then drain. Pour the sauce into the wok and let it bubble for about 30 seconds. Add the noodles and 1/3 cup of the reserved water and toss with tongs or a wok spatula for 1 to 2 minutes over medium-high heat. The starch in the water thickens the sauce so it clings to every ribbon. The finished wok should look glossy, with no pool of thin sauce left in the bottom; if it looks dry, add more water a tablespoon at a time. Turn off the heat and scatter over the scallion greens and sesame seeds.

Adjusting Heat and Seasoning

• Milder: Use chili crisp only for its crunch (1 to 2 teaspoons) and replace the chili oil with neutral oil.
• Hotter: Serve extra chili oil at the table instead of adding more to the wok, so everyone can choose.
• Too salty: Add a splash more noodle water and a few drops of black vinegar.
• Flat: A teaspoon more black vinegar usually fixes it.

Serving and Leftovers

Serve right away, while the noodles are springy. Wide wheat noodles firm up as they cool. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and use within 3 days. Reheat in a hot skillet or wok with a tablespoon or two of water, tossing until steaming hot. Freezing isn’t recommended; the noodles turn soft and break.

If you like noodles from the wok, try our chicken chow mein with pan-crisped egg noodles, or the curry-scented Singapore noodles with rice vermicelli. Find more weeknight dinners in our dinner recipes.

Biang Biang Noodle FAQ

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