Sichuan Noodles Demystified - Cooks Illustrated

Published May 1, 2001.

This rich, flavorful Chinese dish can be made without exotic ingredients.

The Problem

Spicy Sichuan noodles, a common "street food" dish in China, make a quick, satisfying dinner, but recipes are hard to find and those that exist require hard-to-find ingredients.

The Goal

Spicy Sichuan noodles are a meal in a bowl: noodles topped with a rich, savory sauce of browned ground pork, aromatic ginger and garlic, salty soy sauce, and nutty peanut butter, all finished with a blast of chiles, sliced scallions, and bean sprouts. We wanted to create a fast, flavorful version of Sichuan noodles for home cooks.

The Solution

Combine browned ground pork with a sauce made of Chinese pantry staples available at most supermarkets. Use fresh or dried noodles (or linguine, in a pinch) for an out-of-the-ordinary weeknight supper. Note: Between 2002 and 2004, the USDA enforced a ban against Sichuan peppercorns -- the ban was lifted for heat-dried peppercorns.

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