Dan Dan Noodles
Dan Dan Noodles are a small bowl with a slightly unreasonable amount going on. There is spicy chilli oil, numbing Sichuan pepper, fermented greens, savoury pork and a rich sesame sauce, all fighting for attention in the best possible way. Traditionally, the noodles arrive beautifully layered and completely unmixed. That part is your problem. Get your chopsticks in there and mix everything until every strand is coated, then try to work out which flavour hit you first.
Ingredients
For the pork topping
250 g pork mince
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp groundnut oil, for mixing
3 tbsp groundnut oil, for frying
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
1-inch piece ginger
4 cloves garlic
3 tbsp Sichuan preserved mustard greens, washed and finely chopped
Substitute: If Sichuan preserved mustard greens are unavailable, use finely chopped sauerkraut. It won't have quite the same fermented character, but it provides the necessary acidity and funk.
For the sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar
1 tsp light soy sauce
3–4 tbsp Sichuan chilli oil
2 tbsp Chinese sesame paste
½ cup hot stock, or hot noodle cooking water
Substitutions: Chinese sesame paste can be replaced with tahini or unsweetened smooth peanut butter. Tahini will give a slightly more bitter, toasted flavour, while peanut butter will make the sauce sweeter and nuttier.
For the noodles
400 g wheat noodles
Fresh Chinese wheat noodles are ideal, but you can also use dried wheat noodles, alkaline noodles, knife-cut noodles, or even Japanese ramen noodles. Avoid very thin noodles if possible. You want something with enough chew to stand up to the sauce and pork.
To assemble
4 tbsp roasted peanuts
2 spring onions
A handful of fresh coriander leaves
1–2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
Blanched greens, such as bok choy, choy sum or flat-leaf kale
Sichuan chilli oil, as required
Pork lard, about ½–1 tsp per bowl
Method
Prepare the aromatics
Pound the ginger and garlic together in a mortar and pestle until roughly crushed.
Toast the Sichuan peppercorns in a dry pan over low heat until fragrant. Allow them to cool, then pound them into a coarse powder.
Keep some of the crushed Sichuan pepper aside for finishing the bowls.
Prepare the pork topping
Place the pork mince in a bowl.
Add the light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, salt, cornflour and 1 tbsp groundnut oil.
Mix thoroughly until the pork is evenly seasoned and slightly sticky.
Heat a wok over high heat and add the remaining 3 tbsp groundnut oil.
Add the seasoned pork and stir-fry vigorously, breaking it up with your spatula.
Cook until the pork is deeply browned and slightly crisp around the edges.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped preserved mustard greens.
Continue cooking until the pork is completely cooked through and the greens have become fragrant.
Remove from the heat and set aside.
Make the sauce
Combine the sugar, Chinkiang vinegar, light soy sauce, Sichuan chilli oil and sesame paste in a bowl.
Mix well until smooth.
The sauce will be quite thick at this stage.
Just before assembling the noodles, loosen it with about ½ cup of hot stock or noodle cooking water. Add the liquid gradually until the sauce becomes glossy and loose enough to coat the noodles.
Taste and adjust the balance if necessary. You want a combination of salt, sweetness, acidity, nuttiness, chilli heat and Sichuan pepper.
Prepare the garnishes
Toast the peanuts in a dry pan if they aren't already roasted.
Allow them to cool, then crush them roughly.
Toast the remaining Sichuan peppercorns and pound them coarsely.
Blanch the greens in boiling water until just tender, then drain well.
Slice the spring onions and roughly chop the coriander.
Cook the noodles
Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions.
If using noodle cooking water to loosen the sauce, reserve some before draining.
Drain the noodles well. Don't rinse them unless the particular noodle you're using specifically requires it.
Assemble the bowls
Place about ½–1 tsp pork lard in the bottom of each bowl.
Add a generous spoonful of the prepared sauce.
Place one portion of hot noodles gently on top.
Add the pork topping according to how much you like.
Arrange the blanched greens alongside the noodles.
Finish with crushed peanuts, spring onions, coriander, Sichuan pepper and a generous drizzle of Sichuan chilli oil.
Serve immediately.
How to eat it
The bowl should arrive at the table looking almost deliberately unmixed, with the pork and garnishes sitting on top of the noodles and the sauce hiding underneath.
The mixing happens at the table.
Use chopsticks to thoroughly toss the noodles through the sauce, making sure the sesame paste, chilli oil and vinegar coat every strand. As you mix, the pork, peanuts, greens and Sichuan pepper get distributed throughout the bowl.
That first few bites should give you everything at once: heat from the chilli oil, numbing Sichuan pepper, fermented funk from the greens, acidity from the vinegar, savouriness from the pork and a deep nuttiness from the sesame paste.