Dan Dan Noodles

Ingredients

Pork topping

• 300 gminced pork
• 3 tbspya cai, rinsed and chopped
• 1 tbspShaoxing wine
• 1 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tbspoil

Sauce, per bowl

• 2 tbspSichuan chilli oil with its sediment
• 1 tbspChinese sesame paste
• 1 tbsplight soy sauce
• 1 tspdark soy sauce
• 1 tspChinkiang vinegar
• 1 tspsugar
• ½ tspground roasted Sichuan pepper
• 1 clovegarlic, crushed
• 2 tbsphot noodle water

Also

• 500 gthin wheat noodles
• spring onions, sliced
• blanched leafy greens

Directions

1. Rinse the ya cai and squeeze it dry, then chop it. It is heavily salted, and unrinsed it will make the entire bowl inedible.
2. Fry the minced pork hard in the oil, breaking it up, until it is dry, crisp and deeply browned, which takes 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Keep frying past the point where it looks done. The pork should be crisp and almost crumbly rather than moist, because it sits on top of the noodles rather than in a sauce.
4. Add the Shaoxing wine and soy sauce and cook until they have evaporated, then add the ya cai and fry for 2 minutes more.
5. Use Chinese sesame paste rather than tahini. It is made from fully toasted seeds, is much darker and more bitter, and tahini gives a pale flat sauce that tastes wrong.
6. Build the sauce in the bottom of each bowl, whisking the sesame paste together with both soy sauces, the vinegar, sugar, garlic, Sichuan pepper and chilli oil.
7. Cook the noodles, then whisk 2 tbsp of the starchy cooking water into each bowl of sauce to loosen it.
8. Drain the noodles and pile them onto the sauce without mixing them in.
9. Top with the crisp pork, sliced spring onion and a few blanched greens.
10. Serve with the sauce still sitting at the bottom, and toss it at the table. That is how it is served and half the pleasure is doing it yourself.
11. There is no broth in an authentic dan dan mian. The Chengdu style adds a little; the Zigong original is dry.

Technique

• It is named for the shoulder pole, dan dan, that Zigong hawkers carried through Sichuan streets from the 1840s, with noodles at one end and sauce at the other.
• Chilli oil with its sediment, not the clear oil poured off the top. The sediment is where the flavour is.
• Grind the Sichuan pepper yourself and use it fresh. The numbing quality fades fast once ground.

Substitutions

• Preserved mustard greens or zha cai in place of ya cai, rinsed just as thoroughly.
• Tahini with a spoonful of toasted sesame oil, if Chinese sesame paste is unavailable.

Variations

• The Chengdu style, with a little broth in the bowl.
• Made vegetarian with crisped mushrooms in place of the pork.
• With peanuts crushed over the top.

History

Named for the shoulder pole, dan dan, that Zigong hawkers carried through Sichuan streets from the 1840s with noodles at one end and sauce at the other.

Frequently asked questions

What is Dan Dan Noodles?

Dan Dan Noodles is a street food from China: sichuan noodles in chili-sesame sauce with minced pork and preserved vegetables. Named for the shoulder pole, dan dan, that Zigong hawkers carried through Sichuan streets from the 1840s with noodles at one end and sauce at the other.

How long does Dan Dan Noodles take to make?

Dan Dan Noodles takes 20 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Dan Dan Noodles?

Yes, within limits. Preserved mustard greens or zha cai in place of ya cai, rinsed just as thoroughly. Tahini with a spoonful of toasted sesame oil, if Chinese sesame paste is unavailable.

What is the most important thing to get right in Dan Dan Noodles?

Rinse the ya cai and squeeze it dry, then chop it. It is heavily salted, and unrinsed it will make the entire bowl inedible.