Chinese Hot Dry Noodles

Serving: Makes 1 large bowl of noodles

Makes enough spiced vegetable broth for 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• Spiced broth
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed
  • 1/2 inch peeled ginger
  • 2 green onions (white part only, reserve green part for final dish)
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1.5 tablespoons Shaoxing cooking wine
  • 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
  • 1/4 teaspoon fennel
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 small cinnamon stick
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cardamom pod, crushed open
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 large bundle alkaline noodles (~150 g)
• Sesame oil
• Sesame sauce: 1 tablespoon tahini paste, 2 tablespoons hot water
• Garlic water: 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon hot water
• 1-2 tablespoons chili crisp
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dark Chinese vinegar
• 1 tablespoon roasted peanuts, crushed
• 1 teaspoon minced pickled peppers
• Red Eye Jalapeño Crema, Spicy Miso, or Wildfire flavor hot sauce, for serving

Directions:

1. First, make the spiced broth: heat coconut oil in pot over medium heat.
   1. Add garlic, ginger, and the white part of the green onions to the pot and cook until softened and slightly browning.
   2. Add vegetable broth, water, and all ingredients from the cooking wine to brown sugar to the pot. Bring to a boil.
   3. Once boiling, lower heat and allow to simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Once simmered, strain out the solids and reserve the broth.
   4. Makes enough spiced broth for 8-10 servings. Extra servings can be frozen using an ice cube tray in ~1/8 or ~1/4 cup sizes for future use.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the noodles.
3. While the water is coming to a boil, prepare the noodle toppings:
   1. Sesame sauce: Mix the tahini paste and hot water in a small bowl. Stir until the consistency is thin and sauce-like. At first, it will seem as though the sauce is getting thicker, but keep stirring. More water can be added if it does not reach a thin consistency after continuous stirring.
   2. Garlic water: Add the hot water to the minced garlic and let sit for several minutes.
   3. Green onions: Slice the green part of the green onions crosswise into small circles.
4. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook to package instructions.
5. Once the noodles are cooked, assemble the final dish:
   1. Add the cooked and drained noodles to a large bowl (large enough to mix the ingredients) and coat with a splash of sesame oil.
   2. Sprinkle a bit of MSG, white pepper powder, and Chinese five spice powder over the noodles.
   3. Add the sesame sauce to the dish.
   4. From the garlic water: add the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of the water to the bowl.
   5. Add the chili crisp, soy sauce, dark Chinese vinegar, and 1/4 cup of the warm spiced broth to the dish.
   6. Finally, top with the minced green onion, roasted peanuts, minced pickled peppers, and Red Eye Hot Sauce of your choice.
   7. Mix well and enjoy.