Zhajiang | Chinese Noodle Sauce with Ground Beef and Fermented Soybean Paste

Put the fermented soybean paste in a bowl and thin it with half the water until smooth. If added directly to the pan, the paste will stick and will not distribute evenly. Stir the soy sauce and sugar into this mixture and set aside. The fermented paste gives the sauce its depth; do not add any other liquid to this mixture.

Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the ground beef. Do not stir it right away; let one side brown against the pan, then break it up with a spoon. Cook until all the liquid released by the beef has evaporated and the crumbles are separated; this step determines the sauce’s texture. If using ground turkey instead of beef, continue cooking until it reaches an internal temperature of 74°C / 165°F.

Reduce the heat, add the grated ginger and garlic, and stir for half a minute until fragrant. They will burn quickly over high heat and make the sauce bitter. Add the white parts of the green onions at this stage.

Pour the thinned paste mixture into the skillet, add the remaining water, and cook over low heat. Stir occasionally: the sauce will look watery at first, then thicken, with a separate layer of oil appearing at the edges. Dissolve the cornstarch in one spoonful of cold water, stir it in for 1 more minute, then remove the pan from the heat and garnish with the green parts of the green onions. Refrigerate leftover sauce in a sealed container; discard it if its smell or appearance changes.