Hey everyone, it’s Kevin here! Today I’m bringing you a famous recipe from the Chinese drama, Meteor Garden. In the show, the main character makes these 8 treasure spicy noodles (八宝辣酱面) as part of a cooking competition and almost wins.
Ever since I watched Meteor Garden, I wanted to try recreating this show-defining dish. In the show, the main character is inspired to make this dish by her “boyfriend” (just a love interest at the time of the competition) nicknamed “pineapple-head” (his hair looks like a pineapple). As such, her dish deviates from the traditional 8 treasure spicy noodles by including pineapple as one of the “treasures”.
I was worried that adding pineapples would make the dish taste a little weird, since it isn’t a very common ingredient in savory dishes, but I was glad to be proven wrong! The pineapple adds a bit of welcome sweetness and freshness to the sauce that helps lighten up the dish. In general, I’m not a huge fan of noodle soups, but this 8 treasure spicy noodle (八宝辣酱面) is definitely the exception!
What is “8 Treasures”?
In China, 8 (pronounced “ba”) is considered one of the luckiest numbers, stemming from the fact that it sounds similar to the word for “wealth” (pronounced “fa”) in Chinese. The name “8 Treasures” means that there are 8 main ingredients in this dish, making this a lucky dish! In fact, the name 8 Treasures isn’t unique to this dish, as there are also “8 Treasures Rice Pudding” and “8 Treasures Porridge” dishes in China.
For 8 treasure spicy noodles, the ingredients used are not set in stone. Typically, you would use whatever ingredients are convenient for you to get, and as long as you have 8 of them, you’re set! As such, feel free to play around with the ingredients to suit what is convenient for you to buy. Some other popular Chinese ingredients that you can use are lotus root, dried shrimp, garlic, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms.
Since this recipe is inspired by the show Meteor Garden, I wanted to adhere as closely as possible to the ingredients used in the show, especially the pineapple.
Tips
Don’t be intimidated by the ingredient list! This 8 treasure spicy noodles recipe is actually really easy, and can be made in just a little over 30 minutes! Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Make a trip to a Chinese grocery store. You’ll be able to find all of the ingredients at any Chinese grocery store, such as 99 Ranch, or even at a general Asian supermarket.
- Double check that you bought raw, not roasted peanuts. Raw peanuts have quite a different taste and will release more oil than peanuts when stir-fried than peanuts that have already been cooked. If you have extra peanuts, wok-fried peanuts taste amazing and are a great snack. Just stir-fry the peanuts in oil until the peanut skins turn dark brown and season with salt.
- Pour the water over the noodles right before you’re ready to eat. If you add the water too early, then the noodles will soak up all of the soup and become soggy and limp.
Let’s get started!
Looking for more authentic Chinese dishes?
- Chinese Braised Pork Belly (Hong Shao Rou)
- Yangzhou Fried Rice
- Chinese Scallion Pancakes (Cong You Bing)
8 Treasure Spicy Noodles Recipe
Course: Main CourseCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes25
minutesThese 8 treasure spicy noodles (八宝辣酱面) are inspired by the popular Chinese TV show Meteor Garden. This is different from traditional 8 treasure spicy noodles because it uses pineapple one of the main ingredients (as was done on the show), which adds a fresh and vibrant flavor to this savory dish.
Ingredients
1/2 cup pork (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
1/2 cup raw peanuts (shelled)
1/2 onion (diced)
1 carrot (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
1/2 cup five-spice dried tofu (doufugan; cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
1/2 cup edamame (frozen or fresh)
1/2 cup pineapple
1/2 cup shrimp (peeled and tail off)
3 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons doubanjiang (spicy broad bean sauce)
1 tablespoon laoganma spicy chili crisp (can be found on Amazon or in any Chinese grocery store)
1 cup chicken stock (or water)
1 tablespoon sugar
3 slices ginger
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
Chinese noodles (as many servings as needed)
- Equipment
Small pot
Wok or large skillet
Directions
- Prepare the 8 “treasures” (first 8 ingredients)
- In a small pot, bring enough water to a boil to cover the pork. Once the water is boiling, blanch the pork in the water for 30 seconds. Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl
- Add the oil to a wok or large skillet and heat up over medium-low heat. Add the peanuts and cook for 2-3 minutes, until they start turning golden. Add the doubanjiang and cook for 30 seconds
- Raise the heat to medium and add the onions. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the carrots, five-spice dried tofu, edamame, and sugar and cook for 3 minutes
- Add the blanched pork, chicken stock, and laoganma spicy chili crisp and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is almost all gone (you should have a few tablespoons of liquid left at the end). Add the pineapple and cook everything together for 1 minute. The sauce is done!
- While the sauce is simmering, prepare the noodles according to the package (don’t discard the water!) and cook the shrimp. To cook the shrimp, add 3 cups of water, garlic, and ginger to a small pot and bring to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the shrimp turn opaque and pink (be careful not to overcook them)
- To serve, place the noodles in a bowl and scoop the sauce on top. With a ladle, pour the water used to cook the noodles over the sauce, until the soup comes up to the height of the noodles. Serve immediately!
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