I remember while growing up in Taipei, Taiwan, I would often see taxi drivers take their shifts near a food vendor. This vendor was not anything fancy. Usually located near a roadside, a small noodle vendor would sell sesame noodles on the go. The noodles were packed in a plastic container bundled up with a pair of chopsticks with two rubber bands holding them together. It was simple and convenient. I remember when I first had my experience of trying out the flavors of majiang noodles: At first glance, the dish was so simple, and to an extent, colorless. I felt like the person that made this dish compensated for the lack of color by garnishing it with cucumbers and green onions. However, upon tasting the dish, the aromatics from the sesame sauce was so pungent that I wondered how a simple dish like this could be packed with such dense flavor.

It is of no surprise that I encountered my first bowl of majiang noodles sold near a side road with crowds of taxi drivers as this dish’s literal translation is ‘carrying pole noodles’. The origin of this dish was derived from street vendors in Sichuan Providence who would hold two poles of bamboo baskets behind their backs. It turns out that majiang noodles is a subbranch of an equally popular dish, dandan noodles (擔擔麵), which, unlike the majiang noodles, incorporates more spicy and fewer sweet ingredients (understandable since Sichuan Cuisine is known for its mouth numbing dishes). It appears that the majiang noodles’ transformation occurred to cater towards a more international population. With its added sweeter and creamier texture, the majiang noodles entices the palettes of western tourists. Thus, it is not surprising that places of international outreach, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, are full of this dish. I find it amazing that even local taxi drivers are in love with this dish as well, to the point that a common running stereotype is that this is the Taiwanese taxi driver’s national dish. It isn’t but it has developed a symbol of quick and convenient food that makes you full for a long time, and I think that is what the majiang noodles have come to represent. Born out of a street food convenience, this dish fits well with the modern bustling and hustling lifestyle where people can grab this dish and go. However, unlike more popular food franchises such as McDonalds and Burger King, the majiang noodle is a dish with freedom of variation. Although restricted in its fundamental flavors of peanut and sesame, some stores attempt to make the sauce thicker or lighter. Some stores even garnish it with bok choy instead of carrots and cucumbers. In my variation, I have implemented yellow and black sesame seeds to add more sesame flavors and a hint of a crunchy texture.

While the noodles lay the foundation for this delicious dish, the sauce is what steals the show. By incorporating peanut and sesame sauces, the nutty and aromatic mixture provides such deep flavor from an otherwise monotone visual. It is of no surprise that the first thing people note about this dish is the smell, since nuts, when crushed, release their volatile chemical compounds that waft into the nasal passage. In fact, the added sesame oil adds to the smell as well. In addition to the volatile compounds, adding raw garlic is much more pungent than roasted garlic, so this too adds to the smells of the nutty aroma. For noodles, I chose to use Chinese noodles which have a nice firm texture when cooked at Al dente. I think cooking your noodles too thoroughly will not allow them to mix with the sauce perfectly.

Again, I cannot stress and recommend this delicious dish enough. It is amazing how simple ingredients like garlic, sesame seeds, and peanuts can harmonize into something so tasty. The smell of the dish wafts into your nose, adding to the expectation you will have before tasting this dish. My favorite part of making this dish was when mixing my sauce into a homogenous mixture until the color turned into an almost vibrant caramel. The sauce almost reminded me of the color that one sees in the recent food trend of the Dalgona Coffee.