Tian Shui Mian
甜水面·(tián shuǐ miàn)
The 7:30 AM Awakening: Sichuan Breakfasts
The air in Chengdu at dawn smells of roasted chilies, sweet soy, and toasted sesame. Tian Shui Mian is the pinnacle of that morning street food culture, a dish defined entirely by a magical, slow-simmered elixir called Fuzhi Jiangyou. Brew a batch of this spiced, syrupy soy sauce on a Sunday and keep it in the fridge. Come Wednesday night, you can boil a pack of udon, spoon this dark gold over the top with a dollop of chili oil, and be transported instantly to the homeland.
Before you start
Prepare the garlic water.
Mix the smashed garlic paste with two tablespoons of warm water and let it sit for at least five minutes to extract the sharp allicin flavor smoothly.
Ingredients
- light soy sauce1 cup
- dark brown sugar1/2 cup
- water2 tbsp
- star anise2 whole
- cinnamon stick1 small
- fennel seeds1 tsp
- Chinese black cardamom1 whole
- fresh ginger1 small piece
- dried sand ginger2 small pieces
- thick udon noodles1 lb
- Sichuan chili oil with flakes3 tbsp
- Chinese sesame paste2 tsp
- garlic clove2 med
- warm water2 tbsp
- toasted sesame oil1/2 tsp
- Sichuan peppercorn1/2 tsp
- MSG1 pinch
- unsalted roasted peanuts2 tbsp
- white sesame seeds2 tsp
Method
- 01
Brew the sweet aromatic soy sauce.
Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, two tablespoons of water, star anise, cinnamon, fennel, black cardamom, ginger slices, and sand ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
- 02
Simmer the elixir to a syrup.
Reduce the heat to your absolute lowest setting and simmer uncovered for 25 to 35 minutes, looking for the liquid to reduce by roughly a third and coat the back of a spoon like maple syrup.
- 03
Strain and store the gold.
Remove from the heat, let it cool slightly so it thickens, and strain it through a fine-mesh sieve into a glass jar while discarding the spent spices.
- 04
Boil the noodles.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and cook the udon according to the package directions, pulling them when perfectly chewy and heated through.
- 05
Assemble the flavor matrix a la minute.
Drain the noodles vigorously, portion them into individual bowls, and immediately top each with a tablespoon of your sweet soy sauce, the chili oil, sesame paste, garlic water, sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and MSG.
- 06
Garnish and serve immediately.
Top the bowls with the crushed peanuts and toasted sesame seeds, leaving the diner to vigorously toss everything until the thick strands are glistening in the dark, spicy sauce.
Notes
The grandma secret to weeknight speed.
The true secret to everyday Sichuan cooking is maintaining a pantry arsenal; keep this sweet aromatic soy sauce in your fridge, and you can throw this meal together in five minutes.
Making authentic stick noodles from scratch.
If you have an hour on a weekend, mix 300 grams of all-purpose flour with 150 grams of water and a pinch of salt, knead until extremely stiff, rest, and roll into quarter-inch thick sticks before boiling for six to eight minutes.
Peanut butter is a culturally acceptable hack.
While traditional recipes use Chinese sesame paste, blending it with or substituting creamy peanut butter adds a luxurious body that clings perfectly to thick noodles.
From Cook Sichuan in America.