Dan Dan Noodles

May 18, 2015 25 Comments

Famous dish Dan dan noodles (担担面) is one of the most famous street foods in Sichuan cuisine. Another representative is Sichuan style sesame cold noodle. This recipe is firstly published in 2013 and after visiting lots of famous noodle restaurants during my last hometown travel, it seems quite necessary for me to update this recipe for a more authentic flavor.

New version here with every ingredient and details perfectly set!

Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles by China Sichuan Food

This is the version in 2013 and I failed to find Ya-cai. So it is just a customized version with Zha Cai.

Ya-cai(芽菜) is one of the three most important and famous preserved vegetables in Sichuan cuisine. The other two are pickled zha cai and black salted turnip. Making different types of pickled and preserved vegetables is one of the daily cooking tasks of housewives in Sichuan province.Traditionally, we will have a large jar for keeping this unique ingredient. However for we mostly use packaged version for daily cooking now.

Chili oil–another secret to Szechuan cuisine.

Szechuan style chili oil has been considered as one of the most important Szechuan seasonings, for returning reader, you may find I use it in many other recipes as saliva chicken (mouthwatering chicken)，spicy wonton soup, Sichuan chicken noodle salad (Liang Mian), Chinese pig ear salad (red oil pig ear) etc. For easy homemade version, check how to make Chinese red oil or you can refer toSaliva Chicken for a more combined version.

History of Dan Dan Mein.

Then I would like to introduce something about the name. Dandan in the name actually refers to a carrying pole(扁担 in Chinese ). In the past, the vendors carried the noodles and the sauces to sell them on the street. The fried pork and Ya-cai gravy is the most unique feature of Dan Dan noodles. I prefer hand minced pork other than ground pork, as the pork will taste better as larger ones. Try to fry the pork as dry as possible so we can get a slightly crisp taste.

How to serve dan dan noodles?

Please do not use large raman noodle bowls to serve dan dan noodles. Choose smaller ones and serve with a small amount (can be eat up within several minutes). Enjoy when it is still hot and the pork is still crisp.

Dan Dan Noodles

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Serve: 2-3

Famous sichuan dandan noodles--detailed guide for you to make at home.

Ingredients

300 gram fresh egg noodles around 10 ounces
chopped scallion for sprinkling
blanched vegetables if needed

Fried soy beans

1/2 cup soy beans
3 tablespoons cooking oil

Pork topping

1 cup hand minced pork (with some fat)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 inch ginger peel and minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup ya-cai
1 tablespoon cooking wine
1 tablespoon light soy sauce

For each serving

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
a really small pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon sesame paste
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon chili oil or as needed (refer here for homemade recipe)
1/3 cup hot chicken stock (if not available, use water )
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

Instructions

Fry soy beans

Pre-soak dried soybeans until they are double in size. Transfer out and drain with kitchen towel.
Add 3 tablespoon cooking oil in wok and add soaked soybeans to fry until you hear the “Pa Pa” sound. Transfer the soybeans out and set aside to cool down

Make the pork topping

Heat up around 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil in wok; add Ya-cai to fry for around 3-4 minutes over medium fire until aroma and then transfer out.
Heat up around 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil in wok again, add hand-minced pork in, fry for around 4-5 minutes over medium fire slightly brown and there is no more water in the pork. Add minced ginger, chili powder and continue fry until aroma.
Add cooking wine and light soy sauce; fry until well combined and then return Ya-cai. Give a big stir-fry to make sure they are well combined. Transfer out and set aside.

Cook noodles and serve

Prepare the serving bowls and add all the sauces in. Set aside.
Cook noodles in boiling water according to the instructions on the package and blanch vegetables if you love to add some in the last minutes when the noodles are almost ready. Transfer the noodles to the serving bowl and top with pork and garnish with green onion.
Pour around 1/2 cup hot chicken broth or hot water along with the edges.
Serve with the left pork topping and fried soybeans.