Pork Zha Jiang

I got fat off this dish in middle school. I mean, how could you not? This sweet-savory meat sauce is a staple over noodles, universally beloved across eastern Asia; both Korean and Japanese cuisines have variations of this funky black-brown sauce.

The most important ingredient required for our version of zha jiang mian is the sweet flour sauce (or tian mian jiang), a thick, salty condiment with a roasty backbone, usually served with Peking duck. In Michigan, we could only occasional