Dan dan noodles is another classic Sichuan dish. Along with Mapo Tofu, I'd say they are the two most famous dishes to come from Sichuan province. The main components are a creamy and spicy sauce, ground meat topping, and noodles.
If you've been following this blog, you know my mother grew up in Sichuan so I ate a lot of Sichuan food growing up. Surprisingly, this is not something that she ever made for us. The first time I had dan noodles was like 5 years ago when I went to a Chinese noodle shop with my coworkers for lunch. Even though I never had it before, the flavors tasted very familiar to me.
Dan dan noodles uses a lot of common Sichuan ingredients. One of the main ingredients is sui mi ya cai. This is a type of Chinese preserved vegetable and my mom used to use it a lot in her cooking. I will discuss it more below but just remember it is a key ingredient so you shouldn't leave it out.
Key steps/ingredients
Ground pork: One of the best parts of dan dan noodles is the ground pork topping. Some people like to use beef instead but I think it tastes way better with pork. For today's recipe, I'm actually using boneless pork shoulder that I ground up myself.
Noodles: My favorite type of noodles for dan dan noodles is Korean jajang noodles. They are thicker and chewier than regular noodles. However, I could not find them at my Asian grocery store today, so I'm using these "healthy" fiber noodles they had on sale. The type of noodle does not matter too much, but fresh long white noodles are traditional.
Chinese sesame paste: This is basically the Chinese version of tahini, but it is made with toasted sesame seeds rather than raw sesame seeds. You can substitute it with peanut butter if you don't have it (or use a combination of both). This is a picture of my jar:
Sui mi ya cai: Sui mi ya cai is a type of Chinese preserved vegetable made from mustard greens. It has a salty, earthy, and briny flavor. It is an absolute must for the recipe, and I would not recommend skipping it or finding a substitute. A few years ago, I bought a huge pack and have kept it in my freezer since. Here is a picture of the packaging:
Dark soy sauce: The purpose of the dark soy sauce is purely for color. It helps darken the pork topping and sauce. It is a little thicker consistency and less salty than soy sauce. It doesn't add much flavor beyond what regular soy sauce already adds, so if you don't have it, you can skip it.
The difference components
Dan dan noodles is one of those recipes where you have to prepare quite a few different components. Here we have the sauce mixture, ground pork topping, noodles, and thinly sliced scallions. It's a little annoying to prep everything individually, but it's worth the effort.
Dan Dan Noodles
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2-4 tablespoons chili oil (to your own taste)
- 1 ½ tablespoons Chinese sesame paste (or peanut butter)
- ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chinkiang black vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
For the ground pork topping
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 4 ounces ground pork
- 2 tablespoons Sichuan preserved mustard greens (sui mi ya cai)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon sweet bean sauce (or hoisin sauce)
- ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
For the rest
- 8 ounces fresh or dried white noodles
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and set aside. Later, we will add some of the pasta cooking water to thin out the sauce.
- Heat a wok of medium-high heat. Add the oil and swirl it around the wok. Add the ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the ground pork and stir-fry for 2 minutes until no longer pink, using your spatula to break up the pork into small pieces
- Add the Sichuan preserved mustard greens and stir-fry for 30 seconds until hot.
- Add the Shaoxing cooking wine, sweet bean sauce, and dark soy sauce. Stir fry for 1 minute until the Shaoxing wine has evaporated and you start to hear sizzling. Remove from the heat.
- Boil the noodles according to the package directions. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of the pasta water and add it to the sauce mixture from the first step.
- In two large bowls, divide the drained noodles, sauce mixture, pork topping, and scallions. Mix and enjoy! If you find the sauce is too thick/pastey, just add a little bit of water or chili oil to thin it out.
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