A few weeks back, an interesting Facebook video on Szechuan mung bean jelly noodles caught my attention; since I had several packs of mung bean flour in my pantry, I decided to attempt making it during my Live Asian Kitchen broadcast on Twitch.
The mung bean flour packs I had are actually what’s called Tepung Hoen Kwe and they contain vanilla essence, since they’re used for making Malaysian and Indonesian sweet kuihs (snacks). I decided to wing it rather than try to hunt down some unadulterated mung bean flour, and it turned out just fine; no trace of vanilla came through in the final product.
Szechuan Jelly Noodles
INGREDIENTS:
120g mung bean flour (1 pack Tepung Hoen Kwe)
4 1/2 cups water
4 TBSP minced garlic
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1/3 cup chilli oil
1/3 cup black vinegar
2 TBSP sesame oil
2/3 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP chicken powder (or 1 tsp salt, to make it gluten-free and vegetarian)
1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed
1/3 cup light soy sauce
2 TBSP sliced spring onion
2 TBSP chopped coriander
METHOD:
- Mix the mung bean flour with 1 cup of water.
- Bring the rest of the water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Stir in the mung bean flour mixture and cook until it turns translucent and is of a starchy consistency.
- Pour into a mould and allow to cool completely; it took mine about 60-90 minutes to set, with some help from the refrigerator.
- Cut into thin strips with a knife; if not using immediately, soak in cold water to prevent them from sticking.
- Heat oil in a pan, then saute the minced garlic. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, mix well and remove from heat.
- Serve noodles with sauce, spring onion and fresh coriander.
