Chongqing xiao mian (重庆小面, Chongqing small noodles) is the breakfast noodle dish of Chongqing — a bowl of thin wheat noodles in a complex sauce of soy sauce, chilli oil, Sichuan peppercorn, sesame paste, preserved vegetables, and aromatics, with a small amount of braising liquid from the morning's preparations. It is simpler and more austere than dan dan mian — there is no meat topping in the basic version, just the sauce and a scattering of preserved mustard greens (ya cai) and peanuts. It is the noodle that Chongqing residents eat for breakfast at street stalls open from 5am, and it is the dish that best captures the daily, unpretentious character of Chongqing food culture.
The sauce bowl (prepared before the noodles): 1 tbsp chilli oil with sediment, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn oil, 1 tsp sesame paste (diluted slightly), 1 tsp vinegar, 1/2 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp of the noodle cooking water, minced garlic, minced ginger. The sauce should be complex and intensely aromatic but not as thick as dan dan mian sauce. The noodles: Thin fresh alkaline noodles (jian shui mian, 碱水面) — the alkaline treatment gives the noodles their characteristic springy, slightly chewy bite. If unavailable, thin wheat noodles are acceptable. The toppings: Ya cai (Yibin preserved mustard greens) — essential. Roasted peanuts. Sliced scallion. Optional: blanched water spinach or bok choy.
Fuchsia Dunlop, The Food of Sichuan (2019)