Spicy Buckwheat Noodles (Suan La Jiao Mian)
- Nov 21, 2025
- 1 min read
I adapted this spicy Szechuanese dish from Fuchsia Dunlop's cookbook Every Grain of Rice. It makes for a great side or appetizer dish as it can be served hot or at room temperature. The chicken is optional, but if you happen to have some left-over rotisserie chicken on hand, it would be a great addition. Prior to coming across this recipe, I didn't even know that buckwheat noodles were utilized in Chinese cuisine since I've only eaten them in Japanese restaurants as cold Soba noodles with julienned nori, sliced scallions, and a soy-wasabi-mirin-sake-sugar dipping sauce. Anyways, incredibly easy to make and really yummy.
Note on the sauce:
*Chicken is optional: meat from a roast chicken works well in this dish.
Notes
1
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add the noodles. Cook over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until noodles are just done.
2
Pour noodles into a strainer and toss with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil (this will prevent the noodles from sticking together).
3
Prep the vegetables.
4
Place the noodles into a bowl and toss with all the remaining ingredients.
5
Serve immediately at room temperature garnished with fresh cilantro. Can also be served cold.
Instructions
12 oz dried buckwheat noodles (soba)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
5 scallions thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic minced
1-2 Fresno chilies seeded and thinly sliced
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp chili oil (Layu)
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp Chinkiang or Chinese black vinegar
1 cup diced cooked chicken*
Garnish
Spicy Buckwheat Noodles (Suan La Jiao Mian)
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Prep Time
25 min
Cooking Time
10 min
Rest Time
0 min
Total Time
35 min
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