Sweet-water Noodles (Tian Shui Mian)

Big fat chewy noodles + Sichuan sweet soy sauce

One sunny April afternoon, I found myself strolling around the Wenshu Buddhist Temple in Chengdu. This now well-visited tourist spot is surrounded by popular street food, including a time-honored noodle eatery offering petite, snack-sized noodle bowls. It wasn't a tough choice to make, so I ordered two classics: liang fen (recipe here) and tian shui mian (甜水面), the latter translates as sweet-water noodles. It has been years since I last had it.

Tian Shui Mian @ 洞子口张凉粉, Chengdu

The name is a bit disguising, sweet-water noodles don’t come with a broth; instead, they’re thick chewy noodles coated in a rich, dark red sauce. The flavor is a blend of savory, umami and spicy, with just a subtle hint of sweetness lingering in the aftertaste. I've always considered this dish to be a unique gem in Sichuan cuisine, not easily found elsewhere. These chopstick-thick noodles, also called stick noodles (gun gun mian, 棍棍面) are a closer resemblance to Japanese udon noodles than thin wheat noodles typically used in other Sichuan noodle dishes. However, this famous Chengdu street food is believed to have appeared earlier than dan dan noodles, documented in a book about folk life in Chengdu in the early 1900s (“成都通览”).

Sweet-water noodles highlight two quintessential Sichuan condiments: chili oil (recipe) and sweet aromatic soy sauce (fu zhi jiang you, 复制酱油). The latter is what makes the dish sweet. Local soy sauce is cooked with dark brown sugar and spices until it thickens into a syrupy consistency. Adding a few splashes will make the noodle sauce thicker and sticker, thus a handy condiment in the kitchen. The combination with chili oil is also the base of cold dishes with garlic sauce (for example, pork slice with garlic sauce, 蒜泥白肉). Seasoned soy sauces have a rich history in various regions, and Sichuan’s interpretation might have been influenced by red soy sauce from eastern Chinese regions such as Shanghai.

Watch me make it here!

How to make sweet aromatic soy sauce

• 250g Chinese light soy sauce

• 150g soft dark brown sugar

• 1 small cinnamon stick

• 1 star anise

• 1 bay leaf

• 10 Sichuan peppercorns

• 100 ml water

⠀Optional: 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsaoko, 1 dried shiitake mushroom, ginger slices

1. In a sauce pan, add spice to simmering water, cook for about 5 min.

2. Add soy sauce and brown sugar to the pan, bring to a boil, and let it simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes until the soy sauce thickens and becomes syrupy, reducing by 1/3 or half. Strain out the spices, let cool, store the sauce in a bottle for up to 3 months (or longer).

Notes on preparation

• Adding water is to avoid soy sauce being to salty, adjust depending on the saltiness of your soy sauce.

• Soy sauce: In Sichuan, a few decades ago, there was no distinction between light and dark soy sauce, so many recipes call for just soy sauce. A premium Chinese light soy sauce works well (I used this one), but if it's too thin, you can add a bit of dark soy sauce.

• Sugar: you can use solid dark brown sugar, soft dark brown sugar, or mix in some rock sugar to make the sauce more glossy. White sugar works too!

Recipe for sweet-water noodles

Handmade sweet-water noodles fall on the easier side of the Chinese noodle spectrum, requiring minimal kneading and stretching. The hydration rate is approximately 50%, meaning water makes up half of the flour's weight, and some resting time is needed for the dough to become smooth and elastic.

Serves 4 as a snack

• 250g all-purpose flour

• 125g room temperature water

• 1/2 tsp salt

⠀For each bowl, you'll need:

• 1 clove garlic, grated and mixed with water

• 1 tsp sesame paste or peanut butter

• 1 tbsp chili oil (recipe)

• 1 tbsp aromatic sweet soy sauce (fu zhi jiang you)

• 1/4 tsp ground Sichuan pepper

• vegetable oil for coating

• 1 tsp roasted peanuts, chopped

1. 1. In a large bowl, mix salt with the flour. Gradually add water while stirring with a pair of chopsticks. Knead the mixture into a dough, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. For chewier noodles, repeat this process two more times.

2. Divide the dough into two portions and knead each into a flat surface about 6mm - 8mm thick. Then cut it into 1 cm strips and dust them with flour.

3. In a pot of boiling water, add the noodle strips one by one, gently stretching them. Bring the water to a boil again, add some cold water, and cook for about 5-7 min. Drain the noodles and coat them with vegetable oil to prevent sticking. Divide the noodles into serving bowls, adding garlic water, sesame paste, sweet soy sauce, chili oil, ground Sichuan pepper, and garnish with chopped peanuts and sesame seeds. Serve warm, lukewarm or cold.