This is a traditional chinese dish. It’s affectionately known as chinese spaghetti. My wife has been telling me about it for years, and I’ve been trying to reproduce it for years. I’ve finally gotten it to the point where she’s happy with it.

It’s a fun dish: it’s a make-your-own. You prepare the noodles and sauce and a bunch of toppings, and then each guest adds sauce and toppings to their own taste. I’ve seen a couple of variations on the set of toppings you can serve with it: cucumbers, carrots, raw onions, shredded ginger, sliced garlic, and bean sprouts all work. I’ve also seen one version that served it with black chinese vinegar, which was really strange.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs, ground coarsely.
• 2 tablespoons tobanjiang (chinese spicy bean sauce, available at asian groceries.)
• 1/4 plus a couple of tablespoons cup soy sauce.
• 1 cup chicken stock.
• 1/2 cup sake or shaoshing wine.
• 1 large onion, minced.
• 2 cloves garlic, minced.
• 1 large slice ginger, crushed and minced.
• 1 cucumber
• 1 carrot
• 2 eggs
• 2 scallions, green sliced, and whites finely minced.
• 1 tablespoon sugar.
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with some water.
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil.

1. Prepare the toppings
   1. Peel the cucumber, cut it in half, scrape out the seeds, and then cut it into thin sticks. Toss with salt, and set aside for 30 minutes, and then pour off the water that comes out.
   2. Peel the cucumber, and cut into thin sticks. Toss it with salt, and set aside for 30 minutes. Pour off the water that comes out.
   3. Finely slice the greens of the scallions, and set aside.
   4. Beat the two eggs with a bit of soy sauce. Put some oil into a hot non-stick pan, and pour in the eggs. Spread then into a thin layer that covers the pan. Cook until it’s mostly solid, then flip it. When it’s all cooked, move it to a cutting board, and cut into thin ribbons. Set aside.
2. Make the sauce:
   1. Mix the ground chicken thighs with a tablespoon of soy sauce.
   2. Put 1 tablespoon of oil into a hot wok. Add the chicken, and stir fry until it starts to brown. Then remove it.
   3. Put 1 tablespoon of oil into a hot wok. Add the garlic and ginger, and stir fry until fragrant. Then add the onions and scallion whites, and stir until they soften and just barely start to brown.
   4. Scrape the onions to the sides of the pan, then add the tobanjiang to the oil that collects of the bottom of the pan. Stir it around for 30 seconds.
   5. Add the chicken back in, and then add the sake.
   6. When most of the sake has cooked off, add the chicken stock, soy sauce, sugar, and a cup of water.
   7. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and then let it cook for about 20 minutes.
   8. Thicken with some cornstarch, and add the sesame oil. Remove from heat, put into a bowl, and set aside.
3. Cook some noodles. This will work with a variety of different types of asian noodles: fresh ramen, lo mien, shanghai noodle. Cook according to the instructions on the package. It’s best if it’s a bit undercooked. Drain them, and then toss with a bit of oil to stop them from sticking together.

To serve, you put the sauce into a bowl, and put it and all of the toppings onto the table. Then put a pile of noodles onto each persons plate. Then have each guest add as much sauce and toppings as they want, and dig in.